Ben Shelly defeated New Mexico Sen. Lynda Lovejoy in Tuesday’s election, becoming the first vice president elected to the tribal presidency and dashing Lovejoy’s hopes of becoming the tribe’s first female president. Shelly had 33,422 votes to Lovejoy’s 29,980 votes with just one precinct outstanding.

Shelly was ahead much of the night – a stark contrast from the primary election when he gained less than half of the votes that Lovejoy did. Shelly picked up endorsements from most of the other primary candidates, and his campaign said the momentum grew.

“I’m very happy,” Shelly said late Tuesday with a crowd roaring behind him. “I’ve been campaigning, and this is what I wanted. With the help of the people and their votes, I got it.”
Lovejoy did not concede defeat Tuesday night, and her campaign said she would ask for a recount, partly over reports that some people weren’t able to vote because of a lack of ballots.

“She has the will to go on and she won’t give up,” said campaign spokesman Robert Felson. “She feels that with the present administration, it’s too close.” The race was Lovejoy’s second bid for the presidency. She lost four years ago to current Navajo president Joe Shirley Jr., who was limited to two consecutive terms in office.

Shelly has said his 16 years as a tribal lawmaker and four years as vice president would ensure stability in the tribal government that has been mired in political conflict. He and Rex Lee Jim will focus on government accountability, creating jobs and education, he said. He was confident that the conspiracy, fraud and theft charges against him would be dismissed, saying he’s no crook.

Criminal complaints allege that Shelly unlawfully took $8,850 in tribal discretionary funds to benefit himself and his family while he served on the Tribal Council. He has pleaded not guilty and said the money was for legitimate hardships. He’s scheduled to be in court again just days after he’s sworn into office. Jim faces conspiracy and theft charges but has not been arraigned.

Shawnevan Dale, who voted for Shelly, said the outcome of the race was a sign that Navajos still hold strong to tradition that can be interpreted to mean that women should not be president. Of the criminal charges, he said, “the traditional value is that people do make mistakes but you’re not supposed to criticize people on those mistakes because it could happen to you.”

Tribal member Coda Yazzie said tradition unfortunately was used to wage a campaign against Lovejoy, who he supported. He said the charges against Shelly are an indication of what type of leader he’ll be. “In my heart, it seems like it’s going to be the same thing, but he can prove me wrong,” said the 25-year-old Yazzie who lives in Dallas.

Lovejoy remains in the New Mexico Legislature. She campaigned for the tribal presidency on a platform of accountability and transparency. She said the Navajo Nation needed fresh ideas and change, which wouldn’t be accomplished by longtime tribal politicians like Shelly. Shelly briefly served as tribal president last year when the Tribal Council put Shirley on paid leave. The tribe’s court reinstated Shirley after it ruled the council acted outside its authority.

Navajos also voted for lawmakers on a new 24-member Tribal Council on Tuesday. The 88-member council drastically was cut in a special election last December that Shirley spearheaded as a way to reform the government.

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This map, with an improved color scheme, replaces the last Nez Perce National Historic Trail map which was last revised in 1995. The map, which was produced on a “plastic paper,” sells for $10 at Forest Service and National Park Service offices and online through Discover Your Northwest, the National Forest Store and the USGS Store.

An electronic version of the map is available on the trail’s Web site.

One side of the map provides visitors with an overview of the entire trail, including information on modern day travel routes and sites to visit along the trail.

The reverse side of the map gives a glimpse back in time and shows how the region looked in 1877. This side, done in shaded relief, not only shows the route followed by the Nez Perce people during the Flight of 1877, but also shows the boundaries of land traditionally used by the Nez Perce and the subsequent changes brought about by the treaties of 1855 and 1863.

This side of the map also shows the routes used by the U.S. Army in its pursuit of the non-treaty Nez Perce during the summer of 1877.

“This route was used in its entirety only once. However, component trails and roads that made up the route bore generations of use prior to and after the 1877 flight of the non-treaty Nez Perce,” said Trail Administrator Sandi McFarland. “The trail is sacred ground to many people and we hope this new map will enhance the experience of those visiting this region and encourage them to learn more about all facets of the trail.”

The map also shows the exile of the non-treaty Nez Perce to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and Indian Territory in Oklahoma along with the story of Chief Red Heart’s band, who was captured and held captive at Fort Vancouver in Washington Territory until the spring of 1877.

The Nez Perce flight of 1877 symbolizes the dramatic collision of cultures which continues to shape the west and its people. Forced to abandon hopes for a peaceful move to the Lapwai reservation, the Nez Perce chiefs saw flight to Canada as their last promise for peace. The flight of the Nez Perce began on June 15, 1877. Pursued by the U.S. Army, they intended initially to seek safety with their Crow allies on the plains to the east.

Their desperate and circuitous route as they tried to escape the pursuing white forces is now called the Nez Perce National Historic Trail.

“Staff from the U.S. Forest Service’s Northern Region cartography spent many hours ensuring the historic accuracy of this map,” said Ray Backstrom, supervisory cartographer. “We wanted to make sure that this map would not only give visitors to the trail a view of this region in 1877, but that it could also serve as an educational tool for those studying this significant event in Western history.”

The map also features the photography of Northwest artist Harold Pfeiffer.

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A spectrum of artists, educators, writers, museum professionals and community leaders have endorsed a proposal to build a cultural center that celebrates the history and culture of Puget Sound’s First People.

Supporters include:

Chief Seattle Club, Evergreen Longhouse, Potlatch Fund and The Duwamish also endorsed the proposal. An op ed piece appeared Aug. 26 in the Seattle Times.

Proposed by a group of Native and non-Native community members, the Northwest Native Cultural Center will be a permanent, centrally located venue that uses displays, programs and performing arts to tell the story of the Coast Salish people. The facility will also act as a resource center, directing visitors to other Native facilities in the area, such as Daybreak Star, Duwamish Longhouse and Suquamish Museum. NNCC would not duplicate the focus of these other Native facilities but would enhance and expand the overall visitor experience with broader programming and displays steeped in the culture and history of the region.

The proposal responds to Seattle Center’s Century 21 Master Plan and the center’s 50th anniversary celebration, scheduled for 2012. Unlike several of the other options proposed, exhibitions at the NNCC will be free and open to the public. The authentic displays, programming and cultural performances will help the city capitalize on the growing national trend for cultural tourism experiences, as well as provide an educational resource for regional school groups and families.

“Seattle Center is an ideal spot for a Northwest Native Cultural Center,” said Roger Fernandes, Lower Elwha Klallam, a Native artist and storyteller. “It will be located on Duwamish ancestral land and recognize the indigenous people of Seattle. The real history of Seattle did not begin with the Denny Party landing at Alki Point but includes the stories of the Native people of the land. Visitors will see that Native cultures and people have not vanished, but are still alive, active and vibrant.”

The main focus of the Northwest Native Cultural Center will be on the Coast Salish tribes, but other Northwest Native artists will be featured, along with changing demonstrations of carving, weaving, basketry, dance and storytelling. A stage and seating area will accommodate festivals and performances, and a gift shop and café will highlight indigenous arts, crafts and food.

A cedar grove and interpretative garden will illustrate how Northwest Natives used regional plants for food, medicine, tools and shelter. A children’s interpretive garden, water feature and traditional fire pit complete the outdoor space.

Noted architect Johnpaul Jones has joined the team to help conceptualize the cultural center. Jones led the design team that created the National Museum of the American Indian, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

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As a child, Chester Cayou experienced the abuses of the residential school system. As a World War II Army draftee, he witnessed the brutality of war.

Yet, he never lost faith in the capacity of humankind to love. He saw it in his culture, in everyday expressions of caring, in commitment and hard work to meet the needs of others.

There were acts of compassion and courage that inspired him – inspired him as much as the natural beauty of the islands from which he hailed. Like that morning on the battlefield, when he couldn’t move his legs because of exposure to the cold, and his buddies carried him to safety as enemy troops advanced into the area.

He was widely known for his teachings, particularly to young people, about the importance of loving, caring and sharing with one another. He often shared those teachings when he greeted canoe families to Swinomish during the annual Canoe Journey.

His teachings were adopted as the theme – “Loving, Caring and Sharing Together” – of the 2011 Canoe Journey, which will be hosted by Swinomish. And that was how Chester Cayou was remembered Aug. 31 at his funeral, which filled the La Conner High School gymnasium to capacity.

“Your life was full of loving deeds, forever thoughtful of our special needs,” the memorial program read. “Today and tomorrow, all our lives through, we will always love and cherish you.”

Cayou, whose traditional name was Qw-Tee-Sa-Luq, passed away in his Swinomish home Aug. 27, 15 days after his 88th birthday. He had been in declining health and had a stroke.

Prayer service was Aug. 30 in the Swinomish Gymnasium; the funeral was the next day at the high school. Interment followed at the Swinomish cemetery.

Pallbearers included Swinomish Senator Leon John, Tulalip Chairman Mel Sheldon, and Tulalip Councilman Glen Gobin. There were eight pallbearers, 14 honorary pallbearers, and a Veterans Honor Guard from Lummi, Nooksack, Swinomish, Tulalip and Upper Skagit. Also in attendance: British Columbia Lt. Gov. Steven Point, the first First Nations person appointed to that position.

“Chet Cayou was one in a million,” Swinomish Chairman Brian Cladoosby said. “He served his country and his people his entire life. He was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge, not just about the Coast Salish lifeways and language, but also carried a boots-on-the-ground perspective of Europe in the last years of World War II.

“Generations of Swinomish kids grew up calling him ‘Grandpa Chet.’ We will miss him dearly. … No words adequately express the loss felt by the tribe, of this honorable World War II veteran.”

Senator Cayou grew up on Stuart Island, the son of General Scott Cayou, Lummi/Saanich/French; and Sara Jack, Saanich.

Senator Cayou’s grandfather, Louis Cayou (1834-1900), was one of the first non-Native settlers of Orcas Island. His uncle, Henry Cayou (1869-1959), was one of the islands’ most successful fishermen, served on the San Juan County Commission and ran for state Legislature.

He attended a residential school on Kuper Island, reef-netted in the San Juans, sacked lime at Roche Harbor Lime and Cement Co., and served as an Army paratrooper in Europe during World War II.

He arrived at Normandy Beach shortly after the D-Day invasion, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and served for six months in the occupation of Berlin. In 2004, he received the Jubilee of Liberty Medal, awarded by Congress on behalf of the French government, on the 60th anniversary of the Normandy invasion.

After military service, he fished, worked in a shake mill, built campsites and trails for Thousand Trails campground and resort, maintained state parks in the area, and planted trees on the Swinomish reservation, where he and his late wife, the former Velma Stone, made their home and raised their family.

In 1984, he was elected for the first time to a five-year term on the Swinomish Senate, or council. He was chairman of the Fish and Game Commission for nearly two decades, chairman of the Veterans Committee, a longtime member of the Budget and Personnel committees, and a member of the Law and Order Committee.

He was an honorary Swinomish police officer, and was active in the Swinomish Smokehouse, Swinomish Veterans and the VFW.

In March 2009, he was unopposed for a sixth Senate term. At the time, he was 86 but tireless in his desire to make a difference in the Swinomish economy, environment and daily life.

“I wish to further my position with the Swinomish community as a Swinomish senator,” he told the Swinomish magazine Kee-Yoks during his campaign. “I have served on the Senate for 25 years and have participated in achieving great accomplishments for our tribe. I feel that my experience and knowledge will continue to support the improvements for our community for our future generations to come.”

Even after declining health kept him from regularly attending meetings, Swinomish leaders consulted him regarding issues of the day.

At a dinner Aug. 29 in the Swinomish gymnasium, Sheldon, the Tulalip chairman, talked of Senator Cayou’s sense of humor, his cultural work in the region, and his work as a legislator. Because of his cultural knowledge, varied experiences, and knowledge of the region’s indigenous history, Senator Cayou was often sought out by researchers and writers. He shared information about the region’s marine health for an award-winning documentary, “March Point.”

Father Patrick Twohy, who knew Senator Cayou since 1985, said he was like a giant cedar in the forest “to which we’d go to experience love without any limit.”

“He was truly a beautiful and kind man. All felt in his presence the kindness and wisdom that had been passed down among his people for thousands of generations. He absorbed the best teachings from his parents and grandparents and lived them out.”

Former Lummi Chairman Darrell Hillaire said Senator Cayou was “the last of his kind. He was a leader of the Swinomish people on the council. He was also a fisherman, leader of his family, a leader on the Smokehouse floor.”

Hillaire said Senator Cayou was, in each role, consistent in his personality and in his mission: “To teach, with humility, that here’s a better way.”

Senator Cayou is survived by his son, Chester Cayou Jr. (Polly); daughters, Tina Cayou, Regina Bob, Ina Cayou (Joe), Sophie Bailey (Joe); son, Dale Jones (Barb); sister, Susan Billy; and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in passing by his wife, Velma; sons, Fred and Donnie; grandchildren, Wayne Bob Jr., Cassandra Cayou, and Curtis Bailey; and his parents and two brothers.

His daughter, Sophie Bailey, is a member of the Swinomish Senate. His granddaughter, Aurelia Washington, is chairwoman of the 2011 Canoe Journey.

Richard Walker is a correspondent reporting from San Juan Island, Wash. Contact him at rmwalker@rockisland.com.

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Warmer still, scientists say, lies ahead.

Through 10 years of global boom and bust, of breakneck change around the planet, of terrorism, war and division, all people everywhere under that warming sun faced one threat together: the buildup of greenhouse gases, the rise in temperatures, the danger of a shifting climate, of drought, weather extremes and encroaching seas, of untold damage to the world humanity has created for itself over millennia.

As the decade neared its close, the United Nations gathered presidents and premiers of almost 100 nations for a “climate summit” to take united action, to cut back sharply on the burning of coal and other fossil fuels.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told them they had “a powerful opportunity to get on the right side of history” at a year-ending climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Again, however, disunity might keep the world’s nations on this side of making historic decisions.

“Deep down, we know that you are not really listening,” the Maldives’ Mohamed Nasheed told fellow presidents at September’s summit.

Nasheed’s tiny homeland, a sprinkling of low-lying islands in the Indian Ocean, will be one of the earliest victims of seas rising from heat expansion and melting glaciers. On remote islets of Papua New Guinea, on Pacific atolls, on bleak Arctic shores, other coastal peoples in the 2000s were already making plans, packing up, seeking shelter.

The warming seas were growing more acid, too, from absorbing carbon dioxide, the biggest greenhouse gas in an overloaded atmosphere. Together, warmer waters and acidity will kill coral reefs and imperil other marine life – from plankton at the bottom of the food chain, to starfish and crabs, mussels and sea urchins.

Over the decade’s first nine years, global temperatures averaged 0.6 degrees Celsius (1.1 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the 1951-1980 average, NASA reported. Temperatures rose faster in the far north than anyplace else on Earth.

The decade’s final three summers melted Arctic sea ice more than ever before in modern times. Greenland’s gargantuan ice cap was pouring 3 percent more meltwater into the sea each year. Every summer’s thaw reached deeper into the Arctic permafrost, threatening to unlock vast amounts of methane, a global-warming gas.

Less ice meant less sunlight reflected, more heat absorbed by the Earth. More methane escaping the tundra meant more warming, more thawing, more methane released.

At the bottom of the world, late in the decade, International Polar Year research found that Antarctica, too, was warming. Floating ice shelves fringing its coast weakened, some breaking away, allowing the glaciers behind them to push ice faster into the rising oceans.

On six continents the glaciers retreated through the 2000s, shrinking future water sources for countless millions of Indians, Chinese, South Americans. The Great Lakes of Africa were shrinking, too, from higher temperatures, evaporation and drought. Across the temperate zones, flowers bloomed earlier, lakes froze later, bark beetles bored their destructive way northward through warmer forests. In the Arctic, surprised Eskimos spotted the red breasts of southern robins.

In the 2000s, all this was happening faster than anticipated, scientists said. So were other things: By late in the decade, global emissions of carbon dioxide matched the worst case among seven scenarios laid down in 2001 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the U.N. scientific network formed to peer into climate’s future. Almost 29 billion tons of the gas poured skyward annually, 23 percent more than at the decade’s start.

By year-end 2008, the 2000s already included eight of the 10 warmest years on record. By 2060, that trajectory could push temperatures a dangerous 4 degrees C (7 degrees F) or more higher than preindustrial levels, British scientists said.

Early in the decade, the president of the United States, the biggest emitter of the foul gases, blamed “incomplete” science for the U.S. stand against rolling back emissions, as other industrial nations were trying to do. As the decade wore on and emissions grew, American reasoning leaned more toward the economic.

By 2009, with a new president and Congress, Washington seemed ready to talk. But in the front ranks of climate research – where they scale the glaciers, drill into ocean sediments, monitor a changing Earth through a web of satellite eyes – scientists feared they were running out of time.

Before the turn of the last century, with slide rule, pencil and months of tedious calculation, Svante Arrhenius was the first to show that carbon dioxide would warm the planet – in 3,000 years. The brilliant Swede had not foreseen the 20th-century explosion in use of fossil fuels.

Today their supercomputers tell his scientific heirs a much more urgent story: To halt and reverse that explosion of emissions, to head off a planetary climate crisis, the 10 years that dawn this Jan. 1 will be the fateful years, the final chance, the last decade.

–––

EDITOR’S NOTE: Charles J. Hanley has covered climate issues for The Associated Press since the Kyoto conference of 1997.

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“The successful completion of this vital project reflects the concerns we all share – nationally, regionally and locally – about the critical energy challenges facing communities across the United States,” Salazar said at the dedication ceremony near Heber, Arizona.  “The partnership that built Arizona’s first commercial-scale wind energy project demonstrates a common desire to reduce our dangerous dependence on  foreign oil by using our domestic renewable resources to meet a larger share of our energy needs.  This strategy will also help us  reduce greenhouse gas emissions to address climate change, while creating clean energy jobs around the nation.”

The Dry Lake Wind Power Project is located on a combination of the public lands managed by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, Arizona State Trust Lands, and private lands on the Rocking Chair Ranch in Navajo County.  Phase I will generate 64 megawatts of wind energy with 30 wind turbines.  When fully constructed, the project could provide up to 378 megawatts of wind energy from 100 to 200 turbines.

In addition to Interior agencies, the project partners included the Arizona State Land Department, Rocking Chair Ranch, Navajo County, Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation, Iberdrola Renewables — and the Salt River Project, which has agreed to buy the power produced here. Their efforts were recognized at the dedication by the Department of Energy’s presentation of its Carpe Ventem (Seize the Wind) Award.

“We stand here today, united in our belief that wind energy will play a role in both Arizona’s and our Nation’s green energy future,” said Salazar, who noted that Arizona has set statewide renewable energy goals.  The Arizona Corporation Commission’s Environmental Portfolio Standard requires utilities to procure 15 percent of the state’s electricity from renewables by 2025.

Salazar noted that President Obama has encouraged the expanded use of renewable energy and launched initiatives to spur the development of these resources on U.S. public lands, most of which Interior manages. Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the President and Congress made $41 million available to facilitate a  rapid and responsible move to large-scale production of renewables on public lands.

“At Interior we have made the production, development, and delivery of renewable energy one of our highest priorities,” Salazar said.  “I have directed our agencies to work collaboratively with other federal agencies, States, local communities and private landowners to encourage the timely and responsible development of renewable energy and associated transmission, while protecting and enhancing the Nation’s water, wildlife, cultural, and other natural resources.”

Interior has set aside 1,000 square miles of public lands in 24 Solar Energy Study Areas, for example, that it is evaluating for solar energy development across the West.   If developed, these tracts could generate nearly 100,000 megawatts of solar electricity. We have established renewable energy coordinating offices and teams in 10 western states to expedite development.

Salazar offered a special note of thanks to private landowner Bill Elkins, of the Rocking Chair Ranch, who has been very supportive and actually was the person who proposed the area for this Project.

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“The Department of Energy is committed to partnering with tribal communities to help them meet their energy needs through clean energy and energy efficiency technologies,” said Secretary Chu. “Clean energy projects will create jobs and economic opportunities on tribal lands, while reducing energy use and increasing energy security for Indian Country.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act greatly expanded opportunities for cooperation between the Department of Energy and Indian Country with the goal of working together to promote energy development and energy efficiency.  Under the Recovery Act, the Department has made more than $35 million in direct grants for energy efficiency projects available to all 562 federally-recognized Indian tribes and 12 Alaska Regional Corporations, and provides funding that empowers tribes to make strategic clean energy investments in their communities.  With these funds, tribal governments will conduct a wide variety of projects, including: weatherization, energy efficiency audits and retrofits, transportation programs, financial incentive programs for efficiency improvements, installing renewable energy technologies on municipal buildings, developing an energy efficiency and conservation strategy, and educating tribal residents on ways to save energy in their own homes.  The Department expects to award another $29 million in Recovery Act funding over the next few months.

For example, the Resighini Rancheria will use  Energy Efficiency and Community Block grant funding from the Recovery Act to provide financial incentives to tribal homeowners to change out old, inefficient household appliances with energy efficient appliances, while the Cherokee Nation is planning to use Recovery Act funds to establish a Home Energy Audit program that will provide tribal citizens with the information needed to make their homes more energy efficient, creating local tribal jobs and yielding substantial energy savings.

In addition to the Recovery Act funding, the Department has also awarded more than $13 million for new clean energy projects on tribal lands this year.  This funding will be matched with other additional public and private investments to support more than $40 million in total projects. Under the Tribal Energy Program, 36 Native American tribes and Alaska villages received competitive awards to help develop and deploy a range of clean energy projects that will advance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in Indian Country.  For example, the funding will support projects to expand tribal wind and hydroelectric power generation, improve building and lighting efficiency, and implement new training programs for weatherization workers.

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The tribe was among more than 120 recipients in dozens of states that were awarded $338 million in grants by the U.S. Department of Energy at the end of October to jump-start the domestic geothermal energy industry. Maps developed by agency show potential across much of the West, including a large portion of New Mexico.

Steve Blodgett, director of Jemez Pueblo’s resource protection office, said Monday he was hoping to get the funding earlier so work could start in January. Now, he said, it looks like the formal award could take several months to get to the tribe.

“They haven’t given us any time frame. They’re basically saying we’ll get around to it when we get around to it,” Blodgett said.

Stephanie Mueller, a DOE spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., said Monday that the agency expects to award the money for the geothermal projects soon. But before any funds are given, Mueller said the agency confirms all aspects of the project and negotiates a contract to ensure that the project can be completed.

The process ensures “the highest degree of accountability” for taxpayer funds, she said.

The energy department awarded the grants in different categories, from exploratory efforts such as the one at Jemez Pueblo to a nearly $25 million demonstration project in Oregon that will test technology that has the potential to expand geothermal energy production beyond traditional hot spots. The grants are aimed at identifying and developing new geothermal resources and reducing the risks associated with geothermal development.

Blodgett said the agency has prioritized the grants based on their categories, and the pueblo’s $5 million grant is not among the top priorities.

The Jemez project will test new seismic imaging techniques, as well as a new chemical tracing method developed by researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Utah. It is expected to generate six or seven temporary jobs.

The DOE has said the projects represent a dramatic expansion of the U.S. geothermal industry and will create or save thousands of jobs in drilling, exploration and operation of geothermal power facilities.

The tribe plans to drill at least two 3,000-foot-deep wells to see how much hot water is available beneath the reservation. The tribe hopes the resource is significant enough to develop a power plant. If not, it’s considering aquaculture, a physical therapy center or a spa.

The tribe had wanted to get the necessary geologic mapping and seismic studies done before farmers began preparing their fields for the growing season. Much of the surveys would take place along the Jemez River, which courses through the pueblo and along its agricultural fields.

Jemez is known for its chile and corn crops, which are important sources of income for the tribe.

“The reality is if we have to wait, the irrigation season here starts mid-March and it ends around the first of November and during that time farmers are out in the fields working. But we’ll just have to work through it whenever we get the formal award in place,” Blodgett said.

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Buried in the billions of dollars of spending on new weapons and other items in the 2010 defense appropriations bill is a little-noticed expression of regret over how the U.S. had in the past used its power.

The bill contains an “apology to Native Peoples of the United States.”

The multi-year effort to pass the language was bipartisan: Sens. Sam Brownback (R., Kan.) and Byron Dorgan (D., N.D.) led the campaign, which began in 2004. President Barack Obama signed the language, apparently the first official apology to native americans, into law on Monday.

Congress has previously approved apologies to Japanese-Americans interned during World War II, and to native Hawaiians for the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. The House and Senate recently have passed different resolutions apologizing for slavery in the U.S.

The just-approved language says, in part, that “the United States, acting through Congress…recognizes that there have been years of official depredations, ill-conceived policies, and the breaking of covenants by the Federal Government regarding indian tribes.”

The U.S. “apologizes on behalf of the people of the United States to all Native Peoples for the many instances of violence, maltreatment, and neglect inflicted on Native Peoples by citizens of the United States,” the statement says, adding that it is committed “to move toward a brighter future where all the people of this land live reconciled as brothers and sisters, and harmoniously steward and protect this land together.”

The statement adds, however, that it isn’t intended to support any lawsuit claims against the government (and there are still plenty).Comment:  So far I think this is the only article reporting on the long-awaited apology. Burying it in the defense appropriations bill has rendered it inconsequential if not invisible. This must be one of the least heralded apologies from a government to its people in history.

For more on the US apology, see Trying Again for US Apology and Apology Would Be Inspiring. For other nations’ apologies, see Canada Says It’s Sorry and Australia Apologizes to Aborigines.

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Finally, the department will set aside $60 million in a Fund for American Indians wishing to pursue post-secondary vocational education or a higher education.

At the Fund, we could not be more thrilled. This means a chance for many more American Indian people to earn a higher education and brings hope for them for a better future.

To read details of the settlement visit Cobell v. Salazar.

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