•HJ 68 IH 
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 
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 and the 
theft of tribal resources and assets from recognized tribal 
land; 
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•HJ 68 IH 
Whereas the policies of the United States Government toward 
Indian tribes and the breaking of covenants with Indian 
tribes have contributed to the severe social ills and eco-
nomic troubles in many Native communities today; 
Whereas, despite the wrongs committed against Native Peo-
ples by the United States, the Native Peoples have re-
mained committed to the protection of this great land, as 
evidenced by the fact that, on a per capita basis, more 
Native 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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