Government
Despite the required recount, North Dakota tribes and Indian country were already celebrating the efforts put forth for Indian champion Heidi Heitkamp’s improbable victory in her bid to hold Democrat Kent Conrad’s United States Senate seat.
Who would think that a group that makes up about one percent of the overall population could carry such a wallop? From 2000, when we defeated infamous “Indian fighter” U.S.
The battle is over, and pundits now stroll to the battlefield and shoot the survivors. I have used this bully pulpit to urge that Indians bloc vote only when threatened as Indians. My own vote turned on threats I perceived to my family. Your mileage may vary.
Many Native American teenagers are planning their future and want to make a difference—I believe that. The Native American people have—time and again—answered our nation’s call when it comes to serving in many capacities and that includes the call of service in the military.
My Fellow Americans,
It is with sadness that I concede the election to President Obama. He fought a good campaign and, while I thought I had a chance, the people of this country have spoken.
Despite the required recount, North Dakota tribes and Indian country were already celebrating the efforts put forth for Indian champion Heidi Heitkamp’s improbable victory in her bid to hold Democrat Kent Conrad’s United States Senate seat.
The ballot box has been emptied for the 2012 election in the United States. I have followed the presidential candidates and issues raised along this year’s campaign trail. The question of who shall lead and why, was at hand.
My early voting ballot is almost complete. I have done my reading, finished my research, and ignored a sufficient amount of robo-calls and attack ads. I have made my choices for county school superintendent, state representatives, and even U.S. senator.
To all our non-Native friends, this November is Native American Heritage Month and the month when we as a nation celebrate Thanksgiving. It is also the anniversary of the Sand Creek Massacre and the month in which we elect a President.
Several Indian tribes in North Dakota will soon pay more attention to the many energy resources we have in this state and on tribal lands.
In their recent letter to Indian Country Today Media Network, Congressmen Ed Markey and Ben Ray Lujan expressed concern that chronically underfunded tribal programs are in jeopardy of damaging further spending reductions.
If Indians should vote in elections called by the colonial state, the question becomes for whom? It is axiomatic that we vote our interests, but which of many interests?
Elsa Johnson, a Navajo grassroots activist and renewable energy consultant, has fond memories of the time when voter turnout on the Navajo Nation surprised Arizona. Her own family still participates in voting as a tradition, an anticipated and highly social event.
I’ve watched in amazement as the right wing alternative reality echo chamber ignores questions about the frequency of deadly weather and whether it’s the result of what Winona LaDuke calls “planet baking,” but finds time to eviscerate New Jersey Gov.