Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. "better wake up," Sen. Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico) says.

Domenici blasted Shirley, who has endorsed Sen. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) for president, in an interview with the Associated Press. "The truth of the matter is that under President Bush, the Navajo people have been the recipients of an exceptional amount of funding," Domenici was quoted as saying. "President Joe Shirley better wake up."

Domenici said tribal members are being misled by their leaders, who have also endorsed Kerry through the Navajo Nation council. He told the AP that the tribe has received $470 million in funding under the Bush administration and derided Shirley for suggesting the president visit the reservation to understand their needs.

"Does he think candidate Kerry has any better understanding of how poor the Navajos are?" he said. "President Shirley, are you suggesting that the poverty in Indian country has been the result of the last four years of activity by the federal government led by George Bush? That's such an exaggeration that it's almost incredible."

Domenici also appeared to trivialize the concept of sovereignty. "Many Indian leaders talk about individual sovereignty. Individual sovereignty is already a reality. To continue to try to make it a distinguishing issue between Bush and Kerry is just unreal he was quoted as saying.

Get the Story:
Indian endorsements pit Navajo leader against powerful senator (AP 10/28)

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