Honoring America’s Promises

Gesture of Reciprocity

When the Bush administration yanked federal recognition from the Chinook Indian tribe shortly after using their leaders in a photo op at the White House to celebrate the bi-centennial of the Voyage of Discovery, I wondered what travesty they would think up next. As it turns out, later in 2001 the Bureau of Indian Affairs did the same to the Duwamish Indian tribe, the original inhabitants of Seattle. Today, the BIA has the chance to reverse these injustices to the first people of Washington and other states, not only as a matter of honoring America’s promises as expressed in treaties, but perhaps more importantly, as a gesture of reciprocity toward the aboriginal nations that welcomed explorers like Lewis and Clark and the land-hungry settlers who followed.