Obama reaching out to Native Americans

[sabra]

Source: CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Barack Obama intends to add a senior policy adviser for Native American affairs to his White House staff shortly, first lady Michelle Obama revealed Monday.

The first lady made the announcement while speaking to employees at the Interior Department — the latest stop in her ongoing meet-and-greet tour of federal departments and agencies.

“Barack has pledged to honor the unique government-to-government relationship between tribes and the federal government,” she said. The new senior staffer “will be tasked to work with tribes (on) issues such as sovereignty, health care (and) education — all central to the well-being of Native American families and the prosperity of tribes all across this country.”

The first lady also indicated that the Interior Department will play a critical role in one of the administration’s “highest priorities — securing America’s energy future.”


Read more: http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/02/09/obama-reaching-out-to-native-americans/

[FirstLight]

1. Wow, this has got to be a landmark decision!

It would be so amazing to se a president working to honor the nations and their treaties for a change!

:woohoo:

[WriteDown]

2. So who is this going to be?

Will it be an actual NA?

[glinda]

17. I hope it isn't someone who is just hype as there are many of them

my husband worked in Tribal/ Advisory things and this person better be good. Tribal politics is something to behold. Have seen it inaction..

[Titonwan]

3. Ahh.. so the Fathers in Washington

want to reach out to us again. That's a good sign! Perhaps some treaties that won't be broken. (Since all of them have been)

[Chulanowa]

8. It'll be a nice change of pace

Maybe, just maybe, there will be more to the deal than just letting Indians open up the blights on society that white people don't want in their communities. Ugh. Casinos. Worst thing they've done to Natives since the turn of the century.

[WriteDown]

10. Speak about things you know...

A casino would be like lifeblood to my people. The Bush Interior dept put up roadblock after roadblock to a resort/casino project that we already had approved. Its time for Obama to show some action on this one and remove the ridiculous restrictions the Bush administration installed.

You can read a good letter here and just google Monticello casino and commutability for more info.

http://srmt-nsn.gov/press_releases/DGeorge_response_012208FINAL.pdf

[Chulanowa]

11. My experience has been that where casinos go, crime follows

Not all the time, no. But often enough that the two are linked togethr in my head.

I mean what a tribe wants to do is their business, and I see no reason to put up roadblocks and red tape - their business is their business. I just don't think it's a good idea, myself, unless the measures for good management, regulation, and policework are already there. It's just that there's a reason why all the white people coming to the casino don't want one in their own neighborhood.

[WriteDown]

12. I've never heard of a casino in a neighborhood....

I would argue that you have more problems with badly monitored liquor stores than many casinos.

Also, my best friend is a Cherokee in Eastern NC and when Harrah's opened the casino there it was nothing less than a miracle. The transformation that area has undergone is so amazing, that it still takes me by surprise when I visit.

[Chulanowa]

15. Neighborhood, neck of the woods, whatever turn of phrase you like

Anyway, I hope yours turns out to be one of those cases to prove me wrong :toast:

[butterfly77]

4. He told them he would...

be on their side once elected that's my president....

[dgibby]

5. Excellent!

[Still Sensible]

6. This is great news

Of course at this point Tribes will take this with a grain of salt. I believe they will generally be pretty happy (some even ecstatic) about such a position being created. They will reserve judgment, however, on how much this means in the overall scheme of things until this person gets to work and starts developing a track record for the new office.

[Cha]

7. Rec'd! I went to a Full Moon

Native American Inspired Drumming Circle last night and had so much fun! Obama said he would do this and he's getting on it.

[Fly by night]

9. Is the White House also planning an outreach to American Indian people?

Forgive the snark. But I have had the privilege and honor (and the deepest education) by being able to work with Indian people in New Mexico, Wyoming and Montana (seven tribes in all) over the past almost twenty years. And, to a tribal person, they all tell me: "Bernie, do you know how we can tell people from Washington, DC? They call us Native Americans. You're a Native American, I'm a Native American. But, Bernie, I'm the only one here who is an American Indian."

Folks, in Indian country, the most commonly used terms I've been taught are "American Indian" or "Indian people", if you are not referring to members of a specific tribe. At least that was what I was taught by the Navajo, Zuni, Acoma, Laguna, Eastern Shoshone, Crow and Northern Arapaho. So that's the way I roll, regardless of what the corporate media or DC says.

Aho.

(Again, forgive the snark.)

Yes we can.

Particularly when we respect each other enough to ask, 'Say, how do you like to be called?"

[bigbrother05]

14. That's why it's called AIM - American Indian Movement

[AnneD]

18. Touche......

We never knew we were American Indians when we were kids, but when we played Cowboys and Indians no one wanted to be a Cowboy (little Sis got that choice role and the Indians always won).

[Fly by night]

19. Thanks. It's amazing how many DUers in this thread use Native American.

Oh well ... the fewer folks who know about Indian Country (my favorites: Wind River in Wyoming and the Picuris Pueblo area in New Mexico -- up near Penasco, Rodarte, Vadito, Llano, Placita ...), the nicer they'll remain.

[sofa king]

21. Yep, and that could be more of an issue than one might suspect.

My rule of thumb used to be that any bill in Congress which used "Native American" in the title meant it was a GOP trojan horse designed to screw over Indians, and for the most part, they were. But by the mid-oughts, there was no rhyme or reason to the use of the term--except when it was used by Republicans.

In more general terms, "Native Americans" can include groups of Americans who do not have a sovereign government-to-government relationship with the United States, including native Samoans, native Hawaiians, and people of American Indian descent not living in tribal relations. I think some of those groups should have similar relationships, but they don't right now.

More than once in my time as a legislative analyst, I saw bills which very intentionally tried to muddy the waters between the two terms, or worse, tried to water down the sovereignty of Indian tribes by trying to treat them as "Native Americans."

A classic example is the Homeland Security Act, which was at least in part written by Jack Abramoff's team and which deliberately defined "Native American" governments, including Indian tribes, as local governments and thus with a stroke made them ineligible for direct federal Homeland Security funding. I always assumed it was Abramoff's intention to lobby to get that "fixed" (in quotes because I'm pretty sure it was Abramoff's boys who wrote it that way in the first place), but he was busted before he could be bothered to run that game.

The implications of that move are a national security issue so potentially disastrous that I don't even want to speculate on what the results may be.

[Kolesar]

24. There is a strident member* of our activist group who insists on the term "Indigenous People"

I would love to hear what you think of the Cleveland Indians. Seriously.

*He has an impressive activist record in wetlands, elections, etc.

[Fly by night]

25. Since I am not an Indian myself (just a friend of their), I have no opinion on Cleveland Indians ...

... other than to say it sounds better than Cleveland Native Americans.

Up in Canada, Indian tribes are called "First Nations" by some. There are a number of terms, but again, my Indian friends, teachers and elders don't like the Native American label and only use it when they're talking to DC bureaucrats (so as not to confuse them).

[Kolesar]

26. That's good information; thank you eom

[a la izquierda]

13. Good.

It only took the government 233 years.

[Speciesamused]

16. SO are they still getting the promise of

$500 million to rehabilitate and improve energy efficiency at some of the over 42,000 housing
units maintained by Native American housing programs?
:hippie:

[Omaha Steve]

20. His native name is Black Eagle (look it up)

I am 1/4 Kentucky Cherokee. I am so proud of my President!



First Americans for Obama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBjnLu06HQY

Barack's Message for First Americans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWocEgu3bPk

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=36765&id=33138608096

Blogs about: First Americans For Obama http://en.wordpress.com/tag/first-americans-for-obama/

[defendandprotect]

22. That's a positive . . . maybe we'll even stop stealing from them?

[mwooldri]

23. It's a good positive decision.

IMO the indigenous people of America have had a raw deal since the European invasions many years ago. Land grabbing, ethnic cleansing, and worse have been foistered on the original people here for too many years. Treaties were made, and then broken.

I'm a home-grown Englishman, and this side of American history was not taught in school, or if it was it was glossed over or I don't remember it. My guesses are if you're Cherokee and you're asked who the worst US president was, then Andrew Jackson or Martin Van Buren should figure up highly on their list.