Indian issues were ignored on Tuesday night at a Democratic presidential debate that was billed as a forum for African-American and Hispanic issues. The "Black-Brown" debate featured Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-New York), Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois) and former Sen. John Edwards (D-North Carolina). Sponsored by MSNBC, it took place in Las Vegas, Nevada. INDN's List, a group formed to support Indian Democratic candidates, pressured MSNBC and the other co-sponsors -- which included African-American and Hispanic groups -- to address Indian issues in the debate. Kalyn Free, a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma who founded INDN's List, and Louis Gray, a member of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma who is working in Nevada on behalf of INDN's List, both touted the inclusion as positive. But the debate mostly focused on terrorism, the war in Iraq and a race relations dustup between the campaigns of Clinton and Obama. No questions about Indian issues were asked and none of the candidates addressed tribal concerns. The only issue of interest was the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility, which is located on traditional Western Shoshone land. Clinton and Edwards vowed to prevent any waste from being stored there. Obama said the repository was a bad idea but seemed noncommittal about its future. Native Americans make up 1.2 percent of Nevada's population and the state is home to more than two dozen tribes. The Democratic primary is being held this Saturday. Get the Story:
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