ATNI News: Tribes heartened by Obama's position on Indian issues

Thursday, February 3, 2011  

"Brian Cladoosby, the president of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, was selected by other tribal leaders to lead the discussion at a momentous December meeting with President Barack Obama.

The next day, Dec. 16, Obama would take part in a much larger summit of the leaders of the 565 federally acknowledged tribes at the White House Tribal Nations Conference. But on Dec. 15, Cladoosby, Fond du Lac chairwoman Karen Diver and Crow Nation chairman Cedric Black Eagle were among just 12 in a closed-door meeting with the president.

The meeting was shorter than they expected so they decided that they would have only one minute each to tell the leader of the free world about the core issues facing Indian Country. The president had the remaining eight minutes to respond. This week, Cladoosby, with Diver and Black Eagle, recounted how they used their minutes with Obama for the 378 tribal delegates attending ATNI’s winter conference in the Coquille Tribe’s Mill Casino.

“We were talking about how Indian Country should be held harmless in the budget cuts,” Diver said. “The president said he didn’t know if he could promise that. I said, ‘Mr. President, those other entities like cities and counties have the ability to levy taxes, and you do not have a trust relationship with them.’"

Get the Story:
Tribal leaders say President Obama has a place in his heart for Indian Country, and a commitment to change (ATNI 2/2)