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SALT LAKE CITY — Do most people understand the hardships Native Americans have had to go through? One Utah lawmakers believes too many people don't, so he's supporting a resolution that may change that.
If District 18 Sen. Stuart Reid gets what he's hoping for, a new museum focused on the struggles of Native Americans will be built in Washington D.C. He's sponsoring Senate Joint Resolution One, in which Utah lawmakers will call on the U.S. Congress to fund the National American Indian Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. "I would hope that the people of Utah would be more than willing to lead in calling for this," he said.
The children of Native Americans are still living with the impact of the atrocities committed years ago, Reid said. He said members of Native American tribes deal with higher rates of suicide, drug and alcohol abuse and they have higher percentages of high school dropouts.
"Let's start first with recognizing there were atrocities committed against the American Indian and that these tribes are, to this day, living the impacts of these atrocities," he said.
Reid believes the proposed museum could go a long way in teaching non-Native Americans all the struggles tribes had to go through, and possibly prevent these problems from happening again.
Let's start with recognizing there were atrocities committed against the American Indian and that these tribes are, to this day, living the impacts of these atrocities.
–Sen. Stuart Reid
Why is he asking for support from other state lawmakers if the museum will ultimately be funded through the U.S. Congress? He said if the state passes the resolution supporting it, national lawmakers may be more prone to pay for it.
"It's incumbent upon states to help their congressional delegations recognize that this is a problem [and] it needs to be acknowledged," he explained.
Reid said he's confident he'll get the support he's looking for from state officials. The Utah Native American Legislative Liaison Committee unanimously supported the resolution.
"It'll be sent to the leadership of Congress, it'll be sent to every state legislature, and it'll be sent to the President of the United States, the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Secretary of the Interior," Reid said.
