Andrea Joy Campbell: “I thank Senator Inouye for those very thoughtful comments. Until he introduced a bill just a few years ago that…”

“I thank Senator Inouye for those very thoughtful comments. Until he introduced a bill just a few years ago that established a museum of the American Indians as part of the Smithsonian--and I was a House sponsor when I was on the House side-- until that happened, there was a common saying here in Washington, DC, by Indians throughout the Nation. That saying was, ``There are more dead Indians in Washington than live ones.'' It was because at that time there were over 16,000 remains, mostly skulls, but other body parts, housed by the Smithsonian. Senator Domenici, when he was here, I think put it in a good and proper perspective. We are dealing with a couple of sections. My primary opposition was not that I was trying to lock anybody out from debate, but I felt it was the wrong vehicle for putting these very, very important policy changes on an appropriations bill. But Senator Domenici put it in a proper perspective. Since he did, I will make a point of that, too. Senator Inouye mentioned the number of treaties that were dealt with. It is my understanding that 374 were ratified by the U.S. Senate and 374 broken--every single one--but not by the Indians. That is something that ought to be in a historical perspective when we talk about section 120 or 118. Most of the things that the Indians lost in the centuries past were done through two manners: either at gunpoint or through some subterfuge.…”