Scoop’s Views

Words. Nothing but words is what it comes down to from U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) who is cheering about the U.S. Senate passing an apology, tacked on to the Indian Health Bill, that was approved last week.

Mere words, nothing else, yet Brownback thinks the forked tongue the White Man, let alone politicians, are known to have, is going to "help restore the relationship between the United States and Native Americans." Don’t make me laugh.

From the Kansas senator’s press release filing cabinet, here’s the press release he issued on Friday, February 15, 2008, in full:

From brownback.senate.gov:

Brownback Applauds Passage of Native American
Apology Amendment to Indian Health Bill

Friday, February 15, 2008

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today applauded passage of an amendment to the Indian Health Care Bill offering an official apology from the United States federal government to Native Americans. Senator Brownback has been calling for an apology since 2004.

"With this apology, the federal government can repair and improve our relationship with Native Americans," said Brownback. "While we cannot erase the past, this amendment hopefully helps heal the wounds that have divided America for too long."

The Indian Health Care Bill is being debated on the Senate floor this week. Brownback’s resolution, which had 13 co-sponsors, and passed tonight by voice vote as an amendment, recognizes the impact of destructive federal policies in the past toward Native Americans and is intended to facilitate reconciliation and healing.

Brownback continued, "Our nation’s relationship with the Native peoples of this land is an issue that is very important to the health of the United States. For too much of our history, Federal-Tribal relations have been marked by broken treaties, mistreatment, and dishonorable dealings. We can acknowledge our past failures, express sincere regrets, and establish a brighter future for all Americans.

"This amendment does not diminish the valiance of our American soldiers who fought bravely for their families in wars between the United States and a number of the Indian Tribes. Nor does this amendment cast the blame for the various battles on one side or another. What this apology does do is recognize and honor the importance of Native Americans to this land and to our nation - in the past and today - and offers this apology to Native peoples for the poor and painful choices our government sometimes made to disregard its solemn word. Hopefully, this apology will help restore the relationship between the United States and Native Americans."

If you look at the headline the senator’s PR flacks put atop that press release, it says the senator "applauds" the apology amendment. Then, if you look at a press release issued by his office on February 4, 2008, the senator applauded again. On February 4, though, the good senator was applauding a decision to possibly locate a prison in Leavenworth, Kansas. It seems he does a lot of applauding. Then, too, on May 10, 2007, he was applauding, but that time it was because the FDA Revitalization Act was helping some "neglected" diseases get "adopted" by pharmaceutical companies who will receive a fair chunk of change to bring drugs to market for some almost unheard of health issues. It seems his PR flacks need to add a few more words to their vocabulary.

Why, golly, Mr. Senator. It sounds like you and the rest of the Senate are really sincere this time. Then again, the U.S. Senate, well, the entire Congress, as well as many former presidents, have all seemed really sincere at various times.

Does the senator from Kansas really believe words, printed on paper, added as little more than a footnote to an appropriations bill, amounts to a valid apology? I hope not. In fact, for any of that healing and reconciliation to begin, in any meaningful way, much must be done by the U.S. Government in terms of beginning now to honor all the ignored treaties, as well as to begin treating the living descendents of this nation’s indigenous peoples in a proper manner. Oh, it must also rescind that idiotic bill that halted payment to the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma for not recognizing released slaves as Cherokee. As Congress declared, only by blood quantum may one be a Cherokee. That blood quantum issue is a divisive one, especially today. Cherokee and a handful of other tribes are the only people on the face of the Earth who are required, by a government, to prove their ethnicity through a blood test. I can. I have. I have a roll card, as well. Want to see it? Kiss my ass. That card says I am little more than a National of the United States, though some will argue various acts by Congress over the years have forced all the indigenous nations’ members to become American citizens. Pfft.