Those first steps do mean something to some of us. My grandmother, Luella Seelye, went to residential boarding school. She wanted to hear an apology from an American president, but the toddler was still crawling when she passed away. I think we should encourage those first tentative steps. We should ask for more. Don’t stop there. Across the country tribes are working, investing, praying, building and rebuilding their communities, culture and language revitalization efforts and more. Restorative justice is long overdue. For second steps, let’s fund those Indigenous language revitalization efforts, strengthen and support Native nations, and continue the heroic strides made to disrupt systemic poverty.
Instead of looking at the apology for what it isn’t, we should look at the apology for what it is — an opportunity to set a new tone for our country and start a healing journey. I understand Native folks who want things to move faster and differently. But it won’t lead to healing to take 500 years of shut-up culture and answer it with retorts of “shut up.” Nobody can or should be compelled to accept an apology if they don’t feel it; but nobody should be compelled to reject one if they do. It will serve everyone best if we engage with reconciliation in spite of the impulse to pull away. And non-Native folks will need to push through fear and shame to lean in with us. The only way through this is together.
