A MESSAGE FROM BARACK OBAMA:I was fortunate to be able to grow up seeing America from varied viewpoints. My childhood was spent in Hawaii and Indonesia. After college I worked as a community organizer on the South side of Chicago focusing on improving living conditions in poor neighborhoods.I came to understand that to truly solve the problems facing our communities, it would take a change in our laws and our politics. I ran and served for seven years in the Illinois state Senate, where I fought for expanding children's health care, providing tax cuts for the working poor and enacting welfare reform. In 2004, I was elected to the U.S. Senate, where I have worked to pass laws securing dangerous weapons and making government more accountable. I have also opposed the Iraq war from the start, and believe that we need to bring our troops home by March of 2008 so we can refocus on the wider struggle against terrorism.Of all my life experiences, I am most proud of my wife Michelle and my daughters Malia and Sasha.
View All Friends | View Blog | Add Comment
..
MESSAGE ACROSS INDIAN COUNTRY: ___________________________________________ *Alray Nelson- NAVAJO NATIONI support Barack because I believe he is the only candidate that represents me and my values. I honor my traditional beliefs and my language. Barack stands behind the same message. I want HOPE. I want CHANGE. and I want LEADERSHIP. Obama continues to reassure all Americans, native/non-native, that in a strong America, we all can make a difference if we want to.___________________________________________ * Gabriel Moses - THE NEZ PERCE TRIBEI support Barack Obama because he is the candidate that understands that great power demands responsibility and accountability. Barack personifies the qualities that make America the Greatest Country on Earth: Hope, Intelligence, Responsibility and Ethics.Barack Obama has demonstrated that he will work to improve all of America and not just those social, political, or business elite that use buy influence to shift America's landscape to their personal benefit. I am supporting Barack Obama because I believe that he understands that this elitist shift is detrimental to America because it creates an America of haves, and have nots. This creates an America that does not guarantee the free pursuit of life, liberty and happiness, based on the content of character or of hard work, but of access to privilege and representation based on money for power. This climate needs to change if we are going to become the America the world remembers, respects, and needs.I urge you to support Barack Obama as well.___________________________________________ * Donald Lott Jr - ASSINIBOINE TRIBE OF MONTANAWe have devoted our careers to preserving, and strengthening the voice of American Indians and Alaska Natives in this country. As young American Indian leaders it is our responsibility to support candidates that will recognize and embrace the political status of Indian Tribes. We believe that Senator Obama’s experience as a community organizer, coupled with his message of Change will benefit America’s first citizens. It is also our belief that Senator Obama’s conviction and respect for government accountability will reaffirm the United State’s commitment to Indian Tribes.Furthermore, Senator Obama’s message has inspired us to begin a grass roots effort to educate our tribal community about the importance of civic engagement. In the spirit of unity, community and opportunity, we support Senator Barack Obama.
SOVEREIGNTY AND TRIBAL-FEDERAL RELATIONS:While tribes have benefited from relations with the federal government, there have also been drawbacks. The federal government has forced the tribes to interface with a complex array of agencies and bodies. As president, Barack Obama would create a National Indian Policy Advisor to serve on his White House staff. This adviser would oversee a National American Indian Advisory Council and have the president’s ear on Indian affairs.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:More than a quarter of American Indians live in poverty and the unemployment rates on some reservations have reached 80 percent. Barack Obama has been a lifelong advocate for the poor—as a young college graduate, he rejected the high salaries of corporate America and to work as a community organizer in South Chicago neighborhoods devastated by factory closings. He supports a comprehensive approach that invests in infrastructure and infuses capital while building an authentic government-to-government relationship between the tribes and the federal government.
TRIBAL EDUCATION:Barack Obama believes that education is the key to empowering American Indians. The government has an obligation to provide the resources needed to educate American Indians. Central to his plan will be a large-scale Native language education program—a resource that has been proven to increase academic performance across the board. Obama’s plan will also provide the necessary funding to give the tribes the flexibility they need to create relevant curriculums and programs for their communities.
LAW ENFORCEMENT:The federal government has failed to live up to its obligation to help the tribes maintain order and protect their people. Much of the problem stems from the jurisdictional maze that makes up the tribal justice complex. Barack Obama would work to encourage a reexamination of the current jurisdictional scheme. In doing so, Obama would also provide the tribes with the funding they need to create effective law enforcement and judicial systems.