In 1763, a small vigilante group, dubbed "the Paxton Boys," raided a peaceful enclave of Conestoga Indians, killing all but 14 people who escaped for protection to Governor John Penn in Lancaster. The rural Paxton men claimed that the Conestoga, or Susquehannock, Indians were providing aid and intelligence to the enemy: Ottawa leader, Pontiac, nearly 200 miles to the west. While the Paxton Boys' claim may have lacked validity, the fear and bigotry that led to the scapegoating of the Susquehannocks was very real. The Paxton Boys marched to Lancaster, where they broke into the safe house, brutally murdering the remaining innocents.

This anecdote is indicative of the Native American experience during the expansion era of the 18th and 19th centuries, though it is not fully encompassing of all factors. Disease, settler relations, government policy, and military action all played a part in the decimation of Native peoples.

In the genocide of the American Indian—as with any commensurate injustice—dominant society has developed powerful rituals of forgetfulness and justification of mass murder, coalescing in a morally purifying process of collective amnesia in order to maintain moral and social superiority in the face of uncomfortable truth.

Currently in the House and Senate there are three bills that attempt to ameliorate the historical and continued injustice toward Native peoples, lift our prevailing social amnesia, and provide hope for reconciliation and healing.

The first, Senate Joint Resolution 15, was introduced by Senators Sam Brownback (R-Kans.), Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), and Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), and has 10 cosponsors. The bill seeks to "acknowledge a long history of official depredations and ill-conceived policies by the United States Government regarding Indian tribes and offer an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States." The bill is just that: an apology. If the Senate can take this initial step, it could help pave the way for more meaningful and substantial reform in upcoming sessions of Congress. Does S.J. Res. 15 give any recompense for historical and current injustice? No. But it would mark a hopeful first step toward justice and healing for all nations involved.

Secondly, Native Americans have a shorter life expectancy due to the relative inaccessibility of basic health care, mental health and rehabilitation facilities. The Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA), S. 1057, seeks to reconcile this disparity in health status and health care services between Native Americans and the broader society. To do so, the IHCIA proposes an array of reforms with the goal of raising the health status of Indians by 2010, and supporting Native communities in establishing their own priorities to reflect specific unmet needs. S. 1057, introduced by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and a companion bill, H.R. 5312, sponsored by Rep. Don Young (D-Alaska) in the House, have 11 and 27 cosponsors respectively.

Third, the Indian Trust Settlement, S. 1439, introduced by Sen. McCain and cosponsored by Sen. Dorgan, attempts to correct more than a century of government mismanagement of Indian trust funds. The debacle stems from the Dawes Act of 1887, where the government played banker for the revenues of individual land trusts. Through a host of negligent accounting practices, much of this money was never paid out, effectively amounting to billions of dollars stolen from Native Americans. McCain's bill gives hope for some degree of justice in this matter.

In the hope of healing, collective remembering—not collective forgetting—must take place. Because of this, and in conjunction with the legislation mentioned above, it is integral that we model—both socially and organizationally—perpetual, humble solidarity with historically and currently oppressed peoples.

Advocates are encouraged to contact their senators and representative about this valuable legislation.