House Members File Protest Against Rep. Sondra Erickson

On Thursday, May 3, Democrats in the Minnesota House of Representatives filed a letter of Protest and Dissent in the House Journal against Representative Erickson for her inflammatory language against Native Americans during the debate of the 2018 Education Omnibus bill, during which she said, "Well, if they're going to argue that they're sovereign, then they don't have to take this money that we're giving to them." The DFLers requested that the Speaker of the House remove her as Chair of the Education Innovation Policy and Ethics Committees. He has not responded.

The filing is printed below and can also be viewed at house.leg.state.mn.us/cco/journals/2017-18/J0503091.htm.

PROTEST AND DISSENT

Pursuant to Article IV, Section 11 of the Minnesota Constitution, we the undersigned Members of the Minnesota House of Representatives register our protest and dissent against Representative Sondra Erickson for her inflammatory and unconscionable language during the debate of the 2018 Education Omnibus bill.

On Thursday, April 26, 2018, Representative Sondra Erickson stated on the floor of the Minnesota House of Representatives with regard to Native American and Indigenous communities, "If they're going to argue they're sovereign, then they don't have to take this money that we're giving to them." This statement was in response to Representative Mary Kunesh-Pudein's amendment (H4328A66) to the E-12 Education Finance and Policy omnibus bill (HF4328).

As the State Representative of 4,302 enrolled members of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, it is Rep. Erickson's responsibility to represent her constituents, which included the acknowledgement of their sovereignty. It is inappropriate that Representative Erickson speaks in derogatory and disparaging tones when addressing the function and governance of Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools. This is especially inappropriate because she is the Chair of the Education Innovation Policy Committee.

The Code of Conduct Policy for the Minnesota House of Representatives states in part:

"A State Representative and an officer or employee of the House of Representatives shall:

Treat everyone with respect, fairness, and courtesy.

Exercise sound judgment."

We undersigned Members of the House of Representative admonish Representative Erickson for her comments. We implore her to apologize for her actions, to educate herself on issues of sovereignty, and to build positive relationships with Native American communities and BIE schools.

We also call on the Speaker to remove her as Chair of the Education Innovation Policy and Ethics Committees. Proving time and again that Rep. Erickson carries a negative and biased attitude toward the historical and current issues facing the American Indian and Indigenous communities in Minnesota, we believe that Rep. Erickson is incapable of upholding the high ethical and moral standards needed to be Chair of either of these committees.

Signed,

MELISSA HORTMAN, MARY KUNESH-PODEIN, PEGGY FLANAGAN, SUSAN ALLEN, JAMIE BECKER-FINN, DAVE PINTO, JULIE SANDSTEDE, ERIN MURPHY, MIKE SUNDIN, JOHN CONSIDINE, ROB ECKLUND, ALICE HAUSMAN, TIM MAHONEY, FUE LEE, MICHAEL NELSON, RAYMOND DEHN, MIKE FREIBERG, JIM DAVNIE, PAUL ROSENTHAL, ERIN MAYE QUADE, DIANE LOEFFLER, LAURIE PRYOR, SANDRA MASIN, CHERYL YOUAKIM, JOANN WARD, PETER FISCHER, LYNDON CARLSON, DUANE SAUKE, LAURIE HALVERSON, FRANK HORNSTEIN, TINA LIEBLING, DEBRA HILSTROM, JENNIFER SCHULTZ, LIZ OLSON, ILHAN OMAR, CONNIE BERNARDY, ANDREW CARLSON, ERIN KOEGEL

Also on May 3, House Democrats filed a protest against Representatives Cindy Pugh and Kathy Lohmer for posting inflammatory comments about Muslim Americans.

PROTEST AND DISSENT

Pursuant to Article IV, Section 11 of the Minnesota Constitution we the undersigned Members of the Minnesota House of Representatives register our protest and dissent against Representatives Cindy Pugh and Kathy Lohmer for their inflammatory and ignorant language about Muslim Americans that was shared on their respective Facebook pages on January 27 and 28, 2018.

House Rule 9.01 and the Code of Conduct Policy for the Minnesota House of Representatives states, in part:

"A State Representative and an officer or employee of the House of Representatives shall:

…promote the health of democracy – by fostering openness in government, full public understanding of government actions, and public participation in the governmental process."

Representatives Pugh and Lohmer posted inflammatory material after members of the Muslim American community conducted a training on how citizens could participate in the political process in the state of Minnesota. Their comments generated fear and mistrust about political participation by members of a religion different from their own. This violates the House Code of Conduct with respect to fostering public participation in democracy. The anti-Muslim rhetoric on Facebook in Minnesota prior to precinct caucuses resulted in threats of violence against Muslim Americans. Representatives Pugh and Lohmer should not have used the words "penetrate" and "infiltrate" regarding a group of citizens participating in Minnesota's political caucuses – whether those citizens were Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, or Christian. Citizens of all faiths are guaranteed religious liberty by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights in Article 1, Sections 16 and 17 of the Minnesota Constitution.

In a letter sent to the Speaker and Majority Leader's offices on March 25th Minority Leader Hortman asked that Representatives Pugh and Lohmer apologize for their actions and meet with members of the community they negatively impacted, but received no response.

We undersigned Members of the House of Representatives admonish Representatives Pugh and Lohmer for their comments. We implore both Representatives to apologize for their actions and strive to understand why the characterization of U.S. Citizens of the Muslim faith as anti-American in these Facebook posts were hateful and dangerous.

We also request that the Speaker of the House and Majority Leader provide training regarding religious tolerance for members of the Minnesota House of Representatives before the 2018 session adjourns.