[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 17978-17979]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



REMARKS OF KEVIN GOVER, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY 
                           OF INDIAN AFFAIRS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DALE E. KILDEE

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 12, 2000

  Mr. KILDEE, Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Department of the 
Interior Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Kevin Gover for 
extending a formal apology on behalf of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to 
Native Americans for the historical treatment by that agency. Mr. Gover 
recently delivered his remarks at the 175th Anniversary of the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs.
  In his remarks, Mr. Gover recounted the role of the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs in implementing the policies of the United States. For many 
years, the policies of the United States were

[[Page 17979]]

designed to terminate tribal nations and their culture. Mr. Speaker, we 
share the responsibility for the historical treatment of Native 
Americans since the Bureau of Indian Affairs bears the responsibility 
of implementing the laws and policies of Congress.
  While we cannot erase the deplorable history of Indian policy in the 
United States, I want to acknowledge that today the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs and its 10,000 employees are striving to be advocates for 
Indian people. I believe that Assistant Secretary Gover's profound and 
wise remarks will become an important document in the annals of 
American history. Mr. Speaker, I wish to share Mr. Gover's remarks with 
my colleagues.

Remarks of Kevin Gover, Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs, Department 
of the Interior at the Ceremony Acknowledging the 175th Anniversary of 
  the Establishment of the Bureau of Indian Affairs--September 8, 2000

       In March of 1824, President James Monroe established the 
     Office of Indian Affairs in the Department of War. Its 
     mission was to conduct the nation's business with regard to 
     Indian affairs. We have come together today to mark the first 
     175 years of the institution now known as the Bureau of 
     Indian Affairs.
       It is appropriate that we do so in the first year of a new 
     century and a new millennium, a time when our leaders are 
     reflecting on what lies ahead and preparing for those 
     challenges. Before looking ahead, though, this institution 
     must first look back and reflect on what it has wrought and, 
     by doing so, come to know that this is no occasion for 
     celebration; rather it is time for reflection and 
     contemplation, a time for sorrowful truths to be spoken, a 
     time for contrition.
       We must first reconcile ourselves to the fact that the 
     works of this agency have at various times profoundly harmed 
     the communities it was meant to serve. From the very 
     beginning, the Office of Indian Affairs was an instrument by 
     which the United States enforced its ambition against the 
     Indian nations and Indian people who stood in its path. And 
     so, the first mission of this institution was to execute the 
     removal of the southeastern tribal nations. By threat, 
     deceit, and force, these great tribal nations were made to 
     march 1,000 miles to the west, leaving thousands of their 
     old, their young and their infirm in hasty graves along the 
     Trail of Tears.
       As the nation looked to the West for more land, this agency 
     participated in the ethnic cleansing that befell the western 
     tribes. War necessarily begets tragedy; the war for the West 
     was no exception. Yet in these more enlightened times, it 
     must be acknowledged that the deliberate spread of disease, 
     the decimation of the mighty bison herds, the use of the 
     poison alcohol to destroy mind and body, and the cowardly 
     killing of women and children made for tragedy on a scale so 
     ghastly that it cannot be dismissed as merely the inevitable 
     consequence of the clash of competing ways of life. This 
     agency and the good people in it failed in the mission to 
     prevent the devastation. And so great nations of patriot 
     warriors fell. We will never push aside the memory of 
     unnecessary and violent death at places such as Sand Creek, 
     the banks of the Washita River, and Wounded Knee.
       Nor did the consequences of war have to include the futile 
     and destructive efforts to annihilate Indian cultures. After 
     the devastation of tribal economies and the deliberate 
     creation of tribal dependence on the services provided by 
     this agency, this agency set out to destroy all things 
     Indian.
       This agency forbade the speaking of Indian languages, 
     prohibited the conduct of traditional religious activities, 
     outlawed traditional government, and made Indian people 
     ashamed of who they were. Worst of all, the Bureau of Indian 
     Affairs committed these acts against the children entrusted 
     to its boarding schools, brutalizing them emotionally, 
     psychologically, physically, and spiritually. Even in this 
     era of self-determination, when the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
     is at long last serving as an advocate for Indian people in 
     an atmosphere of mutual respect, the legacy of these misdeeds 
     haunts us. The trauma of shame, fear and anger has passed 
     from one generation to the next, and manifests itself in the 
     rampant alcoholism, drug abuse, and domestic violence that 
     plague Indian country. Many of our people live lives of 
     unrelenting tragedy as Indian families suffer the ruin of 
     lives by alcoholism, suicides made of shame and despair, and 
     violent death at the hands of one another. So many of the 
     maladies suffered today in Indian country result from the 
     failures of this agency. Poverty, ignorance, and disease have 
     been the product of this agency's work.
       And so today I stand before you as the leader of an 
     institution that in the past has committed acts so terrible 
     that they infect, diminish, and destroy the lives of Indian 
     people decades later, generations later. These things 
     occurred despite the efforts of many good people with good 
     hearts who sought to prevent them. These wrongs must be 
     acknowledged if the healing is to begin.
       I do not speak today for the United States. That is the 
     province of the nation's elected leaders, and I would not 
     presume to speak on their behalf. I am empowered, however, to 
     speak on behalf of this agency, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
     and I am quite certain that the words that follow reflect the 
     hearts of its 10,000 employees.
       Let us begin by expressing our profound sorrow for what 
     this agency has done in the past. Just like you, when we 
     think of these misdeeds and their tragic consequences, our 
     hearts break and our grief is as pure and complete as yours. 
     We desperately wish that we could change this history, but of 
     course we cannot. On behalf of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
     I extend this formal apology to Indian people for the 
     historical conduct of this agency.
       And while the BIA employees of today did not commit these 
     wrongs, we acknowledge that the institution we serve did. We 
     accept this inheritance, this legacy of racism and 
     inhumanity. And by accepting this legacy, we accept also the 
     moral responsibility of putting things right.
       We therefore begin this important work anew, and make a new 
     commitment to the people and communities that we serve, a 
     commitment born of the dedication we share with you to the 
     cause of renewed hope and prosperity for Indian country. 
     Never again will this agency stand silent when hate and 
     violence are committed against Indians. Never again will we 
     allow policy to proceed from the assumption that Indians 
     possess less human genius than the other races. Never again 
     will we be complicit in the theft of Indian property. Never 
     again will we appoint false leaders who serve purposes other 
     than those of the tribes. Never again will we allow 
     unflattering and stereotypical images of Indian people to 
     deface the halls of government or lead the American people to 
     shallow and ignorant beliefs about Indians. Never again will 
     we attack your religions, your languages, your rituals, or 
     any of your tribal ways. Never again will we seize your 
     children, nor teach them to be ashamed of who they are. Never 
     again.
       We cannot yet ask your forgiveness, not while the burdens 
     of this agency's history weigh so heavily on tribal 
     communities. What we do ask is that, together, we allow the 
     healing to begin: As you return to your homes, and as you 
     talk with your people, please tell them that time of dying is 
     at its end. Tell your children that the time of shame and 
     fear is over. Tell your young men and women to replace their 
     anger with hope and love for their people. Together, we must 
     wipe the tears of seven generations. Together, we must allow 
     our broken hearts to mend. Together, we will face a 
     challenging world with confidence and trust. Together, let us 
     resolve that when our future leaders gather to discuss the 
     history of this institution, it will be time to celebrate the 
     rebirth of joy, freedom, and progress for the Indian Nations. 
     The Bureau of Indian Affairs was born in 1824 in a time of 
     war on Indian people. May it live in the year 2000 and beyond 
     as an instrument of their prosperity.

     

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