California governor formally apologizes to state's Native Americans for 'genocide' of their ancestors

Gov. Gavin Newsom (fourth from left) read the apology while meeting with tribal leaders on the future site of the California Indian Heritage Center in Sacramento. (Associated Press photo by Rich Pedroncelli)

California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order Tuesday formally apologizing for the state's history of violence against the state's Native Americans. "The order represents an apology to Native people for the government’s slaughter of their ancestors, family separations and forced servitude, according to his office," Sophia Bollag reports for The Sacramento Bee.

"It’s called a genocide," Newsom said at a ceremony announcing the state’s apology. "No other way to describe it... I’m sorry on behalf of the state of California," Bollag reports. The ceremony took place at the site of the future California Indian Heritage Center in Sacramento.

According to the 2010 Census, California has about 270,000 Native Americans, the largest such population of any state, and about 12 percent of the nation's indigenous population. About half of California's Native Americans live in large urban areas after the federal government forced them to relocate, but the rest are scattered around the state, many in rural areas and reservations, according to California Courts.

"We can never undo the wrongs inflicted on the peoples who have lived on this land that we now call California since time immemorial, but we can work together to build bridges, tell the truth about our past and begin to heal deep wounds," Newsom said in a written statement. He "also announced a new commission called the Truth and Healing Council that his office says will allow Native Americans to clarify the historical record of the state’s violence against them," Bollag reports.