A Campaign Promise Delivered, With a Bow.

[sofa king]

Okay, I'll tell all of you the truth about something: When then-Senator Obama promised to re-open the doors to America's Indian tribes and other Native American peoples, I didn't really believe he'd back it up. Too many times I've seen the best intentions left on the front mat once the new President took office. The last guy didn't even know what tribes are.

Today, after reading the transcript of President Obama's remarks to tribal leaders yesterday, I called up a couple of old friends in the business, and they tell me this is the real deal. Not only did the President deliver on his promise to re-engage tribes, he rattled off a list of specific plans, every one of which is desperately needed, heartily welcomed, and totally unexpected. In the days before his speech, the President reputedly put every Department on notice that they had better have a plan to deal with tribes, equitably, as soon as possible, and tribal leaders have been meeting with federal officials all over town, all week.

It's easy to be cynical about how Washington works, especially after eight years of the stupidest, most malicious treatment of tribes anyone had seen in the past fifty. Hell, Bush's people couldn't even find a person of Indian descent to run the Bureau of Indian Affairs--besides that guy who ran a chain of barbecue restaurants. For the past three years they were effectively breaking the law by having the Bureau run by a bitter old white guy.

I think that I'll be able to look back on yesterday as The Day Something Changed in Washington. Thank you, President Obama, for caring enough about America's most disadvantaged people, thank you for taking the time to understand the issues, and thank you for delivering on your promises. You made my week!

[FSogol]

1. k & r n/t

[euphoria12leo]

2. I would also like to say thanks to President Obama.

New thread I see. Just hold on all the negative responses about what he hasn't done are on the way. Glad to get my
thank you out now.


:applause:

[sofa king]

4. Yes, it isn't all going to be fixed, or fixed at once.

But I think there is a valuable little nugget in there for everyone. If the President is willing to do this for a group of people who have historically been exploited, mistreated, and ignored, from which the political and monetary benefits are marginal at best, we can safely guess that he's going to be looking out for you, too.

This was my litmus test. For me, any lingering doubts are gone. I hope a few of you see a glimmer of hope in it, too.

[DireStrike]

24. That strikes me about this too.

There is very little to be gained politically from helping, complete with actual funding, the native population. It really does speak volumes.

[Kdillard]

3. Thanks for this post. It was a long time coming for American Indians.j

[mkultra]

5. Yup K&R

[liberaltrucker]

6. K&R

:thumbsup:

[HopeOverFear]

7. K & R

[ClarkUSA]

8. Know hope.

I never doubted his sincerity, given his unique background and his life experiences.

There's someone here (who claims to be Native-American but sounds like another bitter PUMA) that's
been trashing this outstanding beginning effort on Pres. Obama's part. Thanks for a positive post.

[Lilyeye]

34. I know EXACTLY who you are talking about lol.

[Politicub]

9. President Obama continues to impress

I'm so glad he's acknowledging how the US has mistreated native americans, and how we're going to move forward.

And as hope springs eternal, I'm confident that he will deliver remarks this meaningful to GLBT folk one day. I don't want to make this a GLBT thread at all, but the unlikeliness of Barack Obama becoming our president fills me with unending amounts of hope that all of America can live the dream.

[Clio the Leo]

10. Did you DOUBT Barack Black Eagle?

NEVER doubt Barack Black Eagle. ;)

He hired the two officials in charge of tribal affairs (that's not the right title, but he mentioned them yesterday) WAY back in the beginning if my memory serves me correctly.

[Cha]

11. Thanks sofa king..you've

brightened my week with your take on this extraordinary historical precedence in D.C.

"It's easy to be cynical about how Washington works, especially after eight years of the stupidest, most malicious treatment of tribes anyone had seen in the past fifty. Hell, Bush's people couldn't even find a person of Indian descent to run the Bureau of Indian Affairs--besides that guy who ran a chain of barbecue restaurants. For the past three years they were effectively breaking the law by having the Bureau run by a bitter old white guy."

We had someone on here yesterday whining that President Obama must not have gotten enough "Native American votes"..just stupid mean stuff.

"Today, after reading the transcript of President Obama's remarks to tribal leaders yesterday, I called up a couple of old friends in the business, and they tell me this is the real deal. Not only did the President deliver on his promise to re-engage tribes, he rattled off a list of specific plans, every one of which is desperately needed, heartily welcomed, and totally unexpected. In the days before his speech, the President reputedly put every Department on notice that they had better have a plan to deal with tribes, equitably, as soon as possible, and tribal leaders have been meeting with federal officials all over town, all week."

[morillon]

25. Yeah, I've seen those posts, too.

And taken note of the posters for future reference. Yuck.

[JNelson6563]

12. Change I can believe in.

Worlds away from the likes of Bush & Abramoff and friends. Anyone remember that nightmare of exploitation?

Rock on Mr. President. :toast:

Julie

[firedupdem]

13. Rec'd! n/t

[stevenleser]

14. Wonder where the "I cant stand all the people with Obama Pom Poms" crowd is?

:crickets:

[grantcart]

15. Give me a B . . . . "B"

[stevenleser]

17. LOL, that was GREAT Grantcart!

Thank you for this!
:pals:

[bread_and_roses]

21. Some of us don't think that uncritical approval serves either the President or the people

I am happy, certainly, to see this development, and not having followed it closely myself am willing to take the OP's positive report at face value. However, the fact remains, that we spend billions on killing people (including children) under Obama, and he's talking millions here.

Yes, Obama has done some good things, made decisions and taken actions that the illegitimate little pretender would never have taken, and I am glad of it, and willing to say hurrah. He's willing to spend millions in ways that would not be spent under an R - quite in keeping with the pattern of our scraps and bones pretend alternative to the Rs. But he has not even said boo to big money and bloated militarism.

To deliberately distort honest criticism based on weighing actual acts against a value system and reality-based analysis into simple-minded my team against your team hardly serves rational discussion or advances a progressive agenda.

[urgk]

27. I think the problem lies with the absolutes, either for or against Obama.

When either side says "Obama is (sweeping generalization here)" it shuts down debate. If "Obama is not the change we were promised," the debate shuts down. If "Obama is perfect" (which I haven't heard, but would guess exists somewhere on DU), the debate shuts down.

We need to debate Obama's performance, issue by issue. No pure cheerleading, but no Chicken Little "Our President/support/opinion/patience is falling!" either. It's the only way we can direct our collective energy into either forcing or helping our President to enact the change we all hope for.

[ClarkUSA]

28. Pres. Obama outlines $600 million to IHS, job creation, tribal colleges, school construction, etc...

To coompare apples with apples: President Obama's actions dwarf previous presidents' efforts in the first year of their first terms. From Wednesday's Tribal Nations conference opening address:

"We face our economic crisis, in which we took bold and swift action, including in your communities. We allocated more than $3 billion of the Recovery Act to help with some of your most pressing needs, like rebuilding and renovating schools on reservations across the country. We provided more than $100 million in loans to spur job creation in tribal economies. And we made sure my budget included significant increases in funding for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service, and other agencies that have critical roles to play in your communities.

But if we're going to bring real and lasting change for Native Americans, we need a comprehensive strategy, as I said before. Part of that strategy is health care. We know that as long as Native Americans die of illnesses like tuberculosis, alcoholism, diabetes, pneumonia, and influenza at far higher rates than the rest of the population, then we're going to have to do more to address disparities in health care delivery.

More than half of all Native Americans and Alaska Natives, especially those in remote areas with limited access to care, rely on the Indian Health Service for their most basic needs. And that's why we invested $500 million under the Recovery Act in strengthening and modernizing the IHS, and that's why my budget proposes a increase of 13 percent in IHS funding.

We're also closer than ever to passing health insurance reform that will finally make quality insurance affordable to all Americans who don't have coverage, and finally offer stability and security to Americans who do -- and that includes our First Americans.

When it comes to creating jobs, closing the opportunity gap, and leaving something better for our future generations, few areas hold as much promise as clean energy. Up to 15 percent of our potential wind energy resources are on Native American land, and the potential for solar energy is even higher. But too often, you face unique hurdles to developing these renewable resources. That's why I'm very proud, under Secretary Salazar's leadership, we're looking for new opportunities to ensure that you have a say in planning for access to the transmission grid. We're streamlining and expediting the permit process for energy development and transmission across tribal lands. We are securing tribal access to financing and investments for new energy projects. And thanks to the Recovery Act, we've established an Energy Auditor Training Program that could prepare Native Americans for the green jobs of the future. And that's going to be absolutely important.

But the future of Indian Country rests on something more: the education we provide our children. (Applause.) We know that Native Americans face some of the lowest matriculation rates and highest high school and college dropout rates. That's why the Recovery Act also included $170 million for Indian education -- and $277 million for Indian school construction. And that's why my budget provided $50 million in advanced funding for tribal colleges that are often economic lifelines for a community. Students who study at a tribal college are eight times less likely to drop out of higher education, they continue on to a four-year institution at a higher rate than students in community colleges, and nearly 80 percent end up in careers that help their tribal nation."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6941923

[stevenleser]

33. Let's not pretend that reasoned analysis and criticism is what we are talking about (n/t)

[vaberella]

16. Thank you for telling us this information.

It's good to know it's coming through. President O is not one to really stand on a pedestal and shout from the roof tops all he's done and is doing...but I like to hear when other's have gotten something positive from voting him in. I expect more in the future but this is good. For too long dating centuries American Indians have been mistreated, abused, or ignored. We finally have someone in there who cares. Good.

[eridani]

18. This is excellent news! n/t

[JTFrog]

19. K&R

[bread_and_roses]

20. Very happy to read a good report of this

I have not followed the issue closely, not because I think it unimportant but simply because there are not enough hours in the day, week, or year to keep up with everything. I caught about one minute on it on news yesterday as a story on NPR was finishing up. We can never erase the crimes of the past but it is good to have some hope of a better future.

[barbtries]

22. sofa king

so happy to hear this. i am also happy for the opportunity to let you know that something you wrote has been probably the single most effective and memorable piece of writing i've experienced on DU:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=519803
a single scandalous fish in a river full of crimes

one day remembering this piece and unable to exactly recall the phrase i spent i don't know maybe an hour maybe somewhat less searching DU for it because i had not thought to bookmark it the first time i (printed and) read it.

anyone reading this thread today, read this. in fact sofa king though it's probably too late it would be a great idea to link it in your OP.

[gademocrat7]

23. K&R

[annabanana]

26. A happy kick for the under-reported good news. . .

[bertman]

29. k and r. thanks, sofa king.

[JDPriestly]

30. K&R with some caution. Let's see if this administration really delivers.

So far Obama has been long on talk and short on action on a lot of things. He understands the issues, but seems slow in getting things done.

[dana_b]

31. very good news!!

The tribes have waited too damn long for administration(s) who will be true to their word. It can't come a minute too soon either.
I don't know why, but this is making me tear up.

[katkat]

32. Wait until there's a casino

Wait until there's a casino in your backyard destroying the community, then you'll really tear up.