Indian Country

Myrtle Strong Enemy, 101, waits for US Democratic presidential candidate and US Senator Barack Obama, (D-IL), to speak in Crow Agency, Montana May 19, 2008. Strong Enemy is the oldest woman in the Crow Nation. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

Image and quote from Daily Kos.

Hope was the theme of Bill Clinton's successful campaign. Hope is the theme of Barack Obama's seemingly successful campaign. Perhaps the above picture best illustrates what this means.

Of all groups that make up "America," few need hope more than Native Americans. I am in the middle of a book called 1491 that discusses what the Americas were like before Columbus and the impact of European colonization. By some estimates 95% of the population of the Americas died in the century after 1492. The complete destruction of morale that even a fraction of that kind death rate entails is still a part of Native American culture from Alaska down to Peru. Through much of the Americas Native Americans are nearly powerless, often exploited, and often hopeless. Which is why movements like the Zapatistas in Mexico and people like Juan Evo Morales Ayma of Bolivia are so important.

Jack Woodward: Tsilhqot' in First Nation Aboriginal Land Title Litigation

Jack Woodward
Woodward & Company
Wednesday, March 5, 2008, 3:30 - 5:30 PM
Rountree Hall 204
1145 N. Mountain Ave.
University of Arizona, Tucson

Jack is a senior member of the British Columbia Bar. He has been practicing law since 1979. He is one of BC's pre-eminent legal practitioners working primarily in the realm of aboriginal, human rights and environmental law. He is the author of Native Law (Carswells, 1989), one of Canada's leading texts on the subject of aboriginal law. The University of Victoria Faculty of Law's first credit course in native law was developed by Jack, and he was an Instructor and Adjunct Professor of Law teaching aboriginal law at U. Vic's Faculty of Law for sixteen years. He has been counsel at all levels of court for over a hundred Indian bands and organizations in the course of his legal career in a wide variety of cases.

Awhile back I chastised all the Democratic candidates other than Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel for ignoring the Native American vote, a vote that can be critical in the West and even has proven critical in states like Pennsylvania, where efforts by Native American groups helped flip the State legislature from Repub to Dem.

Seems Barack Obama has done a lot to make up for past neglect. The Native American Times, impressed with outreach from his campaign, has endorsed Barack Obama for President:

US Senator Barack Obama is the choice of the Native American Times to become the next president of the United States. This choice made before the all important super Tuesday election to get as many Native Americans to the polls as possible to push Obama to victory. This is not an anti-Hillary vote but a decision based on what is best for Native Americans...

Obama has started to aggressively reach out to Native Americans in word and deed. In his words he has put together a policy which truly addresses Native problems. In his deeds he has actually gone to Indian reservations to seek our votes. He is also the co-sponsor of the all important Indian Health Care Improvement Act. And he continues to seek the Native vote...

Pretty Bird Woman House, a refuge for abused women on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, has been a focus of some considerable blog effort of late (see, for example, here). This women's shelter had once been saved by the liberal blogsphere, but was then vandalized and was facing losing its lease. The liberal blogsphere stepped up to bat again. The goal was to buy the house outright for the person who ran the shelter and to provide a solid security system. It was estimated that the blogsphere would have to raise $70,000 to accomplish this. The timing was critical because Pretty Bird Woman house had received a Federal grant...which could only be accepted if the shelter still existed.

As of 12/30/07 I learned that the liberal blogsphere raised upwards of $80,000 to establish Pretty Bird Woman House as a lasting shelter for abused women. This was quite an accomplishment and Culture Kitchen played its own small role in it. To those who gave, or even just spread the word, THANK YOU! This was a true mitzveh accomplished thanks to hundreds of people from all over the country.

Of course, I never feel like our job is done. I am hoping that now that we have saved Pretty Bird Woman House and made it a lasting place of refuge, we can do the same for the Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center on the Yankton Sioux Reservation.

Looks like for one of the first times ever, candidates for President will be meeting with Native American leaders to discuss "Indian Country" and to beg for support. This largely unprecedented event is thanks to the organizing ability of Kalyn Free of the Choctaw Nation and the organization she founded. This comes from the Indiginous Democratic Network (INDN):

INDN's List Education Fund will launch historic Prez on the Rez in Washington, DC, February 26, 2007, 5:00p.m.-7:00p.m. Click here to view invitation.

This August the Democratic candidates for President of the United States will be coming to Indian Country for an unprecedented forum on Indian issues. Prez on the Rez will bring together the Democratic candidates for President to address the future of Indian Country in front of thousands of tribal leaders, elected officials, INDN elected officials, tribal members, and activists. You can learn more by visiting www.prezontherez. org now.

One exciting feature of the website is the ability to submit suggested questions to be asked of the candidates at the forum. We want to ensure tribal leaders and tribal citizens have the chance to ask questions from Indian Country, about the issues that Indian people face.

We expect all the contenders to participate, including: Sens. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joseph Biden, and Christopher Dodd, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, former Sens. John Edwards and Mike Gravel, Govs. Bill Richardson and Tom Vilsack, and Ret. Gen. Wesley Clark.