Democratic ticket wins Navajo endorsement

Farmington Daily Times – Staff Writer
Article Launched: 09/30/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT
FARMINGTON — Democrats Barack Obama, Tom Udall and Ben Ray Lujan have won the endorsement of the Northern Navajo Agency Council. Councilors voted to support Obama for president, Lujan for U.S. House and Udall for U.S. Senate.
Councilors voted 54 to 0 on a resolution to endorse the Democratic candidates because the leaders support the Navajo Nation’s need for better health care, economic development, education and benefits for Navajo veterans, according to the resolution.
“These leaders are committed to address the needs of Navajo veterans and all Native Americans who served in the Armed Forces,” it stated.
–The Farmington N.M. Daily Times

Navajo Nation President and More Than 100 Tribal Leaders Endorse Obama

Chicago, IL  –  Today, the Obama campaign announced that Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., and more than 100 Tribal Leaders have endorsed Barack Obama for President.  These endorsements come from tribes across the political spectrum and from all corners of the country.  The Navajo Nation is the largest North American Indian Tribe, comprised of approximately 300,000 members located around Southeastern Utah, Northeastern Arizona and Northwestern New Mexico.
Senator Obama said, “I am honored to have the support of President Shirley and so many of our tribal leaders.  Their commitment to public service is something that every American should be proud of.  Indian tribes in our country face a special set of challenges – from issues of sovereignty to access to affordable healthcare.  I look forward to working with Joe and all of our Tribal Leaders to ensure that we meet these challenges in an Obama-Biden administration.”
“For eight years, we have lived with Federal policies that erode our culture and language and, therefore, attack our very identity as Native people,” said President Shirley.  “It is time for change: a real change!  It is time for the United States of America to truly honor its obligations to its Native peoples.  Senator Obama understands the uniqueness of Native nations and Native peoples – that is why I support Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States.”
In addition to the individual tribal leaders, Senator Obama has received the endorsement of at least seven tribal councils, including the Crow, Rocky Boy and Fort Peck nations and the All Indian Pueblo Council.  He has also been endorsed by the Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association.  Earlier this year, Senator Obama became an honorary member of the Crow Nation.
Tribal leaders that have endorsed Senator Obama are:
     

• Tribal Leaders 
  Chief J. Allan, Chairman, Coeur d’Alene Tribe
  Dave Archambault, Jr., Councilman, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
  Floyd Azure, Tribal Executive Board, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Ft. Peck Reservation
  Dorothy Barber-Redhorse, Vice-President, Sanostee Chapter, Navajo Nation
  David Z. Bean, Councilman, Puyallup Tribe of Indians
  Harriett Becenti, Council Delegate, Navajo Nation
  Lorenzo Bedonie, Council Delegate representing Hardrock/ Pinon Chapters (Arizona), Navajo Nation
  Elmer Begay, Council Delegate, Navajo Nation
  Garrett Big Leggins, Vice- Chairman, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Ft. Peck Reservation
  Richard Bird, Jr., Councilman, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
  Cedric Black Eagle, Vice-Chairman, Crow Nation
  Rodney Bordeaux, President, Rosebud Sioux Tribe
  William “Shorty” Brewer, Vice-President Oglala Sioux Tribe
  Theresa Bridges, Chairwoman, Franks’ Landing Indian Community
  Joe Brings Plenty, Chairman, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
  Donna Buckles-Whitmer, Tribal Executive Board, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Ft. Peck Reservation
  Diana Buckner, Chairwoman, Ely Shoshone Tribe
  Rodney Butler, Treasurer and Council Member, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
  Ronald Charles, Chair, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe
  Abe Chopper, Tribal Executive Board, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Ft. Peck Reservation
  Thomas Christian, Tribal Executive Board, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Ft. Peck Reservation
  M. Brian Cladoosby, Chairman, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
  Marjorie Colebut-Jackson, Tribal Council Member, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
  Robert Cournoyer, Chairman Yankton Sioux Tribe
  Gene Culbertson, Tribal Executive Board, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Ft. Peck Reservation
  Gerald L. Danforth, Former Chairman, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin
  Herman Dillon Sr., Chairman Puyallup Tribe of Indians
  Ron Duke, Tribal Council Representative, Oglala Sioux Tribe
  Peter Dupree, Tribal Executive Board, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Ft. Peck Reservation
  Andy Ebona, Councilman Douglas Village, Tlingit Tribe, Alaska
  Ian Erlich (Native Village of Kotzebue) – Vice Chairman, Alaska Inter-Tribal Council
  Ingrid Firemoon, Tribal Executive Board, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Ft. Peck Reservation
  Leonard Forsman, Chairman Suquamish Tribe
  Jerry Freddie, Council Delegate, Navajo Nation
  Marlin Fryberg Jr., Secretary, Tulalip Tribes of Washington.
  Margaret Gates, Councilwoman Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
  Shawna Gavin, Secretary, General Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
  Alison Gottfriedson, Councilmember, Franks’ Landing Indian Community
  Arlyn Headdress, Tribal Executive Board, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Ft. Peck Reservation
  Rick Hill, Chairman, Chairman, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin
  Ron His Horse Is Thunder, Chairman, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
  Wesley “Chuck” Jacobs, Tribal Council Representative, Oglala Sioux Tribe
  Michael Jandreau, Chair, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe
  Michael R. Johnson, Chair, General Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
  Richard Kirn, Tribal Executive Board, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Ft. Peck Reservation
  Ronald “Smiley” Kittsen, Councilman, Blackfeet Nation
  Shelly Luger, Vice Chairwoman, Spirit Lake Tribe
  Cynthia Lyall, Chairwoman, Nisqually Indian Tribe
  Michael Marchand, Former Chairman, Conf. Tribes of the Colville Reservation
  Robert McGhee, Councilman, Poarch Band of Creek Indians
  Jesse McLaughlin, Councilman, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
  Joseph McNeil, Jr., Councilman, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
  Christopher Mercier, Councilman and former Chairman, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
  Kenneth Meshigaud, Tribal Chairperson, Hannahville Potawatomi
  James V. Miles, Councilman Puyallup Tribe of Indians
  Elmer L. Milford, Council Delegate representing Ft. Defiance Chapter (Arizona), Navajo Nation
  John Miller, Chairman, Pokagon Band of Pottawatomi
  Antone Minthorn, Chair, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
  Armand Minthorn, Council Member, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
  Jeff Mitchell, Council Member, Klamath Tribes 
  Robert Moore, Councilman, Rosebud Sioux
  Wayne A. Newell, Passamaquoddy Indian Township Tribal Council Member, Passamaquoddy Tribe
  Ned Norris, Chairman, Tohono O’odham Nation
  Benjamin H. Nuvamsa, Chairman, Hopi Tribe
  Darrin Old Coyote, Vice-Secretary, Crow Nation
  Stuart Paisano, Governor, Pueblo of Sandia
  Brian Pearson, Secretary-Treasurer, Spirit Lake Tribe
  Myra Pearson, Chairperson, Spirit Lake Tribe
  Louis Peterson, Tribal Executive Board, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Ft. Peck Reservation
  Rick Phillips-Doyle, Sakom/Chief, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Pleasant Point Reservation
  Matthew Pilcher, Chairman, Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
  Jennifer Porter, Chair, Kootenai Tribe of Idaho
  Gloria Ramirez, Councilwoman, Tohono O’odham Nation
  Darryl Red Eagle, Tribal Executive Board, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Ft. Peck Reservation
  Kenny Reels, Vice-Chair, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
  Sarah Riggs, Vice-Chair, Dilkon Chapter, Navajo Nation
  George Rivera, Governor, Pueblo of Pojoaque
  Bobby Robbins, Council Delegate representing Naneez dizi/ Coalmine Canyon Chapters (Arizona), Navajo Nation
  Andrew Roybal, Tribal Council Member Piro/Manso/Tiwa Indian Tribe, Pueblo of San Juan de Guadalupe
  Scott Russell, Secretary, Crow Nation
  Brandon Sazue Sr., Chairman, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe
  Richard Sebastian, Tribal Council Member, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
  Maureen Sebastian, Tribal Council Member, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
  Michael Selvage, Chairman, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribe
  Melvin Sheldon Jr., Chairman, Tulalip Tribes of Washington;
  Joe Shirley, Jr., President, Navajo Nation
  Wink Soderberg, Council Member, Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde
  A.T. Stafne, Chairman, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Ft. Peck Reservation
  James H. Steele Jr., Chairman, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation 
  J.D. Stone, Speaker of the House, Crow Nation
  Aurolyn Stwyer, Vice-Chair, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs
  Ron Suppah, Chair, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs
  Larry Townsned, Tribal Veteran Service Officer, Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina
  Leonard Tsosie, Council Delegate, Navajo Nation 
  Lee Juan Tyler, Vice-Chairman, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes
  Carl Venne, Chairman, Crow Nation
  William Walksalong, Former President and Tribal Council member, Northern Cheyenne Tribe  
  John Warren, Councilman, Pokagon Band of Pottawatomi
  John Weeks, Sergeant at Arms, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Ft. Peck Reservation
  Marcus Wells, Jr., Chairman, Three Affiliated Tribes
  Bill Whitehead, Tribal Executive Board, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Ft. Peck Reservation
  Mike Williams, Tribal Council Member for the Akiak Native Community
  Jonathan Windy Boy, Business Committee Member, Chippewa Cree of the Rocky Boy Reservation
  Mervin Wright, Jr. Chairman, Pyramid Lake Paiute 
  John Yellowbird Steele, President Oglala Sioux Tribe
  Marie Zackuse, Vice Chairwoman, Tulalip Tribes of Washington
• Tribe Endorsement List
  Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation (MT)
  Crow Nation (MT)
  Jicarilla Apache Nation (NM)
  Mescalero Apache Tribe (NM)  
  Nisqually Indian Tribe (WA)  
  Northern Cheyenne Tribe (MT)  
  Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (NM)  
  Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe (WA)  
  Pueblo of Acoma (NM)  
  Pueblo of Pojoaque (NM)  
  Pueblo of Sandia (NM)  
  Pueblo of Santa Clara (NM)  
  Puyallup Tribe (WA) 
  St. Croix Band of Superior Indians (WI)  
  Suquamish Tribe (WA)  
  Tule River Tribe (CA) 
   
  Tribal Organizations
   
  All Indian Pueblo Council
  The All Indian Pueblo Council is comprised of the following 19 Pueblos:
  Pueblo of Acoma
  Pueblo of Cochiti
  Pueblo of Isleta 
  Pueblo of Jemez 
  Pueblo of Laguna
  Pueblo of Nambe   
  Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association
  The Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association is comprised of the following tribes:
   South Dakota:
  Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe
  Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
  Crow Creek Sioux Tribe
  Lower Brule Sioux Tribe
  Oglala Sioux Tribe
  Rosebud Sioux Tribe
  Yankton Sioux Tribe
  Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate
   
   
  North Dakota:
  Three Affiliated Tribes
  S pirit Lake Tribe
  Standing Rock Sioux Tribe 
  Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa
  Nebraska:
  Omaha Tribe 
   Santee Sioux Nation 
   Ponca Tribe 
   Winnebago Tribe*Note: Titles are for identification purposes only.

Largest Native American Tribe in U.S. Endorses Obama

Read the article here…

http://www.abc15.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=f8266edd-b631-49a3-a6be-7c409e305b5b

Another Alasa Native Speaks Out Against Palin

More and more Native Alaskans are coming forward to tell about their direct experiences with Gov. Palin and her lack of regard for them.  Here is a letter I received today that speaks for itself…

An Alaska Native’s take on his Governor
By Matt Gilbert

Hello. My name is Matt Gilbert. I am originally from Arctic Village, Alaska. I am Alaska Native: Gwich’in Athabascan. I visited Sarah’s campaign office and spoke with her before she became Governor. We talked about the hunting & fishing rights of Alaska Natives. We didn’t get anywhere. She sided with sport & commercial interests, so I never spoke with her again. I knew we’d get no where. She didn’t want to listen. In general, I believe Sarah Palin is another version of Bush, just as inexperienced, but more impulsive. She is very dangerous and scary. People are continuing to support her because she’s beautiful, and this should be a Red Alert for the world. Her purposed policies is to include Georgia into NATO and that would mean all the European countries with all their armed forces will have to go to war with Russia. So she’s willing to ruffle the feathers of a country right next door to her home. Is this who you want as President? You know the scene in the movies when a car or stage coach is about to go over a cliff and you see yourself sliding over? Scary image isn’t it? That’s’ what I’m seeing if Palin gets elected Vice President. Wake up America! Send her back to Alaska. She has plenty of un-finished work here. She hasn’t even gotten funding to move the town of Shishmeraf. It’s falling into the ocean from an eroding coast due to Global Warming, which she wants to fuel more by encouraging more coal and oil development. She fuels the fire, and now they want her to do it on a national level.

Palin has done a lot of irrational things up here as Governor. In the summer of 07’, she Line Item Vetoed a lot of infrastructure projects in rural Alaska. The small town of Eagle spent years trying to get a community center built when they finally got funding, Palin shut it down by her Veto. Even Lawmakers are baffled by her Vetoes. They’ve had Bills well-debated on both sides of the aisle, yet she cuts, cuts, cuts. She supported $15 million to Anchorage’s University’s Sport Complex and cut $1.5 million to an expansion of the runaway teen center. How do you justify that? She supports drilling Off-Shore which would utterly destroy the livelihood of the Inupiaq people on the North Slope. They rely on Whale for subsistence and the development would detrimentally impact those whales. She supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. My people, the Gwich’in have kept this area closed from development for 30 years. No other American Indian tribe has ever accomplished such a feat. If she drills in the Arctic Refuge, it’ll be the end of my culture. We rely on the Porcupine Caribou Herd and if drilling takes place in the Arctic Refuge, our caribou goes and so does our culture. We Gwich’in Athabascans are the last American Indian Tribe in the US that hasn’t been majorly disturbed, heavily impacted, and assimilated. We are the last pure Native American tribe left. We are the last stand for Indian Country. We are the last chapter in American Indian/Anglo American relations. The prior chapters were bad, so make this last chapter a good one and vote for Obama.

Alaska Natives in general are the last group of Native Americans in the United States still depended on a hunting & fishing-based lifestyle where kids and grown-ups go out to fish and hunt to supplement their western diets. It’s crucial we have food off our land because the western foods, processed foods, give us diabetes if we eat them alone. The subsistence foods not only feed our bodies, but our culture, spirit, social lives, and minds. The Western World calls it Subsistence, but we call it our Way of Life. I’m using the word against my well. It gives our lives meaning and keeps us busy. With God’s help, hopefully everyone can understand. Our way of life off the land is everything to us. If we don’t have that we’re nobody, just another group living off the grid, consuming McDonalds, and buying Brand-Named items. We add diversity and richness to the world. Sarah Palin doesn’t care about this. She wouldn’t care if our culture eroded before her eyes. She’s like Nero, sitting in Juneau putting on lip-gloss as Alaskan villages suffer. We’re suffering from fuel costs. We’re suffering from strangulating Fish & wildlife regulations that keep us from surviving off the already scarce wildlife. She has done some things, but not enough. She can ease the Fish & wildlife regulations in order to improve food security in the villages. She can subsidize the villages with the rising fuel costs. The US Government has a Trust Responsibility with its First Americans, the TR requires the Federal/State Governments to ensure we, Alaska Natives, have everything we need to survive. Mrs. Palin has failed miserably at this task. She has a lot more work to do back home.

Her hometown Wasillia has been a hot-bed for racist and Anti-Native attitudes. Anchorage is bad too. Alaska Natives fight discrimination on a daily basis there. Palin isn’t there for them. I read in the Anchorage papers once that a homeless native man froze to death in downtown and some man called it in sounding all casual about it. It’s like the South before the 60s up here. It’s bad. This is the Alaska Sarah Palin maintains and waters for growth. She’s never bothered to change anything because she thinks nothing is broken. As Mayor, she didn’t think anything was wrong with an atmosphere where a native woman had beer bottles thrown at her as she walked down Wasillia. So you have to ask yourself, if she’s willing to ignore the plights and issues of an ethnic group within her town and state, than how much more horrible do you think it’s going to be when she ignores the issues of that same ethnic group or another on a national level?

I believe her popularity comes from her beauty. This society has got to shift itself away from a National Inquirer-based lifestyle to an NPR or New York Times-based lifestyle. Our very world may depend on it. Our hurricanes and disasters are getting worse due to Global Warming, our Stock Market is dangerously shaky, our healthcare is getting so bad it may cause a revolution soon, and the War in Iraq is draining our resources and working families to depression-levels. We need a Change! We need Barack Obama. Not somebody whose reputation is based mainly on image and charm. As an Alaska Native, I see that she doesn’t support our way of life, as a Gwich’in I see that she is willing to end my culture and people for only six more months of oil, and as a Global citizen I see that she is impulsive and inexperienced. Do you want someone like that in charge of a nuclear arsenal? It’s probably already going to take our lifetimes to recover from Bush, if you elect Palin, the consequence are too scary for me to even think about. Please vote for change. Vote for Obama. Vote for Obama.

Thanks, but No Thanks for that McCain-Palin Ticket to Nowhere!

FIRST AMERICANS TAKE A PASS ON THE MCCAIN- PALIN TICKET; TRIBAL LEADERS RESPOND TO ABRAMOFF CRONY FUNDRAISING FOR MCCAIN
Reed Fundraiser Today Follows Pattern of McCain Putting the Special Interests Ahead of the Native American Community
Chicago, IL– Today, leaders in tribal communities responded to Senator John McCain’s decision to accept fundraising help from Jack Abramoff crony Ralph Reed.  Later today, Ralph Reed, who has close ties to corrupt Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, is scheduled to host a fundraiser for Senator John McCain in Atlanta, GA.  Reed, on behalf of a firm, received more than $5 million from Abramoff, now serving a six-year prison term for his corrupt activities defrauding Indian tribes and others.  
“John McCain’s decision to cozy up to one of the central figures in the Republican culture of corruption shows how far he is willing to go to win,” said Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean. “Despite all of his rhetoric about reform, McCain’s willingness to accept money raised by tainted Abramoff cronies like Ralph Reed shows that McCain simply cannot be trusted to bring change to Washington politics.”
Many in the Native American community expressed dismay at McCain’s decision to work closely with Reed as well.  “I’m not sure how he justifies this in his own mind.  After all, McCain more than most understands that Reed profited and supported Abramoff’s defrauding activities which devastated numerous tribes – devastation that they are still reeling from. I think for a lot of Native people, this will send a loud and clear message that Senator McCain is not on our side,” said Suzan Harjo, President of the Morning Star Institute and former Executive Director of the National Congress of American Indians. 
Jonathan Windy Boy of the Chippewa-Cree Tribe of Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana said, “I think a lot of people in Indian Country, with increased frequency over the last couple of years have asked ‘who is this John McCain?’  It’s not the same guy we thought we knew.  Abramoff hurt all of Indian Country and because of the scandal, we were often locked out of the political process since. It doesn’t make sense to me that you can claim to be for tribes and associate yourself with those who defrauded us.”  
“It is profoundly disturbing and it adds insult to injury that McCain has refused to accept tribal contributions but has actively sought out contributions from those who lobby on behalf of tribes,” added Wizi Garriott, Obama campaign First Americans Director.  “Senator McCain has it 100% backwards.  The Abramoff scandal happened with the willing participation of men like Ralph Reed, and tribes were the victims.  Yet he locks out tribes from supporting him and at the same time actively seeks the support of Washington lobbyist and men like Reed.  Senator Obama doesn’t take a dime from Washington lobbyists.  This just further shows that the Obama campaign is about people at the grassroots – not the special interests.”
Garriott added:  “Senator Obama has a comprehensive plan to strengthen our tribal communities and make this campaign about bringing all people into the process.  Senator Obama understands that when we reject the old politics of lobbyist money and special interests running the show, we can bring positive change and break the cycle of partisan ideology.  American Indians are painfully aware of the need for change. Tribes have experienced firsthand the lack of progress under prior administrations, but together we can bring the kind of change we need in our tribal communities and across the country.”
See more about Obama’s Tribal Communities plan here: http://tribes.barackobama.com/page/content/firstamshome

The candidate I support is:
 
–The candidate who has been endorsed by both Principal Chief Chad Smith and Former Chief Wilma Mankiller.

–The only candidate whose campaign includes Native American advisers; specifically a Native American Outreach Coordinator and a 30-member Tribal Steering Committee comprised of tribal leaders from across the nation.
–The only candidate who has plans to include a Native American as part of the Presidential cabinet.
–The only candidate whose website has direct and obvious links to information and specific plans for the Native American community.
–The only candidate who consistently makes reference to and speaks directly to Native Americans during campaign speeches.
–The only candidate whose campaign with literature specifically for the Native American community.
–The only candidate whose autobiography expresses concern for the Native American community and tribal sovereignty.
–The candidate who met with leaders of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation in the infancy of his campaign, to listen to their concerns and discuss improvements to the community going forward.
–The candidate who is an original co-sponsor of specific amendments to the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, and who called for passage of the act that has been stalled in congress for 14-years.

I support Barack Obama.

Wilma Mankiller: Energized and Hopeful

Native Currents

by: Wilma Mankiller

© Indian Country Today August 22, 2008. All Rights Reserved

 

Energized and hopeful for Sen. Barack Obama

As a Native woman, it is tough not to feel distrustful of and cynical toward most politicians.  But on the crest of this election season, unlike any prior, I feel buoyed. I feel energized, engaged and excited. I feel something new: hope.

Yes, it’s a buzzword nowadays. ”Hope” has become synonymous with a candidate and emblematic of movement. The cynic in me wishes to dismiss it as superficially attractive yet ultimately insubstantial, but decades of experience in politics and public service won’t allow me to do that. I haven’t felt this hopeful in years.

It started in the primary. As Native people, we didn’t have just a single good candidate; we had several great ones from which to choose. It was a profound struggle choosing a candidate to endorse, but one I welcomed. What a wonderful surprise to have too many candidates listening to us and responding to our issues.

Now, as the campaign has narrowed to a general election, my hope for the future of this country and its policies toward tribal governments and individuals only grows. I know we have an advocate in Sen. Barack Obama, who unveiled his First Americans platform while the campaign was still in its infancy and has since been meeting with tribal leaders around the country. He is humble enough to respectfully listen, and empathetic enough to fully understand the challenges facing our communities today. I believe Sen. Obama when he says he feels ”a particular sense of outrage when I see the status of so many Native Americans, and there is a sense of kinship in terms of the struggles that have to be fought.” The other candidates simply cannot speak from the same place.

But he does more than talk the talk. Since entering the U.S. Senate, Obama supported the Indian Health Care Reauthorization Act and pushed for a billion-dollar increase in IHS funding. As a presidential candidate, he took that commitment to Indian health care further and called for full funding of IHS. In addition, one of Obama’s first initiatives as a candidate was to plan for a National Indian Policy Adviser as a senior staff member in the White House.

I’m inspired that this country chose him as a presidential candidate and I’m eager to be a part of history when we elect him in November. And make no mistake; we will be the ones electing him in November. Native people have an unprecedented degree of electoral power this season. We are a voting bloc that must be courted. Native populations are the most geographically dense in states likely to be up for grabs this election, meaning 1 – 2 percent of the vote in swing states could be the difference between an Obama victory on the one hand and four more years of Indian-hostile policies on the other. We can make that difference, but only if we vote.

Sen. Obama is a lifelong public servant who has shown sage judgment and sound politics. I trust him to nominate judges to the Supreme Court who will respect the inherent rights of tribal governments and the basic human rights of all people. I am impressed by the fact that he seeks and heeds wise counsel and solid policy advice on the issues I care most about – tribal sovereignty, foreign policy and health care.

Wilma Mankiller is the former principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.