How Democrats Addressed Native American Issues At Historic Forum

By Nikoel Hytrek

August 19, 2019

Several common themes emerged from the first day of the Frank LaMere Native American Presidential Forum, but the top one was that a government’s priorities can be determined by where it puts its money, and each candidate promised money to address issues faced by Native Americans across the country.

For the first day of the Frank LaMere Presidential Forum, four Democratic candidates appeared at the Orpheum in Sioux City. There, leaders from tribes across the United States asked the candidates questions about important issues facing Native American communities. Organizers said it was the first forum of its kind, and all the candidates, both Democratic and Republican, were invited.

The forum was named after the late activist who advocated for Native American rights from South Sioux City, Nebraska. He died of cancer in June.

The candidates differed on little, and they were asked many of the same questions by different panels of tribal leaders.

Each candidate condemned the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women and voiced their support for Savanna’s Act, legislation that was passed to address the crisis. Each candidate also recognized tribal sovereignty and emphasized how important it is to listen to Native Americans about what they need.

Topics about economic development for Native American tribes, education, health care and protecting voting rights without having to go to court also came up frequently.

Elizabeth Warren

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who recently pulled to a lead in Iowa polling, was the second speaker of the morning, but the one with the largest crowd.

She was introduced by New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland, who has worked with Warren on a number of legislation pieces regarding Native American rights, including their recent Honoring Promises to Native Nations Act, which was announced last Friday.

Warren has a long history of advocating for Native American people in general and speaking for tribal sovereignty, something each panelist acknowledged and thanked her for. Several panelists also acknowledged her history of attending events like the forum since she was elected to the Senate.

Frank White, the tribal chairman of the Winnebago tribe of Nebraska and one of the panelists said, “It’s a special day, I feel. I just got a hug from the next President of the United States.”

Warren started her remarks with an apology for any of her past comments that caused harm, referencing the 2018 DNA test she took in response to the racist nickname Donald Trump started using for her.

“I’m grateful for the many conversations that we’ve had together,” she said. “It is a great honor to be able to partner with Indian Country, and that’s what I’ve tried to do as a Senator and that’s what I promise I will do as President of the United States of America.”

In each of her answers, Warren emphasized tribal sovereignty and supporting tribes with resources and legislation. She also explained how some of her current proposals, like the wealth tax, would also benefit Native American people.

“We need to make change, we need to honor our trust and treaty obligations to Native tribes,” she said. “And we’re not going to do that with one little statute over here and a couple of changes to regulations over there. It’s going to take big, structural change.”

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When it came to important questions like how to address the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women, Warren talked about how she pushed to have the Violence Against Women Act include Native women when she became a Senator.

“I was one of the strongest supporters of expanding VAWA to include Indigenous women and specific provisions and specific resources,” Warren said.

She said it’s also important to shine more light on the issue of the Native American women who are missing or murdered in the United States. She said another part of the solution should be to ensure that tribes have the resources they need to address the problem in their own communities.

Amy Klobuchar

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar brought with her a history of tribal outreach to the stage. Minnesota has 11 federally recognized tribes, so she also has a background in considering Native American issues.

Like Warren, she was thanked for her record of working with tribes.

Melanie Benjamin, chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota introduced Klobuchar and praised her record of attention to Native rights, including her support of Savanna’s Act, a bill which would provide support for solving the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women.

Benjamin also announced her endorsement of Klobuchar today, along with Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Charlie Vig, chairman of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

Klobuchar tied many of her responses to her broader policies like universal health care, addressing mental health and addiction issues, and funding infrastructure like roads, schools and high-speed internet. She emphasized how those would benefit Native American people.

She spoke a lot about her experience visiting reservations in Minnesota and dealing with the different tribes in the state. She also voiced her support for upholding the treaties originally negotiated with tribes and respecting their tribal sovereignty.

“When I was growing up, it was mandatory that we understood this culture,” Klobuchar said in her opening. “And it’s something I’ve always had with me.”

She was also questioned about how she would restore education about culture and language, because the public school system does little to support them and tribal schools are frequently underfunded.

Klobuchar said her idea for retaining teachers applies to tribal schools as well, and it’s one of the biggest concerns.

She said school infrastructure was a key part of her plan as well.

“We have schools all over this country without heat in certain cities, we have schools that have crumbled, we have these tribal schools,” Klobuchar said. Earlier in her remarks, she shared a story of visiting a tribal school in Minnesota with discolored ceiling tiles and floors that had buckled.

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Steve Bullock

Montana Governor Steve Bullock video-conferenced in because he was at an event to honor his 11-year-old nephew who was killed 10 years ago on a playground.

Outside of the ordinary questions, Bullock was asked about the importance of consulting with tribal leaders, something he does regularly in Montana, which has 11 tribes.

“I think that far too often, especially in the natural resource areas, federal government doesn’t fully understand its responsibilities and it doesn’t understand the importance and requirement of consultation,” Bullock said.

Bullock was also at the Meskwaki Powwow near Tama, Iowa last weekend to talk to community leaders there about their needs.

Today, Bullock was endorsed by Gerald Gray, the chairman of Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council.

Bullock was also asked specific questions about urban employment and the Indian Child Welfare Act.

He emphasized again the importance of consulting with tribes about the needed resources

“I do look forward to, just as I’ve done in the last 10 years in public office, learning from our tribal nations and Native American brothers and sisters how we best address these systemic inequities,” Bullock said.

Marianne Williamson

In Marianne Williamson’s opening remarks, she emphasized that many of these issues come from deeper problems in American history. Williamson said she wanted to reconcile the country with the dark moments of its past, and that she believes in reconciliation for nations as well as individuals.

Williamson emphasized respect and deference for Native American people in all her answers. She frequently said she wanted to learn from tribes and she trusted them to know what their problems are and how best to solve them.

She also paid attention to how inter-connected many issues are and how they trace back to historical wrongs.

To that point, she called for recording tribal history as told by Native Americans. She said she wanted to use post-WWII Germany as a template for how to repair the wrongs.

In regards to the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women, Williamson repeated what she said at the Meskwaki Powwow about working with tribal law enforcement to figure out the best way to address the issue.

To loud cheers and applause, Williamson also declared she would start her administration by removing the picture of Andrew Jackson from the wall of the Oval Office. Relatedly, Williamson also called for rescinding the medals of honor given to the troops who fought at the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890.

Who Impressed?

Renee Fasthorse-Iron Hawk of the Lakota tribe in South Dakota said Warren stood out because she said how she would respect treaties and tribal sovereignty.

Overall, Fasthorse-Iron Hawk thought the forum was informative about the candidates’ positions on issues that are important to her.

“It gives the Native a voice, as well as us being able to question presidential candidates,” she said.

Because of that, she said the forum made her feel less invisible than she normally does as a Native American, and she said she enjoyed hearing candidates address important questions that aren’t often discussed.

“I’m really glad that they are listening,” she said. “That’s the main thing.”

Vernon Schmidt of the Rosebud Sioux tribe in South Dakota said he was impressed by Marianne Williamson’s sincerity and knowledge base.

He said he was happy with the questions asked because they touched on the main problems facing Native Americans, and he said it was encouraging to hear the candidates talk about self-determination for tribes.

“I just thought she was very articulate in covering the questions asked of her,” he said.

Still, Warren made the biggest impression.

“I think [Warren] would really make an impact if she were successful,” he said. “The way she framed her ideas really hit home, gave a tribal member hope for the future.”

The forum continues tomorrow with Joe Sestak, John Delaney, Kamala Harris, Julian Castro, Bernie Sanders and Bill de Blasio.

 

by Nikoel Hytrek
Posted 8/19/19

  • Nikoel Hytrek

    Nikoel Hytrek is Iowa Starting Line’s longest-serving reporter. She covers LGBTQ issues, abortion rights and all topics of interest to Iowans. Her biggest goal is to help connect the dots between policy and people’s real lives. If you have story ideas or tips, send them over to [email protected].

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