Native Americans Criticize Bush's Silence

[sarahlee]

Native Americans Criticize Bush's Silence
Response to School Shooting Is Contrasted With President's Intervention in Schiavo Case

By Ceci Connolly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 25, 2005; Page A06

MINNEAPOLIS, March 24 -- Native Americans across the country -- including tribal leaders, academics and rank-and-file tribe members - - voiced anger and frustration Thursday that President Bush has responded to the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history with silence.

Three days after 16-year-old Jeff Weise killed nine members of his Red Lake tribe before taking his own life, grief-stricken American Indians complained that the White House has offered little in the way of sympathy for the tribe situated in the uppermost region of Minnesota.

<sniip>
Weise's victims included his grandfather and five teenagers; seven other students were wounded, and two of them remain in serious condition in a hospital in Fargo, N.D.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan, in an informal discussion with reporters Tuesday, said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who were killed."

<sniip>

The reaction to Bush's silence was particularly bitter given his high-profile, late-night intervention on behalf of Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman caught in a legal battle over whether her feeding tube should be reinserted.

"The fact that Bush preempted his vacation to say something about Ms. Schiavo and here you have 10 native people gunned down and he can't take time to speak is very telling," said David Wilkins, interim chairman of the Department of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota and a member of the North Carolina-based Lumbee tribe.

<snip>

Even more alarming than Bush's silence, he said, is the president's proposal to cut $100 million from several Indian programs next year.

After hearing grumbling from tribal leaders, Jacqueline Johnson, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, called the White House on Thursday to inquire about Bush's silence. "I wanted to make sure the White House is paying attention to this issue," she said. "I wasn't sure."

Asked Thursday about Bush's silence, spokeswoman Dana Perino said that he plans to dedicate part of his Saturday radio address to the Red Lake tragedy and that he is following the case closely through the FBI and the Justice Department.

In the hours after the massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999, President Bill Clinton publicly expressed his condolences and followed up a few days later with a radio address in which he proposed new gun control measures and school safety projects.

At the Red Lake Urban Indian Office here, volunteer Marilyn Westbrook said she was disappointed but not surprised.

"I don't feel he cares about the American Indian people," said Westbrook, as she collected donations of gas cards and money to enable fellow Red Lake members to make the 260-mile journey to the reservation. "Why hasn't he made any statements about what happened with this shooting?"

Staff writers Dana Hedgpeth in Red Lake and Peter Baker in Waco, Tex., and research editor Lucy Shackelford in Washington contributed to this report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64317-2005Mar24.html

[ICantBelieve]

1. "I don't feel he cares about the American Indian people"

There's an extra word in that sentence. He doesn't care about American people--period. There's no reason for American Indians to feel singled out on this issue. Actually, there are two extra words. He doesn't care about people--period. GWB doesn't care about anyone but himself.

[Protagoras]

2. If all they criticize is his silence

then they aren't being very thorough.

But yeah...funny how all that concern for life goes away when it involves a gun, or education funding.

Wait...that isn't funny at all. I so loath the BFEE.

[tmooses]

3. In his radio address today he finally mentions it, but then

says "a relief effort is underway to help the community". The damn relief efforts should have started before the shootings happened. He proposes $100 Million dollars in cuts for Indian programs and "prays" for the natives-what a class A jerk this guy is!

[scarletwoman]

4. I'm glad this is being pointed out.

Of COURSE, bush* doesn't care, so I never expected to hear anything from him about it. And American Indians make up a pretty small and powerless constituency, so there's no reason for him to make a show of pandering to them.

But I'm glad his silence is being pointed out. Maybe a few more people will understand what despicable little turd he really is.

sw

[scarletwoman]

5. Also, I'd like to see this post get to the "Greatest" page...

I voted, how about someone else?

[City Lights]

6. He holds grudges and is probably still nursing huwt feewings because

they laughed at him when he tried to explain the meaning of sovereignty. momma bush taught demented baby bush to never forgive, never forget.

[tmooses]

7. Sometimes, no matter how hard they try to cover it up, the

true idiot peeks through. That was truly on of those times. Too bad that wasn't publicized more before the election-but then why wasn't alot of shit on Bush made more public?

[City Lights]

8. I had to watch the clip on Democracy Now's site.

Another story the corporate media buried.

Look at the difference in the 'round-the-clock coverage of Terri's circus versus the coverage of the hundreds of thousands who took to the streets of New York for chimpy's convention. The "liberal" media did their best to dismiss them as "fringe groups."

The bush propaganda machine is alive and kicking.

[cestpaspossible]

9. Bush's Greatest Hits

Bush: "Tribal sovereignty means that, it's sovereign. I mean, you're a -- you're a -- you've been given sovereignty and you're viewed as a sovereign entity. And therefore the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities."

[City Lights]

10. That's the one. LOL.

:thumbsup:

[MADem]

11. Thing is, it wasn't native Americans who laughed

It was a NA questioner, but the audience was all sorts, from Custer's cousins and the four corners of the country.

He has only himself to blame for his lameass response to the question. You'd think such a "savvy politician" would, when not knowing how to answer, play that clever game where you turn the question on the questioner, and solicit more information. Instead, he tried to give a bad definition of the word, where he used the word to explain the word, and ended up looking like what he in fact is--an idiot.

[City Lights]

13. I watched a clip off the web and couldn't tell who laughed and who didn't.

:shrug:

I didn't realize none of the Native Americans in the audience laughed.

He still holds grudges and he's still an idiot. ;-)

[MADem]

15. That was not a "Native" event

The audience was packed with all sorts of "minorities" -- in fact, the Native Americans were probably THE "minority" in the hall. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/186171_bushtribes13.html
Speaking at the Unity: Journalists of Color convention in Washington, D.C., last Friday, President Bush, responding to a question about what tribal sovereignty meant in the 21st century, said: "Tribal sovereignty means just that; it's sovereign. You're a -- you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity."

[City Lights]

16. I didn't say it was a "Native" event.

I said I watched a clip off the web and I couldn't tell who laughed and who didn't. The clip I watched was on a tiny screen. I'm not disputing your post. Native Americans were probably THE "minority" in the hall. From another post: Thing is, it wasn't native Americans who laughed. Got it. Thanks for clearing that up.

[MADem]

19. I was just trying to give you the context of the event

I didn't get the impression that you were disputing.

I watched the whole thing live on CSPAN. The audience was predominantly AA, with a decent Hispanic showing, as well as others.

[City Lights]

21. The clip I saw contained the question from Mark Trahant along with

bush's response. It then moved on to Jesse Jackson, who "explained" what bush said. Most of the laughing occurred during Jesse Jackson's explanation. The camera remained on him throughout most of the clip, so while I could hear laughing, I couldn't determine which people were laughing and which were not.

You saw the whole thing. I saw some of the highlights. Thanks for filling in the blanks. :hi:

[jmcon007]

12. Bush...a different animal

My heart breaks for the Red Lake families. I grew up on Osage Nation land in Oklahoma and me, my brother and sister felt like we were cousins with many of the Native Americans in our neighborhood. I'm white as driven snow, but we didn't ponder our differences because, outside of maybe the different customs we had, we didn't feel there was a difference.
George Bush is a different animal altogether. He once made the comment that "poor people are poor because they're lazy." Isn't that a nice thought for the "leader" of the United States to have?
I don't have a lot of money, but I've worked my butt off for what I do have. Thinking back....I can say that my dad and the dads of a lot of my Osage friends would have kicked Bush's ass good for saying something like that around them.
Is there some way people around the country can help the Red Lake families?

[scarletwoman]

18. Donations for Red Lake:

Donations may be sent to:
Red Lake Nation Memorial Fund
P.O. Box 574
Red Lake, MN 56671

Also, donations can be made at any Wells Fargo Bank branch.

I have been unable to find any online donation site, however.

sw

[kerrygoddess]

14. Some view on this...

I posted some views on this yesterday on LUTD with some background on the struggles of the Native Americans...

http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=621

“Mitakuye Oyasin – We Are All Related.”

[deadparrot]

17. No room for them in the "culture of life"?

Surprise, surprise. :puke:

[newyawker99]

20. sarahlee

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