Marcella LeBeau, a 99-year-old World War II veteran from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, asks the 2020 presidential candidates about their support for the Remove the Stain Act, a bill to rescind the Medals of Honor for the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre, at the Frank LaMere Native American Presidential Forum in Sioux City, Iowa, on August 20, 2019. Photo: Ho-Chunk Inc

National | Politics

Schedule for Native American Presidential Forum in Nevada

Thursday, January 9, 2020

At least four candidates will be attending the Four Directions and Nevada Tribal Nations Native American Presidential Forum next week, organizers said on Thursday.

Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana; businessman Tom Steyer; entrepreneur Andrew Yang; Tulsi Gabbard, a member of Congress from Hawaii; and Mark Charles, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, are scheduled to participate in the forum. The event takes place January 14 and January 15 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Charles, who is running as an Independent, is slated to appear on the opening day of the forum, with Buttigieg, Gabbard and Steyer scheduled to present on the following day. The time slot for Yang is being determined.

Somebody’s Daughter, a documentary about the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, will see its world premiere on January 15, 2020, at the Four Directions and Nevada Tribal Nations Native American Presidential Forum in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Charles is the only repeat participant from the Frank LaMere Native American Presidential Forum, which took place last August in Iowa. In a historic achievement, the earlier event drew a record 11 candidates, including front-runners like Bernie Sanders, the U.S. Senator from Vermont, and Elizabeth Warren, the U.S. Senator from Massachusetts.

Together, the two events will have drawn nearly every Democratic and Independent candidate for president. Notable holdouts include Joe Biden, who served as vice president under president Barack Obama, and Cory Booker, the U.S. Senator from New Jersey.

Four Directions, the Native American Rights Fund, the National Congress of American IndiansNative Organizers Alliance are serving as the host committee for next week's event. In addition to hosting the presidential candidates over two days, they have organized a series of panels on issues of importance in Indian Country, including voting rights, education and sacred sites.

The forum also serves as the world premiere for Somebody’s Daughter, a documentary about the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women. The film will be screened on January 15.

The following is a draft schedule for the Four Directions and Nevada Tribal Nations Native American Presidential Forum, taking place January 14-15, 2020, at the Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The schedule is subject to change.

January 14, 2020
9:00 am - Opening Ceremony / Welcome by Las Vegas Paiute Tribe
9:30 am - Wovaka to Wounded Knee, a Discussion
10:30 am - Interview of OJ Semans re Census and
Interview of Kevin Allis re Broadband in Indian Country
11:00 am - Panel on Nevada Tribal Nations Issues
12:00-12:30 pm - Break for lunch
1:00 pm - Remarks by distinguished guests
2:00 pm - Confirmed Candidate Mark Charles, Independent
3:00 pm - Panel on Native American political engagement – From denial to full participation
4:00 pm - Candidate 2
5:00 pm - Panel on Multicultural Opportunities for Full Integration into Political Participation in America

January 15, 2020
9:00 am - Opening Ceremony
9:30 am - World Premier of Somebody’s Daughter, an important MMIW Documentary
11:00 am - Confirmed Candidate Pete Buttigieg
12:00-12:30 pm - Break
12:30 – 2:45 pm - Panel on Native American Education – Challenges, Burdens, and links to Economic Development
2:45 pm - Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard
3:00 pm - Panel on Climate Change, Environment, Sacred Sites – What Indian Country can Teach the United States
4:00 pm - Confirmed Candidate Tom Steyer, Democrat
5:00 pm - Candidate 6
6:00 pm - Closing Ceremony

Indianz.Com Video - Frank LaMere Native American Presidential Forum