IA 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. J. RES. 3 
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. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 4, 2005 
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia introduced the following joint resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Resources 
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. 
Whereas the ancestors of today’s Native Peoples inhabited 
the land of the present-day United States since time im-
memorial and for thousands of years before the arrival of 
peoples of European descent; 
Whereas the Native Peoples have for millennia honored, pro-
tected, and stewarded this land we cherish; 
Whereas the Native Peoples are spiritual peoples with a deep 
and abiding belief in the Creator, and for millennia their 
peoples have maintained a powerful spiritual connection
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to this land, as is evidenced by their customs and leg-
ends; 
Whereas the arrival of Europeans in North America opened 
a new chapter in the histories of the Native Peoples; 
Whereas, while establishment of permanent European settle-
ments in North America did stir conflict with nearby In-
dian tribes, peaceful and mutually beneficial interactions 
also took place; 
Whereas the foundational English settlements in Jamestown, 
Virginia, and Plymouth, Massachusetts, owed their sur-
vival in large measure to the compassion and aid of the 
Native Peoples in their vicinities; 
Whereas, in the infancy of the United States, the founders 
of the Republic expressed their desire for a just relation-
ship with the Indian tribes, as evidenced by the North-
west Ordinance enacted by Congress in 1787, which be-
gins with the phrase, ‘‘The utmost good faith shall al-
ways be observed toward the Indians’’; 
Whereas Indian tribes provided great assistance to the fledg-
ling Republic as it strengthened and grew, including in-
valuable help to Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on 
their epic journey from St. Louis, Missouri, to the Pacific 
Coast; 
Whereas Native Peoples and non-Native settlers engaged in 
numerous armed conflicts; 
Whereas the United States Government violated many of the 
treaties ratified by Congress and other diplomatic agree-
ments with Indian tribes; 
Whereas this Nation should address the broken treaties and 
many of the more ill-conceived Federal policies that fol-
lowed, such as extermination, termination, forced removal
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and relocation, the outlawing of traditional religions, and 
the destruction of sacred places; 
Whereas the United States forced Indian tribes and their citi-
zens to move away from their traditional homelands and 
onto federally established and controlled reservations, in 
accordance with such Acts as the Indian Removal Act of 
1830; 
Whereas many Native Peoples suffered and perished— 
(1) during the execution of the official United States 
Government policy of forced removal, including the infa-
mous Trail of Tears and Long Walk; 
(2) during bloody armed confrontations and mas-
sacres, such as the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 and the 
Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890; and 
(3) on numerous Indian reservations; 
Whereas the United States Government condemned the tradi-
tions, beliefs, and customs of the Native Peoples and en-
deavored to assimilate them by such policies as the redis-
tribution of land under the General Allotment Act of 
1887 and the forcible removal of Native children from 
their families to faraway boarding schools where their 
Native practices and languages were degraded and for-
bidden; 
Whereas officials of the United States Government and pri-
vate United States citizens harmed Native Peoples by the 
unlawful acquisition of recognized tribal land, the theft of 
resources from such territories, and the mismanagement 
of tribal trust funds; 
Whereas the policies of the United States Government toward 
Indian tribes and the breaking of covenants with Indian
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tribes have contributed to the severe social ills and eco-
nomic troubles in many Native communities today; 
Whereas, despite continuing maltreatment of Native Peoples 
by the United States, the Native Peoples have remained 
committed to the protection of this great land, as evi-
denced by the fact that, on a per capita basis, more Na-
tive people have served in the United States Armed 
Forces and placed themselves in harm’s way in defense 
of the United States in every major military conflict than 
any other ethnic group; 
Whereas Indian tribes have actively influenced the public life 
of the United States by continued cooperation with Con-
gress and the Department of the Interior, through the in-
volvement of Native individuals in official United States 
Government positions, and by leadership of their own 
sovereign Indian tribes; 
Whereas Indian tribes are resilient and determined to pre-
serve, develop, and transmit to future generations their 
unique cultural identities; 
Whereas the National Museum of the American Indian was 
established within the Smithsonian Institution as a living 
memorial to the Native Peoples and their traditions; and 
Whereas Native Peoples are endowed by their Creator with 
certain unalienable rights, and that among those are life, 
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness: Now, therefore, be 
it 
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND APOLOGY 
SECTION 1. The United States, acting through Con-
gress— 
(1) recognizes the special legal and political re-
lationship the Indian tribes have with the United 
States and the solemn covenant with the land we 
share; 
(2) commends and honors the Native Peoples 
for the thousands of years that they have stewarded 
and protected this land; 
(3) acknowledges years of official depredations, 
ill-conceived policies, and the breaking of covenants 
by the United States Government regarding Indian 
tribes; 
(4) apologizes on behalf of the people of the 
United States to all Native Peoples for the many in-
stances of violence, maltreatment, and neglect in-
flicted on Native Peoples by citizens of the United 
States; 
(5) expresses its regret for the ramifications of 
former offenses and its commitment to build on the 
positive relationships of the past and present to 
move toward a brighter future where all the people 
of this land live reconciled as brothers and sisters,
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and harmoniously steward and protect this land to-
gether; 
(6) urges the President to acknowledge the of-
fenses of the United States against Indian tribes in 
the history of the United States in order to bring 
healing to this land by providing a proper foundation 
for reconciliation between the United States and In-
dian tribes; and 
(7) commends the State governments that have 
begun reconciliation efforts with recognized Indian 
tribes located in their boundaries and encourages all 
State governments similarly to work toward recon-
ciling relationships with Indian tribes within their 
boundaries. 
DISCLAIMER 
SEC. 2. Nothing in this Joint Resolution authorizes 
any claim against the United States or serves as a settle-
ment of any claim against the United States. 
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