It does because you're relying on racial identity to determine who pays and who receives rather than who stole and who was stolen from. The matter of who did what to whom is "settled" in the sense that all parties are dead.
> I don't hope for cosmic justice, I think justice is up to us humans.
What is your solution to the "stolen land" problem?
I am by no means an expert, but I think the recent SC case is probably the right approach. I don't see why the US government should not be held to the treaties they signed - I mean, the court still relies on law settled centuries ago.
And if the gov't can't hold up their end, then restitution is reasonable. However, I wouldn't restitute based on today's value just because the tribal land is Manhattan now. But it would seem fair to make them whole based on if the treaty had been fairly followed.
I did not say or imply this.
But... the US taking its treaty obligations with native peoples as seriously as it does with other nations would be a good start.
The situation is at the very least complex and will likely require a "morally impure" solution.
Yes, it would be messy and complex. International relations already are, why would intranational relations be different?
Well... aside from letting go of past injustices and instead focusing on some better future. Which isn't really a solution at all since it relies on the permanent good will of all future generations.
> Well... aside from letting go of past injustices and instead focusing on some better future.
This is a false dichotomy. I'm not suggesting attempting to change the past, of course. I am proposing we try to improve things in the future and allow ourselves to be informed by the past.