AS we have had reason to note before, over time state and federal statutes become cluttered with laws that remain on the books long after they've outlived their usefulness.

In most cases, those no-longer-enforced and obsolete laws may be pointless, but they do no real harm. Yet there are examples of outdated laws whose continued existence is an insult to many Americans and a reminder of past prejudice. Such is the case with many federal laws relating to American Indians, which is why an effort to repeal those laws deserves praise.

The Repealing Existing Substandard Provisions Encouraging Conciliation with Tribes (RESPECT) Act, filed by Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and co-authored by Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, would repeal several outdated and even offensive federal laws regarding American Indians. A similar repeal effort was attempted last year, but the measure didn't make it all the way through the legislative process.

Review the laws being repealed and you'll think you're reading something from the Old West, not federal statutes in 2017. One existing federal law declares that the consent of parents, guardians or next of kin “shall not be required” to place Indian youth in an “Indian Reform School.”