Former leader of BIA reflects on historic 'Never Again' apology

A landmark apology from the Bureau of Indian Affairs came after the White House wouldn't allow then-president Bill Clinton to apologize for the taking of the Black Hills, the former director of the agency said on Wednesday.

Clinton's visit to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, the home of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, in July 1999 was historic in itself. A sitting president hadn't been to Indian Country for decades.

That's why the Black Hills apology came up as one of the "deliverables" for the event, recalled former Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Gover, a member of the Pawnee Nation. He credited the idea to his then-deputy, Michael Anderson, a member of the Muscogee Nation.

http://www.indianz.com/News/2015/019617.asp