Apology to Indians
An Apology to Indian Peoples of the Americas
We, Poles and Polish Americans, members of this organization: the Polish-American Ethnological Society in Memory of Bronislaw Malinowski of Atlantic City, NJ, United States of America,
hereby express our sincere and profound apology to all of
Native People of the Americas
for our ancestors who, since Jamestown 1608, and other places and occasions mindlessly and with no reflection took part in the invasion of Indian Land, in its bloody conquest, in the genocide of multitudes of human beings, and in their dispossessing, enslaving and deporting under the abominably false pretext of "bringing the light of the 'true' God, and their Christian civilization".
We also apologize to Native People for currently taking advantage of the so called "fait accompli", and for establishing ourselves in the Lenapehoking, where today, tragically, only small remnants of Lenni Lenape Indians survive. And to these survivors, the Lenape People, we turn with kind request: please accept us as the humble guests in your land, and let us enjoy being your true friends. We will always be mindful of our status as intruders.
We hope through our activities we may promote greater awareness among the general population, that the Indian People, despite ages of conquest, the genocidal politics, the forced dispossession from their land, and other "politically established facts", by the ethical standards, and in our own view, will always be seen as the Rightful Owners of the Americas.
For the Polish-American Ethnological Society:
Andrzej J.R. Wala, Executive Director | Henryk Paterak, Secretary General |
Krystyna Baliszewska, Chairperson of the Board of Directors |
And thank You...
