Political Quotes

“Mr. President, Sullys Hill is a national game preserve that is located entirely within the Spirit Lake Nation in North Dakota. I have a bill, S. 2099, that I want to ask to be voted on shortly. If enacted, my bill would change the game preserve's name from ``Sullys Hill'' to the English translation of its traditional Dakota name, ``White Horse Hill.'' The name change has the full support of the Spirit Lake Nation and all of the leadership of the local, State, and national government in North Dakota, including the entire North Dakota congressional delegation: my colleague, Senator Hoeven, chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, and Congressman Kelly Armstrong, who has an identical bill introduced in the House. In 1904, the game preserve was named after GEN Alfred Sully. Unfortunately, General Sully gained notoriety by committing several massacres of Native Americans, most notably on September 3, 1863, in the Dakota Territory. As reprisal for the Dakota conflict of 1862, his troops destroyed a village of over 500 teepees that lodged the Yankton, Dakota, and Lakota people, killing hundreds of Native Americans. Many of the descendants of his victims live on the very Tribal lands that surround this hill. With the issues that our Federal Government is dealing with today, changing the name of a game preserve in North Dakota may seem like a small matter, but let me assure you, Mr. President and colleagues, this is no small matter to the people of the Spirit Lake Nation.…”