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Courting the Indian vote
Knowing the election will be very close, John Kerry is actively pursuing the American Indian vote. Following the more than 100 Indian delegates and alternates who attended the Democrat National Convention, tribal leaders are lined up to support the Kerry-Edwards ticket. Tex Hall, president of the National Congress of American Indians, hopes to deliver one million new Indian voters to the Democrat party, come November.
So why do some Indians support President Bush? Why, when Republicans have so often opposed tribal rights, did 35 of us attend the Republican National Convention in New York?
The short answer is that, at root, we are a conservative people, and Bush is the conservative choice. A more fundamental reason, however, is that, historically, Democrats have preyed upon Indians, while Republicans have protected Indians.
History says Republicans are better
Under Abraham Lincoln, the Republican party tried to rally voters around the issue of making Indians full citizens. A century later, Richard Nixon denounced "termination" of Indian tribes and advocated tribal self-determination. President Reagan did, too, and signed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) to foster self-sufficiency through economic growth and development.
George W. Bush continues this tradition, with his strong commitment to tribal self-sufficiency and, his recent gaff notwithstanding, sovereignty:
Native American cultures survive and flourish when tribes retain control over their own affairs and their own future. That is why, earlier this morning, I signed an executive memorandum to all federal agencies reaffirming the federal government's longstanding commitment to respect tribal sovereignty and self-determination.— President George W. Bush, President Honors the National Museum of the American Indian, September 23, 2004, 8:35 A.M. EDT
Democrats, on the other hand, have given more overtures of friendship than any enduring help.
In the 1830s, under Andrew Jackson, the Democrat party opposed and viciously attacked Indian tribal rights, creating the infamous Trail of Tears.. Since then, more by accident than design, liberal policies have sucked the life out of Indian country through enticing programs that foster poverty, apathy and dependency.
A crippling dependence
Money, dribbled out a few pennies at a time, keeps tribes coming back for more: Once hooked, it's hard to say no. John Kerry demonstrated his intention to perpetuate this dependence, recently, with promises of more money to fund Indian Health Services:
The Indian Health Service is severely under funded, and John Kerry and John Edwards support meaningful increases for this vital means of providing health care to Native communities.—Kerry and Edwards, Ensuring Tribal Sovereignty and Working to Improve the Lives of Native Americans
As a member of my tribe's health board, I know firsthand how desperately tribal health programs need cash. But the short‑term solutions offered by handouts often create more long‑term problems, by crippling the ability to our people to fend for themselves. Hence, the alliance with Democrats is one to which the tribes have been driven by desperation rather than inclination.
Past Wrongs, Present Rights?
Traditionally, we are a conservative people. The things that are important to us include family, community, conservation, autonomy, reverence for the past, gratitude for the present and respect for the future.
These conservative values pound, like tribal drums at powwow, with yesterday's hope and tomorrow's promise. So it makes sense for Indians to join Republican conservatives. Unfortunately, the dichotomy between Republican politics and Social Conservative principles alienates many.
To a degree, this dichotomy stems from the members of both parties, who assume Indian rights exist to make up for past wrongs.
The litany of wrongs is long and well known: Hundreds of broken treaties, thousands of broken promises, tens of thousands of murders and rapes, and millions of dead Indians weigh upon the American conscience. It's both easy to assume and common to believe that Indian rights are to make up for the victimization of our people.
Democrats embrace the guilt, and call upon our government to "do something," while Republicans shrug impatiently and growl, "get over it!" But they are both wrong. Indian rights have nothing to do with compensating victimization.
When the founding fathers wrote the Constitution of the United States, they recognized that Indian tribes are sovereign nations. As such, tribes possess certain inherent rights. Rights which inhere, today, in the recognized tribes.
Reason to join Republicans
We cannot teach this to our conservative counterparts in the Republican party if we try to do it from the Democrat platform. This is one reason why some of us are abandoning the Democrats. Another, is that we see our rightful place in the political arena to be with our fellow conservatives.
For example, although he doesn't make a big deal about it, Washington state Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi is a Tlingit Indian. David Yeagley, a conservative writer of some renown, is a Comanche Indian. Oglala Lakota political activist Bruce Whalen is the Shannon County's GOP committee chairman, in South Dakota, and a strong proponent of Dumping Tom Daschle. And 35 of us attended the Republican National Convention, as delegates and alternates, to show our support for George W. Bush and his conservative but progressive agenda.
Entitlements vs. Empowerment
The Democrats are the party of entitlements, who tell Indians we can't make it on our own, and they will give us stuff. The Republicans are the party of empowerment, who tell us we can make it on our own, and they will give us help us to do it.
Both parties emotionalize the issues, but while liberals attempt to mold us into their vision of the ideal, and teach us what to think, conservatives accept the human condition for what it is, and teach us how to think. Republicans invite us to succeed, Democrats condition us to dependency.
The Republican party may be far from perfect, but more and more Indians are joining the GOP, because it more closely reflects the conservative principles of our ancestors. And that is the most compelling reason of all.
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