Political Quotes

“I would ask my friend from Connecticut to listen to my response to the points that he just made because I know he is a fair man. And when he considers the fact that, first of all, the Narragansett Tribe was recognized in the 1990s with a similar prohibition, and they don't gamble. This particular tribe, they were raised by Christian missionaries. They believe gambling is a sin. They could be operating bingo parlors down the street today. They don't because they believe it is wrong to do so. They don't want to gamble. But they are unique, and I would say to my friend, in 1912 through 1946, the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Virginia systematically erased all reference to Indians in all public records. That is unique. That hasn't happened in other States. The Governor of Virginia recognizes these tribes. They have been recognized for hundreds of years. And the fact is, we are not bringing this legislation up all of a sudden now. This legislation we have been trying for 8 years to get through; 8 years I have sponsored it. But these Indian tribes didn't have any money to influence the process. The Racial Integrity Act of 1924, and I go back to this, as embarrassed as I am about the fact that it passed the legislature of Virginia, required all persons to register as 'white' or 'colored' in the language of those days, and it made it a criminal offense for Indians not to so register. That is why they were eliminated in the State. It is what a historian called a paper genocide.”