Nishnawbe10

Well it is almost time for elections; it is very vital to choose wisely. There are a lot of issues in Indian Country. We must choose some one that will stand up for our rights and make changes in this ever-fast growing world. So here are the two candidates that I have chosen to represent me, I am undecided on the two. Howard Dean and John Kerry for President? Here are links to there web sites. Now we want some one to help us Natives, we must be heard.

http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/c...ativeamericans


http://www.johnkerry.com/communities/nativeamericans/

ajlumbee

i am voting for john edwards. not just because he's from north carolina, not just because he's an nc state graduate like me :clap: , and not just because he's my senator. but because i truly believe in his vision, his understanding of hard work, and his desire to support native people. he doesn't bash the other candidates :Hammer, and most importantly i feel he really cares about people.

i don't really trust any of the other candidates. howard dean seems very volatile and spontaneous. i would be afraid of him embarrasing us worse than bush and making crazy decisions. also, he has never had any cabinet representative who wasn't white. that doesn't show me as a native woman that he understands how to relate to diverse peoples. and what has he done for the native peoples in his state? i honestly don't know.

i think the others are too vague and wishy-washy. they are all for everything and you can't please everyone just for the sake of getting votes. but that's just my 2 cents. don't wanna rile anyone up. :)

__________________
"yo, ADRIAN!" :Lips:

"It is this belief in a power larger than myself and other than myself which allows me to venture into the unknown and even the unknowable."
--Maya Angelou

geronimo

since i'm a resident of nc, i've followed edwards' track record as a "freshman" senator, and i'm not impressed--it seems to me like he's abused his constituents to make this run for president---and that's not a good quality in a candidate i'm considering voting for--also...i'm on his email list and i've never received anything on issues relating to native americans--sure, he supports the lumbee fed. recognition bill, but does he consistently advocate for the national public of natives? his website does not address our native community as an issue, but i've seen it on dean's and clarke's--in one televised democratic debate, the discussion on minorities was centered heavily on latinos and blacks--dean was the only one to pipe up and bring indians into the discussion, citing them as being the "forgotten minority"
---i think his (edwards) image portrayal as a moderate, fair politics, no trash-talking, good 'ol hard-working country boy has played to his advantage--but i'm sure he'll pull out the stops soon--just today i read where he was giving out some circular that talked trash about other candidates--(which he quickly apologized for)

sure, it does look bad for dean to not have a diverse staff, but everyone knows only white people live in vermont--just kidding! but , actually their minority pop. is only about 3%--i doubt there are a lot of them involved in the logistics of politics--not saying they shouldn't be...braun has endorsed him, but doubt that will have any real effect


but, as long as bush gets kicked out, i'll be pretty happy
he's cut funding for indians drastically, especially ANA--and who knows what he's got the BIA doing?

at this juncture, i'm probably leaning toward clarke........
i guess i'm still weighing my options

GOOD to see people talking about politics on here! WE have to get involved in this process to see any REAL change in our indian
communities!

__________________
No one can make you feel inferior w/o your consent-Eleanor Roosevelt

Gache

Well I would vote for anyone who would be a friend to indian country. However none of the current candidates have had a history of friendly relations with native people. Do I vote for my enemy or the person that talks good to us but ignores us or worse yet stabs me in the back. Neither party is any use to the indian community until they need us. So far in most places they dont. California tribes had money but none of their candidates won. As a minority and especially divided among 500 plus different nations were useless to the political machine. Our only solution is to become a nuisance that cant be ignored and also have lots and lots of babies.

One Hot Mama

I hate campaign season. My BS tolerance level is pretty low anyway, and brother, most politicians are buried so deep in it they couldn't reach daylight from the top of a skyscraper. I don't like anyof them, don't like Bush...ues I'll vote my favorite candidate, "None of the Above"

warhoop

I don't think it matters in the least who in the hell gets into the office. They aren't going to do anything good for us anyway. For anything to change a Skin will have to get elected. And you know that isn't happening anytime soon.
I read the two and none of them mention anything about the real issues that are happening today.
I have summarized three issues I want to be adressed by the presidental canidates.

1) What do they plan on doing to stop the States from trying to tax the soveriegn nations?

2) What do they plan on doing with tribes that are looking for federal recognition?

3) This one needs to be adressed. When in the hell are they going to let Leonard Peltier free?

I want some answers to those questions and then I'll see who I'll vote for. Until then I refuse to vote for the same people just with different names.

__________________
"Tell me friend, you who dwells in the dark and the deep, How may I venture unafraid, into the dark world of half death"

Roobz

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Dancin by the bay

With Gephardt out, he was my pick. The right guy for the job is Dean. No non sense politician I think would give Bush a run for the money. Bush has some good qualitys up his sleeve.

:D

CactusButt

Dean is definately the most likely to succeed at this point. At least he's got a good yell! I like him best. yeah Dean.

uniquek3

http://www.sover.net/~auc/gov.htm


Abenaki press for recognition by Vermont
January 19, 2002

(from the State section)
BY DAVID GRAM The Associated Press

MONTPELIER — Advocates for Vermont's Abenaki Indians, including the tribe's chief, called on lawmakers Friday to pass a resolution offering them official recognition.

“We're the only race in the United States that has to prove who we are,” said Abenaki Chief April Rushlow.

Rushlow and others said the new push for recognition came after a school official in northwestern Vermont reported last month that Abenaki students had been taunted in a school yard by other children.

“Abenaki school children had been scornfully told that they were not Indians ... because the government said so,” said Frederick Wiseman, a professor of history and archaeology at Johnson State College.

He and others said that attitude was the result of the state's stance that the Abenakis do not constitute a formally recognizable Indian tribe, and they attributed that stance to racism.

The comments came a day after Gov. Howard Dean told reporters he was urging lawmakers to be very careful before endorsing a resolution saying the Abenakis should be granted limited state recognition.

Dean said even such a limited government endorsement could lead to much more powerful federal regulation for the state's estimated 1,700 Abenakis. He said that could lead to extensive legal battles over Abenaki land claims and possibly allow the Indians to build casinos in Vermont.

Participants at Friday's news conference scoffed at these concerns. “These lies are red herrings and easily disproven by anyone with a transient knowledge of federal Indian law or the Abenaki community,” said Wiseman.

Sen. Julius Canns, R-Caledonia and a key sponsor of the pro-Abenaki resolution, said it was now being bottled up in committees — at the governor's behest — despite support from all 30 Senators and 110 co-sponsors in the House.

The resolution first “recognizes the tribal status of the Abenaki people,” and then tries to respond to the concerns voiced by Dean by adding:

“That, while this recognition is not intended to confer any special rights upon the Abenaki people, such as claims to Vermont lands or privileges not extended to other minority groups, it is intended to ensure that the Abenaki people receive the same recognition and privileges extended by the state of Vermont to any other minority group.”

Dean's fear of unintended legal consequences for such recognition drew support in a letter sent to lawmakers Friday from William Griffin, chief assistant attorney general.

Griffin wrote that, “The real thrust of this ‘recognition' resolution would be to foster the creation of a distinct tribal nation within Vermont, a nation entitled to a government-to-government relationship with the state and federal governments.”

Abenakis then “would have special privileges not available to Vermonters generally or to any other minority group in Vermont,” Griffin said.

In an interview, he rejected charges that the concerns stemmed from racism. He said the attorney general's office has successfully pursued complaints of discrimination against Abenakis several times in recent years.

Those at Friday's news conference sought to shift the focus away from worries about the consequences of federal recognition, though Rushlow and others said the Abenakis want that recognition.

Wiseman said the limited recognition offered in the state resolution would improve the chances that Abenaki children would be found eligible for scholarships set aside for minorities.

For her part, Rushlow refused to offer any guarantee that if the Abenakis won federal recognition some time in the future, they would not seek to assert the sort of land claims Dean said he feared. “We would have to put that to a vote of our people,” she said.

CactusButt

See it's stuff like this..... you think you know a guy and then Wham.... that is why I hate voting. So do we have a general concessus some sort of poll to see who we all think should run this country? If not I can look through the threads and make a tally..... Hey that sounds like fun:D :D :D

Dancin by the bay

Dean is dah dude.

injunboy