By Elizabeth Lesly
States News Service
WASHINGTON - As the house voted yesterday to rechristen Montana's
Custer Battlefield National Monument as the Little Bighorn National
Battlefield Park, Reps. Pat Williams, D-Mont., and Ron Marlenee,
R-Mont., went to war verbally.
The House vote on the bill by Rep. Ben Nighthorse Campbell,
D-Colo., came on the eve of the 115th anniversary of the famous
Little Bighorn battle, where 10,000 native Americans defeated the
7th Calvary and Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer.
Campbell, Congress' only native American, declared:
"History, as we know, is written by the winners, and while the
Indians won this battle, they did lose the war." Renaming the
battlefield would right an old wrong, he argued.
The Williams/Marlenee verbal battle began after a Williams
aide said Marlenee, who opposes the battlefield renaming, didn't
appear on the floor to oppose the measure. Marlenee then assailed
Williams' ability to deliver votes on bills concerning Montana.
When Montana likely loses its second congressional seat next year,
Williams and Marlenee will face one another in a fight for the lone
seat.
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Michele Lord * Walk in Peace with
(milo@scicom.alphacdc.com) * our Mother Earth
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