Statement From Senator Lovejoy Regarding Republican Hurtful Words Said at Water Rights Hearing

Senator Lynda M. Lovejoy (D) (Navajo) from Crownpoint, New Mexico released the following statement.

I am saddened by the comments attributed to State Representative Candy Ezzell (R-Roswell) and Representative Don Bratton (R-Hobbs) regarding Native Americans in this state. Our people have suffered centuries of displacement, isolation, cultural denial and disenfranchisement remedied only through treaty and contract that some seem to deny now.

It disappoints me that in this day and age in a state like New Mexico where we have such diverse groups that some are still uneducated about each other’s cultures. We marked Anti-Racism Day in New Mexico only yesterday, yet comments like those by Representatives Ezzell and Bratton show we still have a long way to go in understanding and respecting each other.

Native American elders paid a heavy price for the consideration and benefits provided by the Federal Government. These are treaty and contract agreements that have been re-affirmed repeatedly by Congress and the courts. Claiming that Native Peoples have no claim to water infrastructure on their own mother lands is a denial of the rights and obligations we have earned and fought for.

Arrangements for supplying water are a small consideration, not an addiction, guaranteed by the Federal Government to Native Americans for our historic displacement and treatment. We need to put a stop to words that keep dividing us.