"Given how little mainstream America understands its relationship with Indian nations, what can we expect from the presumptive presidential nominees? According to their Web sites, both are proponents of Native sovereignty, self-governance and self-determination. And each has unique interpretations of what that means.

Sen. Barack Obama's interpretation is easy to find. This passage is taken directly from his Web site:

''Native American tribal nations are sovereign, self-governing, political entities and enjoy a government-to-government relationship with the United States federal government that is recognized expressly in the U.S. Constitution. Self-Determination: Barack Obama supports the principle of tribal self-determination, with recognition that the federal government must honor its treaty obligations and fully enable tribal self-governance.''

Now from Sen. John McCain:

''I believe the federal government has a special ethical and legal responsibility to help make the American dream accessible to Native Americans.'' Also, ''McCain believes in protecting tribal sovereignty and recognizes the unique government-to-government relationship with Indian tribes and the trust responsibility.'' McCain ''has long championed tribal self-governance, taking power out of the hands of Washington bureaucrats and placing it in the hands of tribal governments.'' This document was a press release dated March 18. It could not easily be found on McCain's Web site.

I wish I could provide a simple, 10-second sound bite that would work to establish 500 years of cross-cultural contact and communication. Unfortunately, many Americans believe the indigenous people of this hemisphere have been conquered and that the U.S. had the right to dictate history.

Each candidate has a chance to improve relations between the federal government and indigenous nations whose homelands eventually became the United States. It is a chance to honor, not just recognize, the sovereignty of those who have always been here. Sovereignty is not something that was bestowed on the Indian; it was the very nature of the relationship between a fledgling nation and many, long-established indigenous nations. It is a chance to honor the treaties which, according to the U.S. Constitution, are the supreme law of the land. This is a unique opportunity for each candidate to engage each indigenous nation, to begin to heal the wrongs of the past by acknowledging those wrongs rather than referring loosely to them as ''Indian country issues.''"

Get the Story:
Kevin White: Opportunities abound for new prez (Indian Country Today 7/11)

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