Navajo Delegates Heartened by Large Native Presence at DNC

[L. Coyote]

Navajo Delegates Heartened by Large Native Presence at DNC
Navajo Times, News Report, Cindy Yurth, Posted: Aug 27, 2008 - http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=dc6b8e96b90a1a2f07fde149af1314f3

(Cindy Yurth of Navajo Times is in Denver -- thanks to New America Media -- to cover the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 25-28, 2008. She and nine other NAM-sponsored ethnic-media journalists are blogging and reporting on the DNC for electorates of color across the country.)

DENVER - Frank LaMere knew it was going to be a good convention when the Ute medicine man was blessing the Pepsi Center. "The most majestic bald eagle I have ever seen flew over downtown Denver and circled the Pepsi Center," ....

... the first convention where the caucus was a caucus. ... some people within the group were able to convince the DNC to make the Native delegation an official caucus, he noted, placing Natives on equal footing with the other race-based caucuses: Hispanic, Black and Asian.

In addition, this year's convention includes a record number of Native delegates - about 140, or 2.3 percent of the 6,000 delegates.

.... LaMere said some members were working on a draft resolution protesting what they see as a lenient sentence for former tribal lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who pleaded guilty to bilking some casino tribes out of millions. .... LaMere said. "This is somebody who took $85 million of our money."

Superdelegate Kalyn Free, who founded Indnslist.org to support Native candidates around the country, said she's looking forward to a convention where a Native presidential candidate is nominated.

"We're all primed to see a Obama up there," she told the caucus, "but can you imagine how we would feel if that person were an American Indian?"

[L. Coyote]

1. DNC Native caucus slams McCain on lobbying, Jack Abramoff

DNC Native caucus slams McCain on lobbying
Rob Capriccioso - August 26, 2008 - http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096418054


DENVER - On opening day of the Democratic National Convention, several American Indian political leaders who support Sen. Barack Obama took the opportunity to tie disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff to the Republican party and to Sen. John McCain. ....

A draft resolution being considered for adoption by the First American Caucus reads in part: ''... lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his Republican cohorts have done irrefutable harm to tribes and their ability to fully participate in political campaigns ...'' ....

The resolution, which was written jointly by several members of the caucus, states that Ralph Reed, a former Abramoff business associate, helped to organize a fundraiser held Aug. 18 for McCain's campaign - despite assertions from the McCain camp that this is not the case.

It calls on the presumptive GOP presidential candidate, as well as the Republican National Committee, to renounce campaign involvement of those who have been involved in fraudulent activities.

''he honest efforts of tribes to fully involve themselves in local state and national political campaigns has been damaged by the negative press, and the negative perceptions that were created by the dishonest actions of noted Republican activists who were associated with Jack Abramoff,'' the resolution says.

The document notes, too, that Abramoff ''conspired to bill Indian tribal governments out of an estimated $85 million in fees'' and that the former businessman played a role in the Bush administration's 2001 transition advisory team.......

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