Another tribe is criticizing
Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-North
Dakota) for the way he treated Indian women at a meeting in North Dakota last week.
Chairman Tex Hall of the
Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara
Nation said he spoke with Cramer after the incident was publicized by Melissa Merrick on
Last Real Indians. Hall said Cramer should apologize to all of the state's tribes and to Merrick, a member of the
Spirit Lake
Nation.
"Rather than listening to tribal concerns, Cramer began to comment negatively against the representative of the sovereign nations gathered at the listening event,"
Hall said in a press release.
According to Merrick, Cramer disparaged tribal governments and questioned the constitutionality of
S.47,
the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013.
The bill recognizes tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians who commit domestic violence offenses on reservations.
“It wasn’t just Melissa who was upset,”
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota) told members of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation on Wednesday, The Grand Forks Herald reported. Heitkamp said she spoke to other women at the meeting who were upset by Cramer's comments.
The Spirit Lake Nation and the
Turtle
Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians also have condemned Cramer, who told the Herald that he was willing to meet with tribal leaders in hopes of moving forward.
Get the Story:
Three Affiliated Tribes chastise Cramer comments
(The Grand Forks Herald 4/4)
Related Stories:
Native Sun News: Rep. Cramer verbally attacks
Indian woman (4/4)
Column: Rep. Cramer stumbles over tribal
provisions of VAWA (4/1)
Melissa Merrick: Letter to
Rep. Cramer on attempted apology (3/29)
North Dakota tribes blast Rep. Cramer's remarks at
meeting (3/29)
Rep. Cramer wants to
apologize for meet with Indian women (3/29)
Melissa Merrick: Rep. Cramer of North Dakota
attacks women (3/28)
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