[Senate Report 109-113]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 183
109th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    109-113

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     A JOINT RESOLUTION TO ACKNOWLEDGE A LONG HISTORY OF OFFICIAL 
DEPREDATIONS AND ILL-CONCEIVED POLICIES BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT 
 REGARDING INDIAN TRIBES AND OFFER AN APOLOGY TO ALL NATIVE PEOPLES ON 
                      BEHALF OF THE UNITED STATES

                                _______
                                

                 July 28, 2005.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. McCain, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                      [To accompany S.J. Res. 15]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
joint resolution, S.J. Res. 15, to acknowledge a long history 
of official depredations and ill-conceived policies by the 
United States Government regarding Indian tribes and offer an 
apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the joint resolution do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S.J. Res. 15 is to acknowledge a long 
history of official depredations and ill-conceived policies by 
the United States Government regarding Indian tribes and offer 
an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States 
Government.

                               BACKGROUND

    The history of the United States is bound inextricably with 
the people who first inhabited the land. With the creation of 
its constitutional government, the new nation entered into 
treaties with the First Nations of the land. Sometimes the 
treaties were entered into with good will and good faith; other 
times, not. In any event, these treaties represented mutual 
promises between the federal government and the tribes.
    As the United States grew in population, however, it grew 
in the desire for land. Many American people--including federal 
officials--remain unaware of the solemn treaty obligations the 
nation entered into but repeatedly failed to meet as the nation 
expanded. Those broken promises caused great harm to Native 
Peoples, with dire consequences that remain with us today.
    This resolution apologizes to Native Peoples on behalf of 
the United States. Reviewing the history of this government's 
treatment of Native Peoples makes painfully obvious that the 
government's policies and decisions regarding Native Americans 
have been the source of terrible injustice. It is hoped that 
passage of this joint resolution will both give rise to the 
American public's increased interest in the history of the 
relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes 
and also lead to vigorous policies that promote the well-being 
of Native Americans today.
    The Committee notes S.J. Res. 15 is not intended to 
engender or fuel any controversies or litigation by or against 
the United States and Indian tribes. S.J. Res. 15 does not, and 
should not be construed to, authorize or support any claim 
against the United States, nor should it serve as evidence to 
support a claim against the United States. Specifically, it is 
the intent of the Committee that S.J. Res. 15 shall not be used 
as evidence pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 201 in any 
judicial proceeding.
    It is the sponsors' intention and the Committee's 
understanding that S.J. Res. 15 does not authorize or serve as 
a settlement of any claim against the United States by an 
Indian tribe or tribes.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S.J. Res. 15 was introduced on April 19, 2005, by Senator 
Brownback for himself and Senators Dodd and Dorgan, and was 
referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
    On May 25, 2005, the Committee held a legislative hearing 
on S.J. Res. 15. Witnesses at the hearing included Senator 
Brownback; Tex Hall, President of the National Congress of 
American Indians; Edward Thomas, President of the Central 
Council Tlingit & Haida Tribes; and Negiel Bigpond, President 
of Two Rivers Native American Training Center in Mounds, 
Oklahoma. The witnesses supported the resolution for the most 
part; however, Mr. Thomas expressed his view that an apology in 
words did not address and could not solve the very real 
problems facing Native Peoples.

            COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTE

    On June 29, 2005, at an open business meeting duly noticed, 
the Committee considered S.J. Res. 15 and ordered the bill 
favorably reported to the full Senate with a recommendation 
that the bill do pass.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    An identical resolution, S.J. Res. 37, was approved by the 
Committee in the 108th Congress and analyzed by the 
Congressional Budget Office. The Congressional Budget Office 
concluded that the resolution would have no cost to the federal 
government, contained no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, and 
did not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments. Because S.J. Res. 15 is identical to S.J. Res. 37, 
the Committee concludes that S.J. Res. 15 has no cost or 
budgetary effects.

               REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT

    Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate requires that each report accompanying a bill evaluate 
the regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in 
carrying out the bill. The resolution is not a regulatory 
measure imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals or 
businesses. No personal information would be collected. There, 
the Committee concludes that there would be no impact on 
personal privacy and that little if any additional paperwork 
would result from enactment of S.J. Res. 15.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The Committee has received no communications from the 
Executive Branch regarding S.J. Res. 15.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by S.J. Res. 15.

                                  
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