Today's event on the Crow Reservation in Montana was the most memorable event of this campaign. And it is one Obama did not need to make.
At the event, Obama was introduced by a man in full Crow wardrobe, and was escorted to the stage by his newly adoptive parents, Sonny and Mary Black Eagle and was given the name Barack Black Eagle, which means “one who helps all people of this land.” As he walked to the stage--forgive me my ignorance here--the crowd greeted him loudly with traditional yells and the pounding of drums.
He spoke of how his administration will honor all treaties, will have a senior position in charge of Indian affairs, will have an annual meeting at the White House with all leaders of every Indian nation. He also said:
"We will never be able to undo the wrongs that have been done to you."
"Now I'm a member of your family, and I will never forget my commitment to my brothers and sisters."
He also had said earlier in the day in Billings, Montana that he is considering creating a National Day of Recognition for Native Americans on the day after Thanksgiving.
I've noticed for a long while that Obama is always making sure to mention Native Americans in his speeches, even in states with almost no Native American population. According to census.gov, in 2000 1.8 million Americans are solely Native American. Another 2.1 million are part Native American. That means the total population is about 1.4% fully or partially Native American. Even in Montana, they are only about 6% of the population.
So why is Obama doing this? Is he pandering, going hard after the Native American vote? But even out west, this will not be a great percentage of the voters, and it is liable to excite the rightwing even more to come out to vote against him. Some must be thinking when they see and hear of this event--"he's got the blacks, the Muslims, he'll get the Mexicans, and now he wants the Indians, too?"
This is Barack Hussein Obama, who is being smeared as un-American, as Muslim, as the terrorists' favorite candidate, as the candidate of everybody except the hard-working white people who will decide the election. Surely there were advisors that told him this is not what he should be doing right now, something that I can't remember any other Presidential candidate doing.
The only answer is that Barack genuinely feels a strong empathy for the problems facing Native Americans. He has called slavery America's original sin. It seems clear that he regards the fate of the first Americans another sin that America must address if it is to move forward as one people.
While I have always found Barack Obama appealing, he was not my first choice candidate last year. Like many of us, I was waiting for Al Gore to announce, and I thought Obama was simply too inexperenced to have much of a chance against Gore, Clinton, or Edwards. When it became apparent that Gore wouldn't be running, I still was undecided between Edwards and Obama, whose campaign seemed unfocused and not ready for the major leagues of presidential politics. I wasn't sure he would be a strong president, even after I threw my support behind him just before Iowa.
But I was certainly wrong about that. Obama is growing stronger every day, more confident, authoritative, and assertive than he was even weeks ago. The tough campaign with Hillary, and the knowledge that he has defeated as strong a candidate as her, has given him new strength. I couldn't be more excited to look forward to the possibilities of an Obama presidency.
I want to highlight a comment made about the Crow nation on another DU thread by northernsoul: "I was in Crow Agency a few months ago. The poverty there is simply indescribable... The level of animus the local whites and even some other native tribes have towards the Crow people is deep and profound. Frankly, I'm stunned and deeply moved that any politician would make time for people who are in many ways "the lowest of the low" in modern-day America. To me, this affirms my sense that Obama is a man of extraordinary character and moral vision. I can't wait to have this guy in the White House."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6031917#6032874Here's a link to a partial video of today's event (it's the only one I have found). Unfortunately, it does not have Obama's introduction and entrance, picking up the first four and a half minutes of his remarks, but it is still great to see:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/video-obama-visits-crow-nation/And here's a DU thread with some fantastic pictures of today's event:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6033408&mesg_id=6033408
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