Sonnenberg questions Indian mascot legislation, pleads with Democrats
The Senate has approved a bill that would force the Yuma and Arickaree Indians, and almost two dozen other public schools, to stop using Indian mascots.
Senators amended Senate Bill 116 last week to give schools more time to remove mascots from gym floors or change out sports uniforms. The bill passed on a 20-12 party-line vote with three Republican members absent.
Under the bill as introduced, that deadline would have been Oct. 1, giving schools barely five months to make those changes. Bill sponsor Sen. Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge, agreed to an amendment pushing out that deadline to June 1, 2022.
Danielson, in her remarks before the final vote in the Senate, referred to cowboys and farmers as just “jobs.” Danielson often reminds lawmakers about her family history of farming, but then sponsors bills that exclude the people she claims to represent.
That didn’t sit well with state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, who asked if all mascots — beetdiggers, cowboys or Vikings — would be banned. That’s not just a job, he said, it’s their entire culture.
Sonnenberg also questioned just who the bill is intended to help. “This isn’t about protecting a certain class of people. This appears to be an attack on another ‘other’ class of people,” which excludes Yuma Indians, he said.
Sonnenberg added that he got text messages up until 11 p.m. on Thursday, asking what he could do. The answer is “I can come down and tell their story. But you’ve heard their story. You heard it in committee; you heard their story related on this floor yesterday. ... No wonder we see some of the legislation that comes out of here with that type of mindset.”
Sonnenberg pleaded with Democrats to allow the schools to work as they need to within their own communities and figure out what works for them.
Danielson was asked during the debate if she had reached out to any of the 25 schools that still use Indian mascots. The answer was “no.” She responded to Sonnenberg that schools have had years to change their mascots. “If this is a surprise to any of the administrators with derogatory mascots, that would be shocking to me,” she said
Senate Bill 116 now heads to the House.
Funding could help stimulate Colorado economy
Colorado Proud, the state’s marketing program for Colorado agriculture, could see its funding boosted by $2.5 million under a bill that cleared the Senate Agriculture, Livestock and Water Committee on Thursday. Senate Bill 203 is sponsored by Sen. Cleave Simpson, R-Alamosa, and Sen. Jeff Bridges, D-Greenwood Village. Rep. Rod Pelton, R-Cheyenne Wells, is a House sponsor.
Funding comes from dollars leftover from the 2020-21 budget, which are being repurposed into stimulus programs intended to help Coloradans recover the economic impact of the pandemic.
The bill is now awaiting further action from the Senate Appropriations Committee.
There are now 25 bills introduced under the $800 million Colorado Recovery Plan, including funding for the National Western Stock Show, Colorado State Fair and other agricultural events; more funding for the Colorado Water Plan (although still falls short of the $30 million per year in state support recommended to begin in 2020); and support for rural economic development and workforce training.
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