Questionable claim #1

Friday I came across three questionable claims in a row. Being the skeptical type, I had to investigate these claims. Here's my first report from the questionable claims dept.

Claim:

Titla:  The audacity of inclusionTwo men, Ben Nighthorse Campbell and Tom Cole, have made their marks as being the only two Native American men to serve in Congress.Fact:

Bureau of Indian Affairs:  Answers to Frequently Asked QuestionsU.S. Senate:

Hiram R. Revels, Lumbee from Mississippi, 1870-1871

Mathew Stanley Quay, Abenaki or Delaware from Pennsylvania, 1887-1899 and 1901-1904

Charles Curtis, Kaw from Kansas, 1907-1912 and 1915-1929 (Vice-President from 1929-1933)

Robert L. Owens, Cherokee from Oklahoma, 1907-1925

U.S. House of Representatives:

Charles Curtis, Kaw from Kansas, 1893-1907

Charles D. Carter, Choctaw from Oklahoma, 1907-1927

W.W. Hastings, Cherokee from Oklahoma, 1915-1921 and 1923-1935

Will Rogers, Jr., Cherokee from California, 1943-1944

William G. Stigler, Chocktaw from Oklahoma, 1944-1952

Benjamin Reifel, Rosebud Sioux from South Dakota, 1961-1971

Clem Rogers McSpadden, Cherokee from Oklahoma, 1972-1975

Titla is an impressive candidate for Congress. But we can't let misinformation go uncorrected when we can correct it.

Perhaps she meant the only two Native American men to serve in Congress recently (since Campbell is no longer in office) or in her lifetime. But it didn't sound like it.

Why bother with such a claim? Whenever I hear a claim about a Native "first," I wonder. Indians have led modern, successful lives for at least 100 years, if not longer. It doesn't help anyone to pretend that they're just now accomplishing things that others accomplished decades ago. Rather, it has the subtle effect of portraying them as less capable than they really are.