Native Americans: Honored or Snubbed by Dems?

Picture of Senator Mike Gravel by June Caldwell

What do you get when you put 150 Native American leaders in a room to have at it with the three Dem Presidential candidates that are too radical for prime time, and throw in Chairman of the Democratic Party, the rebel yeller himself, Howard Dean? The most head banging peyote trip ever? Maybe not, but on August 23 you can catch it streaming live on www.prezontherez.org at 3:30 pm PST (5:30 pm Central). If you see one Presidential debate all year, catch this puppy!

Guaranteed, these three candidates, Governor Bill Richardson (NM), Congressman Dennis Kucinich (OH), and former Senator Mike Gravel (AK) are the ones that seem to have left their spin doctors at the door, and shock and awe nearly every time they open their mouths. They are usually brushed off by the mainstream media for the more big buck candidates and the retread sound bites of the purported duking it out by Hillary and Obama at the other debates, so this is a rare opportunity to hear some genuinely fresh and fearless voices hash it out. And the other ‘silent’ America, the Native Americans, get some long overdue quality time too. I don’t recommend missing it, and we will be there to report to you.

All the Democratic candidates were invited. Rumors were floating that Union conflicts with the casino hosting the event was the reason the big 3 candidates declined, but that panned out to be just a convenient excuse.

When I asked Dave Parker, INDN List Political Directorabout those rumors, he explained "In the early stages of planning this event, we were made aware of the concerns of one union, UNITE/HERE, and the subsequent reticence of some of the candidates to participate in the event given those concerns. We worked diligently to eliminate those concerns, including offering to move the forum to a neutral site and using union labor in the production of the event, so the candidates no longer have any ‘labor’ excuse to boycott Prez on the Rez.

The bottom line is, some candidates have made a political calculation that they do not need to participate in a forum which brings together tribal leaders from Indian Nations across America -- that they can take Indians for granted once again -- and not have to pay a price for their neglect. Our organization was founded to ensure candidates in the future no longer see that as a viable calculation."