Bernie's commitments on Native issues

[Mike__M]

The Sanders campaign announced the creation of a Native American Policy Committee last week. More details are coming out; here are four issues he's committed to address:

1 Within 100 days of his presidency Sanders has pledged to convene a climate change summit and to include Native American representation.

2 Affirm and expand Native American nations’ gains in the last couple of years. Not just supporting initiatives like Obama’s Generation Indigenous but to secure funding for this programs.

3 Expanding and protecting tribal rights to jurisdiction.

4 Continue the White House Tribal Nations Conference (an annual conference Obama began shortly after he took office) and retain a Native American policy advisor as begun under Obama’s administration.

[This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
"http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Bernie-Sanders-Courts-Native-American-Voters-20160214-0008.html"]

Number 3 is "yuuuge"-- Save our sisters!

Details for each point are at the teleSUR link.

[beam me up scottie]

1. Good, this is overdue, I'm glad he's focusing on Native American issues.

He's always been supportive but I'm glad to see him specifically address them in his campaign.

[TheBlackAdder]

22. I'm taking a North American Indians course right now, they got screwed over. nt

[PonyUp]

2. Wait for it....wait for it...

NOT GOOD ENOUGH, BERNIE!!!

[cherokeeprogressive]

6. SHHH! A particular poster is already looking for a picture showing Native American fighters

Holding up white folks' scalps up as trophies!

[historylovr]

3. Great news!

[HDSam]

4. It would

be interesting to hear his thoughts on tribal disenrollment.

[Mike__M]

8. Wow, yes!

[Mike__M]

11. Stop

Disenrollment

[HDSam]

14. Here's my concern-

"3. Expanding and protecting tribal rights to jurisdiction."

Does that also mean not interfering with tribal councils/governments in their continuing efforts to disenroll members? This is obviously a very important question that should be answered.

[Mike__M]

16. I really don't know if Sanders

has an opinion on this issue. From his stand on almost every other issue, I'm sure that if he looked at it he would be opposed to "establishment" tribal governments acting against the people.
Anyway, I doubt that any one person's opinion matters much on such a profound problem; thanks to the Constitution and John Marshall, it will be up to Congress, which is to say the Supreme Court, to make a determination. I sure don't see any easy solution; the current bottom-up approach of shaming attempts at disenrollment, exemplified in the Stop Disenrollment movement is a hope. Blocking tribal sovereignty would be a baby-with-bathwater mistake.

[jwirr]

15. I seriously doubt that tribes are ever going to give up their

right to kick others out of the tribe.

Our local leaders have kicked out the whole family of my great grand children's mother. We have custody of our kids and she has lost two others - one she gave away and another the state just took away and friends of ours have adopted her. Recently heard that she is pregnant again. The family are known as drug dealers and a whole lot of other things. The mother used to set in the tribal offices insisting they help her just one more time. The tribe did just to get her out of the office but in a couple of days she would be back.

And before you tell me she needs help - she has been in treatment programs most of her life. She often uses them to score drugs. But she never uses them to stop using.

There is other forms of disenrollment that are much more unfair. Many tribes are struggling with the number of children who are no longer eligible for enrollment because of mixed marriages. This is actually a big problem for the tribes as their membership is falling.

There are also tribes that have a cut off date for enrollment based on blood quantum. I know one man who is the youngest of 6 and is the only one in the family not enrolled. At least they could make sure that they did not cut off family members.

But again my guess is that you would not find many tribal members who would want to hand this decision over to the feds. So there is not really much we can do about it.

[HDSam]

17. I could

call at least ten before the next reply is posted. A lot of the animosity and injustice could be alleviated by creating a Native American court of appeals at the regional level, preferably staffed exclusively by tribal members.

[jwirr]

18. Now that I agree with.

[jfern]

5. He got 5 of the 6 delegates at that one reservation precinct in Iowa

But no one ever gives Hillary shit for not being to win Native American votes.

[XemaSab]

7. Why are the Natives in Interior?

You know, with the other wildlife.

I'd love to see all the agencies that work with natural resources under one umbrella, and the BIA moved to where it belongs: the State Department.

[Mike__M]

10. Today's Republicans

could put it back in the War Department (forget about wimpy "Defense&quot .

[jwirr]

13. I'm not too sure that the State Department is not just like

the War Department.

[JackRiddler]

9. Note the American media coverage.

South American, anyway.

This country, honestly.

[jwirr]

12. Wonderful start.

[myrna minx]

19. K&R

[bigtree]

20. k&r

[PyaarRevolution]

21. I would like to see...

A law passed that declares reservations sovereign, period.

[Uncle Joe]

23. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Mike_M.