I am from Pennsylvania with a bit of American Indian in my heritage. Here is a statement from William Penn about the nature and social life of these people that our ancestors destroyed and stole from.
I say, "who is civilized?"

Wm. Penn says of them, in his letter to the Society of Free Traders, "In liberality they excel; nothing is too good for their friend; given them a fine gun, coat, or other thing, it may pass twenty hands before it sticks; light of heart, strong affections, but soon spent. The most merry creatures that live, feast and dance perpetually; they never have much, nor want much; wealth circulateth like the blood; all parts partake; and though none shall want what another hath, yet exact observers of property. Some kings have sold, other presented me with several parcels of land; the pay, or presents I made them, were not hoarded by the particular owners; but the neighboring kings and their clans being present when the goods were brought out, the parties chiefly concerned consulted what, and to whom, they should give them. To every king then, by the hands of a person for that work appointed, is a proportion sent, so sorted and folded, and with that gravity, that is admirable. Then that king subdivideth it, in like manner, among his dependants, they hardly leaving themselves an equal share with one of their subjects; and be it on such occasions as festivals, or at their common meals, the kings distribute, and to themselves last. They care for little, because they want but little; and the reason is, a little contents them. In this they are sufficiently revenged on us; if they are ignorant of our pleasures, they are also free from our pains. They are not disquieted with bills of lading and exchange, nor perplexed with chancery suits and exchequer reckonings. We sweat and toil to live; their pleasure feeds them; I mean their hunting, fishing, and fowling; and this table is spread everywhere. They eat twice a day, morning and evening,- their seats and table are the ground."

"Many well meaning people believe we should forget about past wrongs and just get along." This is the phrase that all invaders in the long history of invasion use when their initial act of aggression is challenged. there are only two possible scenarios to solve this dilemma. One, leave immediately or two, wait for the unpleasant karma to be delivered at a later date. Unfortunately, neither of these scenarios gets to the heart of the matter. The only true solution lies in the removal of violence as a tool to achieve ones greedy goals. which of course, leads to the necessity of dealing with the disease of greed.

"Many well meaning people believe we should forget about past wrongs and just get along." This is the phrase that all invaders in the long history of invasion use when their initial act of aggression is challenged. there are only two possible scenarios to solve this dilemma. One, leave immediately or two, wait for the unpleasant karma to be delivered at a later date. Unfortunately, neither of these scenarios gets to the heart of the matter. The only true solution lies in the removal of violence as a tool to achieve ones greedy goals. which of course, leads to the necessity of dealing with the disease of greed.

"Many well meaning people believe we should forget about past wrongs and just get along." This is the phrase that all invaders in the long history of invasion use when their initial act of aggression is challenged. there are only two possible scenarios to solve this dilemma. One, leave immediately or two, wait for the unpleasant karma to be delivered at a later date. Unfortunately, neither of these scenarios gets to the heart of the matter. The only true solution lies in the removal of violence as a tool to achieve ones greedy goals. which of course, leads to the necessity of dealing with the disease of greed.

"Many well meaning people believe we should forget about past wrongs and just get along." This is the phrase that all invaders in the long history of invasion use when their initial act of aggression is challenged. there are only two possible scenarios to solve this dilemma. One, leave immediately or two, wait for the unpleasant karma to be delivered at a later date. Unfortunately, neither of these scenarios gets to the heart of the matter. The only true solution lies in the removal of violence as a tool to achieve ones greedy goals. which of course, leads to the necessity of dealing with the disease of greed.

I would like to see CC day changed to a national holiday honoring the Native Americans.

If we would actually learn to be frugal and kind like those Natives, perhaps we'd stop making this nation a laughing stock. There's a lot to learn from them. Unlike us, they didn't believe in "private property" but actually took land to be collective ownership. When they slaughtered animals, they learned to make so many uses from that. Most of all, they had that strength to hand craft just about anything. I can't believe God allowed the Europeans to decimate them.

"The Europeans told themselves they were a civilizing force, bringing religion and education to uncivilized people, even while they forced Native people from their land, enslaved them, and killed thousands--some intentionally and some through the spread of disease."

First lets correct the record. Thousands were not killed, one hundred twelve million were killed based upon the latest research and science.

Second, the spread of disease was intentional, not unintentional. Sea Captains and leaders realized that the presence of Europeans led to mass deaths among American Indians, YET THEY INTENTIONALLY CONTINUED TO COME TO AMERICA.

American's are so ignorant of the realities of the American Holocaust that even in an article intended to be positive about an apology to American Indians, fundamental serious errors are presented. It was genocide, pure and simple, and the quiet genocide is still going on.

"The apology to Native people passed by the Senate last week is a step towards reconciliation. But on this Columbus Day, let's be clear that an apology must be followed by action."

Sorry, but we're too busy bringing religion and civilization to uncivilized people in the Middle East, whether they like it or not.

Now that we have a good start, let's take the just action of freeing Leonard Peltier from his unjust imprisonment. His freedom has been part of the agenda of every international human rights group.

This is all well and good, but the next step is for the US to begin honoring ALL its treaty obligations.

1)First step? And what about the apology delivered by Kevin Gover, former Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Department of the Interior in 2000?!

Seriously? Do people forget so quickly? His speech was historical, a truly first step. A formal apology from the Department of Interior under Clinton. This was not a rogue speech, it was reviewed by the WH, Clinton himself, and he did not intervene. Therefore, this speech was not just representative of a single Assistant Secretary, it representative of the federal government's stance.

First step perhaps for the Senate. But first step for this country, I don't think so.

2)And furthermore, when we talk about passing the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, it behooves me to mention that none other than Barney Frank and a majority of Congressmembers from the Black Congressional Caucus stalled another act, the Native American Housing and Assistance and Self-Determination Reauthorization Act of 2007, because their majority sided with The Freedman over Cherokee Nation --These Congressional leaders actually went so far as to effectively blackmail the Cherokee Nation by saying they would continue to withhold federal dollars to the Nation if the Nation didn't comply with their demands challenging the sovereignty of The Nation. Rather than allow the courts to handle the case, Congressmembers wanted to push through legislation --system of retribution anyone?

Talk about "first steps" talk about "Indian Self-Determination" talk about intellectual "progressive" outlets... yeah, I guess so.

Academic Link citing Kevin Gover's speech:
http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/wicazo_sa_review/v021/21.1buck.html

Link with text of historic speech:
http://www.twofrog (dot)com/gover.html

And two additional links, one showing the Continual Congressional pressure politics trying to challenge sovereignty of an Indian Nation:
http://thomas.loc (dot) gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.02761:

The last link, pdf of recent ruling stating suit against a sovereign Indian Nation cannot occur. snip, "...The issue on appeal is the extent to which sovereign immunity protects a federally recognized Indian tribe and its officers against suit. For the reasons that follow, we hold that the suit may proceed against the tribe’s officers but not against the tribe itself...." end snip

http://pacer.cadc.uscourts (dot) gov/common/opinions/200807/07-5024-1130149.pdf

"The resolution makes clear that it does not authorize any claims against the United States--in other words, no reparations are offered. While it acknowledges past wrongs, it does nothing to address current wrongs."....?

George Orwell wouldn't be amused. EngSoc and DoubleThink are now officially the practice of the US Congress.

The Senate of the USA is a pathetic organization. These elite crooks have a lot of brains but no conscience whatsoever. The very idea of an apology without reparations is impudent and contemptible, but to attach it to a war profiteering bill is machiavellical, cynical and loathsome.

Prison is too good for those hypocrites.

An apology has to clearly state what wrong has been committed. A vaguely worded apology has not force at all. Every tribe should be remembered and the wrongs committed spoken aloud. In my area of the country the apologies should go to the Ojibwa and Odawa:
The list of apologies will read (in part) as follows:

1. We apologize for stealing your culture by insisting upon education in racist boarding schools.

2. We apologize for the breaking of families and tribes through indiscriminate selling of liquor.

3. We apologize for breaking tribes by giving land only to Indians who renounced their tribal affiliation.

4. We apologize for unfairly taxing land, confiscating it for nonpayment of taxes, and for the multitude of deceptions practiced upon a people unfamiliar with white ways.

5. We apologize for not observing rights spelled out in treaties including hunting and fishing rights.

6. We apologize for instilling prejudice in our own children through corrupted textbooks and casual racist slurs.

7. We apologize for destroying the forests and polluting the waters that we now share.

8. We apologize for acting so high and mighty as if our culture counted for everything and yours for nothing.

Every tribe needs such a recitation. There were things done before the United States was a nation, too--like the British in the 18th century throwing smallpox-infected blankets into Indian encampments so as to commit genocide through disease. I don't know who will apologize for that.

It is true that some innocent whites were shot, scalped, and tortured, too. That cannot be denied. Those deeds may call for atonement, but on the whole, white settlers must shoulder the blame for most of the violence and for most of the suffering. Payment of debts is required, not through money payments but through providing for education, drug and alcohol abuse treatment, childcare, healthcare, and environmental reclamation. It will not repay those of the past from whom much has been taken, but it will pay those of later generations who have been injured.

I smile when I read the Max Lucky exchange but my heart understands Lucky, she is right, empty words are not enough. I am a white boy born and breed on her land that has left America and returned to Europe for various reasons, one of which is what has been done to the spirit of all my relatives, big and small in the land of greed and war. Native people world wide are being robbed at this very moment and that in the name of God and capitalism, the same old show. I don't have the answers or a solution to what happened but I am prepared to live under native American rule and if I ever return to the USA I would seek permission from Native Americans to live in the circle of life with them. Ho

If it were within my gift, I'd make it law that every non-aboriginal landowner pay a small rent-tax on their land in perpetuity, with the monies being 100% distributed to the demonstrable (tribal records, DNA) surviving descendants of the victims of the European genocide. The tax would be high enough to provide each such descendant with a comfortable, non-taxable, non-cancellable, non-reduceable income forever.

To: The US Government, et al
From: "Native Son", your 'Prisoner of War', born in the middle of the twentieth
century, and a 'son of his people', who only speaks for himself.

Subj: 'Senate Apology to Native People'.

Ref. US Constitution, Art 6, Cherokee Nation v George and USA et al ; US Supreme
Court Decision, via John Marshall, Chief Justice of said body 1836.

To Whom it may concern,

You have proven your words to be 'hollow' in the past.
Without actions your apology is as 'smoke in the wind'.
Our ancestors faught yours and we won. We signed the treaties that you brought to us in surrender and you violated them.
We are still at war with you and yours.

You should be aware that I have taught my Grand Children the things my Grand Parents taught me--- about you. They grow in numbers with their fellow treaty 'holders'. If my people decide to 'press the issue' of the broken treaties, I will be there with them. If I have 'gone on by then', I will still have left others behind me---who will follow and they will leave others who will leave others. It can go 'on' "for as long as the grass grows and the water flows" if you want it to. You will never know an end to the problem that you still maintain from the ancestors who left it with you. Solve it now so that our children will know true peace.
Show the courage you expect of other nations, exhibit the integrity that you call other nation on .
Honor your treaties; and never break them again.

Do this and you will have our trust, without it you cannot survive the ages.

"If the USA were another nation the USA would invade the USA to keep the world safe; and they would be justified.