Brian Schatz: “for centuries, Native people have had everything stolen from them--their lands, their water, their language, their…”

“for centuries, Native people have had everything stolen from them--their lands, their water, their language, their children. It wasn't that long ago it was the official policy of the U.S. Government to terminate--to terminate--the existence of Tribes and to forcibly assimilate their citizens. And a big part of that unrelenting, inhumane policy was that the remains of Native ancestors and culturally significant items were also taken from them, not with permission, but by force; not discovered, but stolen on battlefields and in cemeteries, under the cover of darkness or under guise of academic research. Think about that. The U.S. Government literally stole bones. Soldiers and agents overturned graves and took whatever they could find. And these were not isolated incidents. They happened all across the country. In my home State of Hawaii, the remains of Native Hawaiians-- or ``iwi kupuna,'' as they are called--were routinely pillaged without regard for the sanctity of burials or Native Hawaiian culture. All of it was brought to some of the most venerable institutions at home and abroad to be studied like biological specimens, displayed in museum exhibits as if they are paintings on loan or squirreled away in a professor's office closet never to be seen again.…”