American Indians seeking say in presidential elections

By Brad Swenson
Bemidji Pioneer

Flexing political muscles in recent elections, an organized American Indian effort now wants a say in presidential elections.

INDN’s List, a moniker for Indigenous Democratic Network, has sought and endorsed American Indian candidates for a host of partisan and non-partisan elections since it was formed in February 2005.

Now, the INDN’s List Education Fund seeks to sponsor the first-ever presidential forum on native issues, called “Prez on the Rez,” in conjunction with an August campaign camp for Indian candidates.

The invite to Democratic presidential candidates was laid down Friday, as organizers of Prez on the Rez issued a statement critical of Thursday night’s Howard University-sponsored debate for Democratic presidential candidates.

The debate, which focused on minority issues, failed to raise American Indian issues, Prez on the Rez organizers said.

“The real and pressing challenges facing Indian Country are routinely ignored by our political leaders and excluded from our national conversation,” said Kalyn Free, president of the INDN’s List Education Fund. “At a minimum, it’s disheartening to see our candidates miss an opportunity to recognize the issues — many of which are shared with other minority communities — that face American Indians.

“At worst, this ‘All American Forum’ is yet another example of how so many Americans forget our First Americans,” Free added in referring to the debate’s name.

Free, however, lauded New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who is the first Democratic presidential candidate to commit to the Prez on the Rez forum, which is Aug. 23 in Cabazon, Calif., hosted by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians.

“The only candidate willing to show leadership when it comes to Indian Country is Bill Richardson,” said Free. Richardson has made Indians a priority in his campaign, she said.

Most notably, he proposes establishing a Cabinet-level Department of Indian Affairs and appointing as its secretary an American Indian. “Indian voters are watching closely to see if any other candidate will rise to the occasion in offering proven leadership for Indian Country,” said Free.

Free said while the candidates tackle minority issues, there are still several areas in which the candidates refuse to address Indian Country issues lies in sharp contract to their campaigns.

Responding to and praising Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s statement that “If HIV/AIDS were the leading cause of death of white women between the ages of 25 and 34, there would be an outraged outcry in this country,” Chairman Dan Jones of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma pointed to other neglected disparities that haunt native women.

“If one-third of white women were raped in this country, as they are in Indian Country,” said Jones, “not only would there be an outcry but we’d be building walls around them.”

And Free said INDN’s List applauds former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina “for pointing out the unfairness that exists in our Two Americas,” referring to a major theme of Edwards’ campaign. “But no discussion about Two Americas is complete without considering the near Third World conditions the plague many of our reservations.”

Free noted the life expectancy among American Indians is shorter than any other ethnic group and, after Haiti, the shortest in the Western Hemisphere.

“What we need in this country is to restore hope to our most neglected communities, a topic on which Sen. (Barack) Obama is right to focus. But just as hopelessness and despair limit the opportunities of our inner-city children, so too do they blind Indian children to the possibilities that lie off their isolated reservations,” said Free.

While get-out-the-vote efforts among American Indians has intensified in recent election cycles, including among tribal members in the Bemidji area, INDN’s List seeks input in the political process, supporting a select group of Indian candidates for state and local offices across America in 2006.

INDN’s List was an early supporter last year of Irene Folstrom, the Cass Lake native who sought DFL endorsement for state Senate 4, an endorsement which went to Mary Olson of Bemidji, who went on to win the seat.

INDN’s List was launched in conjunction with the National Congress of American Indians annual meeting, an organization for which Folstrom was a staffer.

“Prez on the Rez offers an opportunity to inspire a generation of American Indians with the hope that they can build a better future for Indian Country, but we can’t do that without the participation of our national leaders,” Free said in calling on the rest of the Democratic presidential candidates to participate in the event.

INDN’S List Web site lists the Shakopee Mdewekanton Sioux Community as a major donor, followed by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Other Minnesota donors include Folstrom, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and Prairie Island Indian Community.

In 2006, INDN’s List had a 77 percent win rate for the candidates it supported, winning seats in state legislatures in 12 states across America.

In an unrelated statement Friday, Clinton’s campaign announced more than 40 leading Minnesota officials and community leaders have endorsed Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid.

The list includes Melanie Benjamin, chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

Topping the list was former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, DFL-Minn.

“I sat next to Sen. Clinton for six years in the Senate chamber and I saw her experience, dedication and tremendous ability at work for all Americans,” said Dayton. “I know that she will be our party’s best nominee and our country’s best president.”

About half the list includes current and former state lawmakers from the Twin Cities area and metro local officials.