Tribal leaders say it's a grave disappointment that the political focus on Native Americans these days can seem limited to their reaction to Sen. Elizabeth Warren's DNA test results.
Tribal leaders say it's a grave disappointment that the political focus on Native Americans these days can seem limited to their reaction to Sen. Elizabeth Warren's DNA test results or President Donald Trump calling her"Pocahontas" to disparage her fraught history of claiming Native American ancestry.
Held in Sioux City, Iowa, and attended by eight presidential candidates, it was the largest Native American presidential forum in history and tribal leaders hoped it marked a turning point. Ultimately, although Warren chose to open her remarks at the forum with an apology for her “mistakes” and “any harm” she caused by claiming Native American ancestry over the years and taking a DNA test in 2018 — an action criticized by tribes who pointed out the difference between DNA and tribal citizenship — it wasn’t something she was asked about by any of the panelists on stage.
But her concerns over Warren’s decisions in the past were dwarfed compared to threats from the Trump administration, she said, and hopes about what the potential next president could do for tribes. “I mean, I think it's just a matter of her moving forward,” said Rep. Deb Haaland, one of the first Native American women in Congress and one of the first to endorse Warren.
Democrat or Republican, the votes are ripe for candidates who show they understand the issues affecting tribes, he and others said. “There was no platform” for Native American issues, he said of the Clinton-Kaine campaign in 2016. “So, we don't want to make that same mistake. And I’m trying to not to be partisan, but I just want candidates to take notice that there are a number of American Indians in those respective states that could make the difference,” Payment said.
Payment, Semans and other tribal leaders listed a similar rundown of key issues, including honoring the treaty obligations of the government to tribes and calling attention to the increasing number of women being murdered or going missing on tribal lands. Another issue key facing tribes is the alarming number of murdered and missing women whose cases have gone unsolved, in part because of laws that only allow tribal nations to make an arrest or prosecute a suspect if they determine that person is a citizen of the federally recognized tribe.
“I mean, you know, our rights as humans just to live in peace and prosperity. I think that's one of the main things because everything else will fall under it,” he added. “That's going to affect our fresh water — so that's another big issue and I'm kind of hopeful and optimistic that we're gonna get a change in president and hopefully get that stopped like, it was stopped when Obama was president,” he said. The Keystone XL project is supported by Trump, though it’s currently tied up in litigation.
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