Congressional candidate Denise Juneau, a member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, displays a shawl she received as a gift during the Arlee Celebration on the Flathead Reservation in Montana in July 2016. Photo from Facebook
Almost time to change diapers
By Clara Caufield
Native Sun News Columnist
www.nsweekly.com I don’t know about the rest of you, but the electioneering associated with the 2016 election is already irritating to me. And, there are still four long months before decision time, during which time we will be inundated by candidates seeking office from the national, state, local and tribal arenas. After a while they all sound pretty much the same, criticizing the status quo while promising to fix it up. Recently, I watched a great old movie “Man of the Year” starring the late Robin Williams. The story was about a comedian running for President of the United States. The candidate, Tom Dobbs, is wonderfully frank, both about his very human past and about the charade of American politics. “Politicians, like diapers, should be changed on a regular basis and for the same reasons” is one of the brilliant lines. Many tribal governments have changed the dates of tribal elections to coincide with the Federal, State and County elections in an effort to encourage more Indian voter turnout. While those of us on reservations flock to the polls for tribal elections, not as many are excited about other elections. Maybe that is because at the tribal level we have very personal relationships with our elected leaders, as we either enjoy or endure their time in office. A lot of times, it is hard for us to put a name with the face of a non-Indian politician.
Read the rest of the story on the all new Native Sun News website: Almost time to change diapers (Clara Caufield can be reached at acheyennevoice@gmail.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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