One of the few times I must take issue with my friend, gnu.

The maltreatment of native peoples on the North American continent is well chronicled, and its effect of the culture, customs, and pride of the people is still being felt today. I would suggest that the amount of people that will scam someone on this is actually the minor number. How does one measure the destruction of a culture, and the taking away of lands that these folks lived on for centuries? We cannot unring the bell, but a good start is simply to acknowledge the wrong publicly, as in the case of this apology, so that real reparations can begin. If a whole people have had their lives, and the lives of generations of their descendants, affected in such a way as to create the conditions we see today, then a think and caring people, a progressive people of conscience, will try and begin the repair process. No matter what your political stripe, it is easy to see the problems rampant among native peoples that are easily traceable to the racism and the treatment they received. No group of people is born with these problems. They are societal.

The Canadian government is to be commended for this step. May they follow it up with more of the right steps.

All the best,

Mick