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Colo. Gov. Apologizes for 'Natives' Remark

Fri Apr 1, 6:56 AM ET

DENVER - Colorado Gov. Bill Owens apologized for saying "the natives are
getting restless" during a conference on tribal gambling.

Owens made the remark at the Western Governors' Association Summit after a
participant's microphone wouldn't work and he urged it be fixed quickly.
Some attendees told the Rocky Mountain News the audience fell silent, then
groaned and chuckled.

"It was an inadvertent comment that the governor regrets," Owens' spokesman
Dan Hopkins said Thursday. "He apologizes to anyone who was offended."

Sheila Morago of the Arizona Indian Gaming Association said Owens laughed
when he said it and so did the people with her.

"I don't think he meant it in any derogatory way at all," she said.

Richard Milanovich of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in Palm
Springs, Calif., said he "couldn't imagine" any person of stature making
that kind of remark.

Owens "went out of his way to call this conference, and then more or less
made fun of the people who were there," Milanovich said.