WHEREAS, In 1850, one of the first acts performed by the Legislature was to prevent Native Americans from accessing and participating in the legal and political system by prohibiting them from voting, serving as jurors, or serving as attorneys; and

WHEREAS, In 1850, the Legislature also essentially allowed the enslavement of Native Americans by legalizing custody of Native American minors, and in 1860, the Legislature went further by legalizing the indentured servitude of any Native American; and

WHEREAS, The State of California collaborated with vigilantes and the federal government in forcibly transferring Native American children from one tribe to another, which fractured native families; and

WHEREAS, In 1851, California Governor Peter Burnett declared that a war of extermination will continue to be waged ... until the Indian race becomes extinct; and

WHEREAS, Multiple governors of California authorized at least 24 state militia expeditions between 1850 and 1861, which killed an estimated 1,340 Native Americans, demolished Native American villages and agricultural centers, and displaced many tribes from the California locales they had inhabited for thousands of years; and

WHEREAS, The state-sponsored killing of Native Americans also enabled and encouraged vigilantes to kill at least 6,460 Native Americans in California between 1846 and 1873; and

WHEREAS, Californias native population fell dramatically, from nearly 150,000 in 1846 to 30,000 in 1870; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature acknowledges that the State of California engaged in atrocities against Native Americans within the state, and profusely apologizes to the Native Americans in California for these inexcusable actions; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the various Native American tribes that reside within the State of California, the Governor of the State of California, and to the author for appropriate distribution.

ACR 202: Native American atrocities.

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