I'm betting the blankets the nice Christians gave to the Lenape tribe looked a lot like a Snuggie (tm) (as seen on TV!)
One of the oldest Protestant churches in America, the Collegiate Church, had an interesting Thanksgiving. It seems that 400 years after murdering, torturing, starving, poisoning and displacing the Lenape tribe of NY, that the Christian spirit moved the congregation to apologize.
"We consumed your resources, dehumanized your people and disregarded your culture, along with your dreams, hopes and great love for this land," the Rev. Robert Chase told descendants from both sides. "With pain, we the Collegiate Church, remember our part in these events."
Hmmm, apologies might be in order....
The Collegiate Church, considered the "conscience" of the Colonies, was a Dutch Reform sect, akin to the stultifying Puritans who raped, pillaged, starved and otherwise treated Indians as subhumans, chattel and an obtacle. To claim that their "conscience" in 1698 got the better of them is disingenuous, as any student of American Colonialims and Indian history knows. The elimination and forced emigre of these tribes was the Christian thing to do (see also De Las Casas).
The Seneca, Wampanoag, Mic Mac, Oneida and other Iriquoian tribes...still waiting for an apology. Not that they are at all beholden to accept it.
Predictably, not everyone is pleased with this post hoc apology, treating it with great skepticism. Notably, the Chairman of the Sand Hills band of the Lenape Indians,
"After 400 years, when someone says 'I'm sorry,' you say, 'Really?'..."There was some kind of uneasiness. But then you've got to accept someone's sincere apology; they said, 'We did it.' We ran you off, we killed you.' "
And this brings me to the nature of apologies. What purpose does an apology or plea for forgiveness exactly accomplish? Some, may argue that an earnest apology has to be accepted. I am not one of those people. An apology offered with no chance to actually redress the damage serves but one purpose: to assuage the conscience of the guilty party. They do not seek absolution for their own sins, rather palliation of their guilty hearts and minds...and our ancestors, who felt the Christian caress of their new neighbors, are not here to provide it. And, as descendents, we emphatically do not owe it to their progeny to make them feel better.
Some things can not be forgiven, nor should they be....
wIn addition to biological warfare, add to the ledger wholesale murder and civilian massacre....
The physical, emotional and sexual torture of children at Indian "schools"....
The planned proscription (and eventual extermination) of Native language, religion, culture...
Planned starvation and dependency of Indians through elimination of fauna and diminishment of hunting grounds...
The systemic theft of Indian Country through Allotment, broken treaties and the Reservation system.
The continued denigration and minimization of Indians as humans worthy of respect, dignity, or at the least, not being a fucking cartoon for the amusement of others...
So, no, your apology is not accepted, nor does it have to be
- Indian #3183 an Unalloted, Enrolled Member of the_______ Tribe
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