'Prez on the Rez' could include GOP candidates

Friday, May 25, 2007  

Kalyn Free, the organizer of the "Prez on the Rez" forum, said she will invite Republican candidates if the Democratic ones won't commit to the upcoming debate.

Free, a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, has had trouble getting Democrats to agree to attend the August 23 forum. She said a national labor union is pressuring the candidates not to attend due to a dispute over tribal sovereignty.

"These tribal leaders are going to remember who came to 'Prez on the Rez,' and who didn't," Free told the Associated Pres. "They've already said to me if Sen. Clinton, Sen. Obama and Sen. Edwards refuse to come, what can we expect from them when they are in the White House?"

So far, only New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Sen. Mike Gravel have confirmed their attendance at the August 23 forum, set to take place on the Morongo Reservation in California. Labor unions there have been fighting to organize at casinos.

Get the Story:
Rift over California casino debate casts shadow on tribal forum (AP 5/25)
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Relevant Links:
Prez on the Rez - http://www.prezontherez.org
Indigenous Democratic Network - http://www.indnslist.org

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