A New Opportunity...

From Leonard Peltier Defense Committee (LPDC):

Attention Peltier Supporters! John Gallagher has provided us with a
good opportunity to voice our concerns about an apology that does not
include a substantive act of good faith.

John has provided the email addresses of those representatives leading this initiative. Please add your voice to John's and let the Committee know that an apology is empty so long as the Federal Government continues to imprison American Indians without cause or who have been proven innocent of their crimes. Doing so means that they have been denied their basic rights and freedoms just because they are Indians.



I think it would be worthwhile to add comments to
Senators Brownback & McCain, & Representative Jo Ann
Davis on congress.org that no apology is complete
while Leonard Peltier remains behind bars.
These messages can be publicly displayed.
Here are the links to those federal lawmakers.

John G

Senator Brownback (R-KS)
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/letterslist/?id=255

Senator McCain (R-AZ)
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/letterslist/?id=192

Representative Jo Ann Davis (R-VA)
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/letterslist/?id=8525



http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/052605N.shtml

Senators Weigh Indian Apology Resolution
The Associated Press
Wednesday 25 May 2005

Washington - Legislation that would offer a formal apology to American Indians for centuries of government mistreatment and neglect received a warm reception at a Senate committee hearing Wednesday.

Introduced last month by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., the resolution
would apologize for the "many instances of violence, maltreatment and
neglect inflicted on Native Peoples by citizens of the United States."
"While we cannot erase the record of our past, I am confident that we can acknowledge our past failures, express sincere regrets and work toward establishing a brighter future for all Americans," Brownback told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

The resolution recounts the long history of government mistreatment of
American Indians, including forced relocation, the outlawing of
traditional religions and destruction of sacred sites.

Congress rarely apologizes for official government conduct. Exceptions
include a 1993 apology to native Hawaiians for the unlawful overthrow
of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and a 1988 apology to Japanese Americans placed in detention camps during World War II. Efforts to win an apology for slavery have failed to gain momentum in
Congress.

Tex Hall, president of the National Congress of American Indians,
called the apology "a long time coming" and urged Congress to recognize ongoing problems in Indian relations with the U.S. government.

"Tribal leaders have cautioned that the apology will be meaningless if
it is not accompanied by actions that begin to correct the wrongs of
the past and the present," Hall said.

Edward Thomas, president of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida
Indian Tribes of Alaska, called the issue a distraction from the true
problems facing American Indians, such as what he called "Third World conditions" on reservations and the erosion of tribal rights.

Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., said he would help Brownback steer the resolution to the full Senate so it can be considered for a
vote. The committee passed the resolution last year, but the Senate
never acted on it. "Reviewing the history of this government's
treatment of native people's makes painfully obvious that the
government has repeatedly broken its promises and caused great harm to the nation's original inhabitants," McCain said.

A similar resolution has been introduced in the House by Rep. Jo Ann
Davis, R-Va.