April 30, 2014 11:50 AM UTC

Sen. Hodge Criticized For Native American "Reparations" Remarks

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• by: Colorado Pols

A report from Indian Country Today on the unexpected death yesterday of a bill to offer qualifying Native Americans in-state tuition is raising eyebrows–not simply because the bill died, but due to the comments of a Democratic state senator principally responsible for killing it:

A bill in Colorado that would have provided prospective Native American college students with in-state tuition died Tuesday in the Senate Appropriations Committee. Hours after the bill was defeated by a 3-4 vote, State Senator Mary Hodge – the only Democrat to vote against it – told ICTMN that the potential cost of the bill was too great and that there was an issue of “reparations.”

“I don’t know how long we can make reparations [to Native Americans] or how far we’d have to go back,” she said. “I guess my point is we can’t fix what we did.” [Pols emphasis]

House Bill 1124, sponsored by State Representative Joseph Salazar, was to provide a Native American of a federally recognized tribe with resident status when applying to a state-supported institution if the student’s tribe had “historical ties” to what is now Colorado territory. “Often due to circumstances beyond their control, many American Indian tribes and members of American Indian tribes have been forced to relocate across state lines, far from their historical home places,” the bill reads.

“Those people are already gone,” Sen. Hodge said. [Pols emphasis] “At what point do we say ‘we’re sorry’ and move on? And I don’t know if we’re there yet.”

There are questions about the cost of implementing this legislation, though sponsor Rep. Joe Salazar says that the $5 million cost of the bill wouldn't have come from the state budget. But Sen. Mary Hodge's complaints about "reparations" and how "those people are already gone" in reference to Native Americans displaced from what is now Colorado by white settlement go offensively beyond the scope of an appropriations debate–changing the discussion into one about bigoted ignorance of history by an elected public official. In this case, a Democrat.

Today on Facebook, Rep. Salazar is indignant:

Yes, she is my colleague. But, I did not run for office so as to let members of my own party sell out disadvantaged communities. 

Also, there was money for this bill, it was a priority and it was supported by Colorado higher education institutions and the Governor's office.

Her vote against Native peoples is an embarrassment. But her explanation is far worse.

Unquestionably, Sen. Hodge needs to apologize without delay. Hodge is already on thin ice for her role in killing other bills that passed the House with solid support this session. If Hodge wants latitude to do the oil and gas industry's bidding from within the Democratic caucus, safe to say this wasn't the way to earn it.