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Kalyn Free: DNC treats tribes like 'ATM machine'
Monday, February 14, 2005

Former Congressional candidate Kalyn Free urged new Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean to reach out to Indian Country all the time, not just every time an election rolls around.

"I'm sick of the DNC treating Indians like an ATM machine that has to be courted every couple of years," Free was quoted as saying.

Free, a member of the Choctaw Nation, sought the Democratic nomination for the 2nd Congressional District in Oklahoma, which has the highest percentage of Native Americans of any in the country. Despite a huge influx of money from tribes, she lost the primary to the son of a former U.S. senator.

Free, a former Department of Justice attorney and state district attorney, is starting the Indigenous Democratic Network, or INDN's List, to encourage more Native Americans to seek public office. The group will debut at a reception in Washington, D.C., on February 28.

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Relevant Links:
Indigenous Democratic Network - http://www.indnslist.org

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