Native American lawmaker: Haven’t heard back from GOP rep who called Warren ‘Sacagawea’
Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) says Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) still has not responded to her offer to educate him on why his use of “Sacagawea” to describe Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who claims Native American heritage, is offensive.
Gaetz used the term while appearing on Fox News last week, prompting Haaland, who recently became one of the first two Native American women in Congress, to invite him to meet with her so she could “share how such comments are a continuing assault on indigenous people.”
{mosads}Appearing on CNN’s “New Day” Tuesday, Haaland said she had yet to hear back from Gaetz.
“We reached out on Saturday via email to members of his staff, my scheduler called yesterday and we haven’t heard anything,” Haaland said.
After Rep. Matt Gaetz called Sen. Elizabeth Warren “Sacagawea,” New Mexico @RepDebHaaland says he should read a recent civil rights report “instead of using an American’s hero’s name as a racial slur” https://t.co/jiqM1Qi78H pic.twitter.com/H3LjzVwYZH
— New Day (@NewDay) January 8, 2019
While Gaetz did not respond directly to Haaland, he took to Twitter to take a shot at another Democratic lawmaker, saying he was open to speaking if they could also bring Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who drew backlash for saying “we’re going to go in and impeach the mothef—er,” referring to President Trump.
I always enjoy conversations with new colleagues. Can we invite @RashidaTlaib too? She seems to have a sophisticated understanding of non-offensive language. https://t.co/JbWaM3Aw6d
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) January 5, 2019
“It’s not about non-offensive language right now. Of course he used a racial slur and that’s getting a little old,” Haaland said in response to Gaetz’s tweet.
Haaland added that Gaetz should read about the history of Native Americans and the plights many of them still face.
“I think the last thing that Mr. Gaetz should be doing is using native women’s names as racial slurs. That doesn’t solve anything,” she said. “And we need to get back to solving the problems for real people in this country, like opening up the government.”
Gaetz did not respond to a request for comment from The Hill on whether he will meet with Haaland.
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