The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians says Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-California) has insulted all Native Americans in her campaign against Democratic opponent Raul Ruiz.

Chairman Jeff L. Grubbe released a statement yesterday that called on Bono Mack to "repudiate" her characterization of Ruiz as a "radical" and "anti-American" because he took part in protests on Thanksgiving Day while he was a student at Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts.

"This is an outrageous and unacceptable insult to all Native Americans, including those who live in the district she represents here in the Coachella Valley," Grubbe said.

Despite the tribe's request, Bono Mack has stepped up her attack on Ruiz. Her campaign held a press conference yesterday and played a tape from one of the Thanksgiving Day protests in which Ruiz read a letter in support of imprisoned American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted for murdering two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1975.

Ruiz did not write the letter. But he has defended his participation in the Thanksgiving Day protests, which were led by the United American Indians of New England.

During one protest in 1997, he was arrested although the charges were later dropped. He has said he was defending Sam Sapiel, a Penobscot elder who was active in Indian issues in New England before his passing in 2007, from being harmed by police officers.

Bono Mack released an ad that calls attention to the the arrest and the protests. Her campaign website says Ruiz supported a "killer of Two FBI agents."

Get the Story:
Agua Caliente Tribe Blast Congressional Campaign Statements (KESQ-TV 10/18)
Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians criticizes Mary Bono Mack remarks (The Palm Springs Desert Sun 10/19)
Raul Ruiz reads Leonard Peltier support letter in audio tape (The Palm Springs Desert Sun 10/19)
Audio tape sounds Ruiz's prior support of convicted activist Peltier (KESQ-TV 10/19)

Related Stories:
Rep. Mary Bono Mack blasts opponent for 1997 Native protest (10/16)