"OK, before I continue, I need to offer a disclaimer: As a professional journalist, I don't endorse the president or any politician.

Knowing that, I struggled for a while before creating the group. Would it appear as if I was endorsing Obama's presidency by creating this group? Maybe, probably. Did the potential appearance of a conflict of interest trump my belief that journalists have always been and should be creators of discussion?

Ultimately, I decided it was just too interesting a question to pass up. And I decided I would be careful in how I described the group and that I certainly would invite criticism of the president on the page. I also decided not to offer any of my own suggestions as to who might be a Native Obama (though I'll reserve the right to take part in discussions that arise on the page).

To distinguish it from the handful of Facebook groups I found that relate to the search for an Asian Indian Obama, I decided to call the group "The Search for a Native American Obama."

Here's my description of the group: "A group created to identify Native American leaders who have the potential to become president one day and who share qualities associated with Barack Obama: optimism, integrity, charisma and confidence.""

Get the Story:
Kevin Abourezk: Searching for a Native Obama (RezNet News 4/17)

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