How can the US ask for forgiveness and give restitution to Native Americans?

There in no reason to look into the distant past. The deliberate annihilation of Native Americans continued right up to the late 1900s

Up until 1980s Native children were taken from their families and placed in boarding schools. The government knew that more than 50% of the children died in those schools and did nothing. The children were used for slave labour and as sex slaves. Children were physically abused, sexually abused and murdered.

Soul Wound: The Legacy of Native American Schools

http://www.amnestyusa.org/amnestynow/soulwound.htm...

Federal Indian agents sent Native American children from the ages of five to 20 to boarding schools. Often, they took the children without consent of parents. The boarding schools provided little or no educational benefit to indigenous people (Noriega, 1992).

Central to the boarding school movement were Manual Labor Schools where American Indian youth trained on farms and in domestic tasks from 1834 on. Indian boarding schools were described in contemporary and historical accounts as a source of slave labor more than a training opportunity (Noriega,1992; Trennert, 1983).

http://www.dshs.wa.gov/pdf/ca/RaceDispro2.pdf

2003 - Six members of the Sioux Nation who were physically and sexually abused in government-run boarding schools filed a class-action lawsuit against the United States on behalf of hundreds of thousands of mistreated Native Americans.

Zephier, et al. (Sioux Nation). v. United States of America Complaint

http://www.twofrog.com/lawsuit.html

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Native Americans were successful in getting The Indian Child Welfare Act, passed in 1978 to prevent the state and county welfare agencies from stealing the children and placing them in in non–Indian homes. The government likes to take credit for ending discriminatory practices. That’s far from the truth.

American Indian Child Welfare Act

http://www.asu.edu/lib/archives/labriola/childwelf...

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Thousands of Native American men and women were sterilized right up to the 1980s. Even though the investigations began in the late 1970s

A Look at the Indian Health Service Policy of Sterilization, 1972-1976

http://www.whale.to/b/england.html

A History of Governmentally Coerced Sterilization: The Plight of the Native American Woman

http://www.whale.to/b/define.html

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Native Americans DON'T GET free BENEFITS or REPARATIONS. Everything Native Americans RECEIVE has been "PRE-PAID", when the land was forcibly taken. Treaties and monetary settlements were made. That money is held in TRUST by the GOVERENMENT. But like everything else that MONEY is being STOLEN.

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The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)has been the federal agency responsible for managing financial agreements with tribes, and tribal members on reservations. The BIA currently holds about $450 million in more than "300,000 INDIVIDUAL" Native American "ACCOUNTS". About $250 MILLION flows through these accounts annually. An audit of the "Individual Indians Monies" program revealed billions of dollars are missing or otherwise unaccounted for.

Native American Trust Fund: Massive Mismanagement

http://www.fcnl.org/issues/issue.php?issue_id=112

2008 - Judge seeks end to 12-year suit over Indian money

http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2008/06/08/1553290-j...

There is a similar system established to manage "3,000 ACCOUNTS" owned by more than "280 TRIBES" holds about $3 BILLION. As with IIM, however, waste, fraud and abuse are rampant.

2008 - 2nd huge suit filed over use of Indian money

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/01/05...

The sums agreed to be paid by the United States as purchase money for any portion of any such reservation shall be held in the Treasury of the United States for the sole use of the tribe or tribes Indians; to whom such reservations belonged; and the same, with interest thereon at three per cent per annum, shall be at all times SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION BY CONGRESS for the education and civilization of such tribe or tribes of Indians or the members thereof.

THe GOVERNMENT CONTROLS the MONEY and DICTATES THE EXPENDITURES.

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/dawes.asp

It is a common misperception that treaty rights are "special" rights given to native people by the government because of their racial status, but this is not the case. The government does not "give" treaty rights to anyone – native people reserved them when they signed treaties in a government-to-government relationship.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_rights

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Americans keep saying "Just get over it" No one is alive who suffered. Well, DEAD PEOPLE DON’T LAUNCH LAWSUITS.

As you can see by the answers Native Americans still endure RACISM and HATE PROPAGANDA. These things didn’t happen hundreds of years ago, They have been happening for hundreds years.

There is no hundreds of years in the past for Native Americans.

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Since the U.S. did finally get around to apologizing to the Japanese folks we imprisoned unjustly during World War II (we called it internment back then to make it more palatable), and paying them or their descendants restitution, I have some optimism in this regard. Of course, it would be a lot more difficult to really restore the value of what all the Native Americans lost, since that amounts to the whole country! Then we'd get into the question of how much that's worth and whether it should be paid according to what it was worth when it was ripped off originally or what it's worth now (naturally they'd want the present value and the current gov would wanna pay what it was originally worth, say, 5 necklaces of glass beads). But I should think a compromise could be reached with the help of an impartial international panel of justices.

Reservations don't count toward remuneration. Those were like booby prizes. Or ghettoes. It's like all those treaties the U.S. signed with all the tribes read as follows: "Here, I'm gonna take all your good land and let you live on the corner of this here desert where you can't possibly grow any crops -- unless, of course, you strike oil or dig up some gold, or find anything else of any value whatsoever, in which case I'm gonna rip off that little corner of desert too. Now sign on the dotted line or I'll shoot y'all dead, even the kids, but I'm not gonna sign because I don't really mean to follow through on anything, 'cause I hope you starve to death before long, And by the way, I want to eat your firstborn sons for supper tonight."

You know the Native Americans couldn't even legally vote in this country till the 20th century. But I don't think we could legitimately ask for forgiveness. That'll either come or not come, as each individual gives or does not give it. That can't be requested by a government. Just as Germany can say it apologizes for the Holocaust, in dealing with Israel. But it cannot say, "Now you must forgive and forget." Nope. It don't work that way in international relations.

I'm afraid we can't give the land back because there are too many folks living here now, but money goes a long way toward helping healing, I do believe, especially if it's like a special trust fund, one that goes on giving for generations.

U R wrong. All reservations are not "the absolute worst lands". Some are rich in mineral wealth--though somehow a lot of their oil-lease money wound up fixing up NYC...

I say the same restitution should be made to them as they make to the descendants and closest genetic relatives to the FIRST AMERICANS, who were european, not asian, and who had exterminated the most hideous monsters from the North American continent long before the Tonto-come-lately Men arrived on the scene.

What did they do to Kennewick Man? Why are his mitochondrial gene lines exterminated and how did it happen? Why do the Tonto-come-lately Men constantly insist on trying to destroy the remains of the Kennewick Men? What have they passed down in their oral traditions we don't know about which would cause them to want to destroy the evidence of what may well be one of the greatest most complete genocides?

You've a lot of damn gall suggesting the asian mongrels who were found squatting here when europeans returned had "genocide" practiced on them. Their populations are already back up to pre-columbian levels. Europeans could have exterminated them to the last man--they nearly did it to the American Bison and did do it to the passenger pigeon.

Their ancestors, the FIRST AMERICANS, exterminated the Dire Wolf, Mamoths and Mastodons, horses, Megatheriums, Smilodons and a host of other hideous and violent monsters with only stone spear-points.

It's true injustices were done to the red injuns. Injustices have been done to just about every group known to man.

So as soon as the red injuns--who were constantly at each other and killing each other--even unto cannibalism--want to make some sort of reparation's offering to the living relatives of the Clovis-point Makers, I say they should be glad they had someone come make the howling wilderness they lived in into the greatest nation the earth has ever been privileged to have seen.

listen to Nish Kwe on this one as she also gives you the sources for what she says.

the other rants are just that. to think all those checks from the government....that don't exist..are making people mad. the lies are told to keep us divided so let them think we get something for nothing. or lets make up a story about the natives killing others who were here first..something they still have not proven but would love to i am sure.

indigenous people of north america have paid a very high price for the founding of both canada and usa and we continue to pay.

Get a grip. Those people are all dead.

The US as a country cannot possibly be responsible for the actions of a small amount of people years and years ago.

In that case they should ask for forgiveness for every serial killer, rapist etc.

For you to think that a mere apology (by people who are not responsible for the hurt) can calm what you call ''years of rage and depression" from losing everything then that shows that your 'opinion' is completely laughable and you are not worth listening to, specifically on this subject, as you obviously lack even common sense.

The saddest part is that Native Americans actually lived in harmony with the land and helped with the balance of nature. There's really no way the U.S. can ever make up for wiping out people who lived such a noble way of life like the Native Americans.

Lol they get reparations and have nice cars that makes up for taking away their country, their way of life and slowly wiping them out.

More white man guilt? I have worked on an Indian reservation as a health care provider and the free medical care they receive is often better then what I have seen in the city I live in- we had top of the line equipment. They receive checks from the government monthly as restitution, for many their housing is free on the reservation. They drove better cars then me. What else do you want? Not one of us took their land nor had slaves so what do you want us to do guilt ourselves into distruction? I am sick of the white man guilt that not one of us living created! I do not think many of the Indians now would agree with your pushing for more!

Don't hold your breath on this one. It's probably never crossed most Americans' minds that there's anything to apologize for. And restitution? Right, as soon as we pay reparations to Black Americans.

Why should we? We gained the land through conquest. Back then that practice was acceptable. If that were the case pretty much every country in the would would have to say sorry to someone for screwing them over in order to create their country.

Native Americans have been getting reparations since the 70's.

People need to get over it already. Everyone has been persecuted in history. Sheesh.

:::Those ARE the facts -- they've been getting reparations. What else would you like to happen? Hand over your land to the nearest tribal office, okay?