Jodi Rave: Indian Country optimistic for Obama

National

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

"Thousands of Native people from across the nation are in the capital this week to celebrate the Tuesday inauguration of the 44th president of the United States, a man who is bringing Indian Country with him to the Oval Office.

“We've had more discussions and more face-to-face efforts with him and his administration-to-be than we've had with all the presidents in the course of the years that I remember,” said Joe Garcia, president of the National Congress of American Indians, who has been a tribal leader for nearly four decades.

For those reasons, Garcia and American Indians around the country believe - for the first time in centuries - they will not be ignored by the federal government, and that for the first time they have the unadulterated attention of a U.S. president.

On Monday, the American Indian Society of Washington, D.C., welcomed people who had arrived for the inauguration. Native families began drumming, singing and dancing at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel as some 400 tribal leaders attended an all-day meeting there.

Tribal leaders spent most of the day discussing federal policy and budget concerns, mainly focusing on Native inclusion in President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan.

“Every four years, we celebrate our new president and with that comes a celebration of our resiliency as tribes,” said Nedra Darling, spokesman for the American Indian Society. “We are still here. We remain. We have people here who have driven from North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. I hope we can provide the best time for all people who are here to attend.”"

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Jodi Rave: Indian Country optimistic about new administration (The Missoulian 1/20)