North Dakota Legislature: Indians make good mascots, but we don’t care about their language, education, nor do we want to talk to them
Here is a post that reveals the North Dakota Legislature’s views o
n Indians. It seems American Indians in North Dakota are good for being the flagship university’s mascot. At the same time, North Dakota state lawmakers choose to nix language revitalization programs, Indian education director and consultation with tribes. Call it what you will. People tend to go nuts when you suggest they might be a little racist, but it seems safe to say there are some racists making laws in North Dakota. Read on:
Legislative Update
From JoNell Bakke
District 43, Grand Forks, ND
2011 session Volume 1 Number 6
MY THOUGHTSThis week it seems that the Republicans just keep hanging themselves on their stupidity. However, no one ever pays attention, so they get away with it over and over again. When will the people of this state start holding them accountable for what is happening in Bismarck? Here is just one example.
This week, I was listening to the senate floor session and SB2239 was introduced. It was a bill that was related to the preservation of American Indian languages. It asked for an appropriation of $150,000 to continue the work of recording and preserving the native languages before all the elders have died and the language is lost forever. It failed on a party line vote with all Republican but one voting no and all Democrats voting to support the bill.
Next up was SB2130 which was related to providing an appropriation for funding a director of Indian education. This position was funded by the federal government 8 years ago and then was cut. The state did not continue to fund the position. The current graduation rate at the reservation schools is around 50% and there is no one in the Department of Public Instruction who works with the reservation schools. This position and related office expenses would have cost the state approximately $194,327. It failed on a party line vote with 4 Republicans joining Democrats to vote yes and the rest of the Republicans voting no.
Then up comes SB2353 for a vote. This would have provided for state and political subdivision consultation and coordination with Indian tribal governments. There was no appropriation with this one. Apparently we don’t want to consult or coordinate with the tribes either as it failed on a straight party line vote.
Then in the House, the bill that would allow the legislature to overrule the Board of Higher Education and NCAA and keep the SIOUX nickname passed. So….it appears to me that the Republicans feel that they should be able to use the Native American name but don’t think it is necessary to support legislation that would preserve the heritage of the Native American culture, improve the education of their children or improve the quality of life on the reservation. These bills would have cost less than $340,000 which the state can well afford, given the extra 40 million that was found in the budget surplus. Seems pretty hypocritical to me.
Jodi Rave