Topic Twofer: Richardson for Prez + Native American Issues
I read Indian County Today religiously. Obviously, the primary reason is that they cover Native issues that are naturally of particular interest to me, but there’s another reason, too: They cover some great stories that I don’t find anywhere else. And last night, when I finally got to my hotel and logged on, lo and behold, what do I find on the home page of ICT?
You got it: the first real interview with Bill Richardson the Presidential Candidate that I’ve seen anywhere. (Yeah, I know the NYT Mag did that one-page "Questions for . . ." piece a couple of weeks ago, and I’m glad, but that doesn’t qualify as a real interview.) The interview, conducted by ICT Special Correspondent Sonny Skyhawk, appears under a hed that is actually a quote from Bill, extracted from the interview: "I would have a cabinet department for Native American affairs."
Now, what first caught my attention wasn’t the photo of Bill, or anything else that identified him as the subject of the piece - all of that was "below the fold," so to speak, and I had to scroll down to see the synopsis. But as soon as I saw the hed, two things immediately flashed through my mind in succession: 1) What an awesome idea! and 2) Hey! Finally! An interview with Bill!
The exchange begins as follows:
Sonny Skyhawk: How was it possible for you to establish such a strong rapport with the Pueblo population in New Mexico, and yet many other governors are having difficulty addressing the Native population in their own states?
Gov. Bill Richardson: Since the beginning, since I was a congressman, [the] Secretary of Energy, United Nations ambassador, I felt that our Native American people have not gotten the priority attention they deserve, so I’ve made them partners.
Very true. Now, don’t get me wrong; there are many issues on which Richardson is not regarded as particularly friendly to Native Americans. But that’s true of any pol, and any constituency. Among pols generally, and here in New Mexico specifically, Richardson has done by far the most to bring our tribe into the political and governmental processes and to make sure their concerns get a hearing. And while I have no illusions about his motivation for doing so - he’s always had larger ambitions - I’ll take it any way it comes. And the fact of the matter is that he has done a great deal for the tribes in this state over the last four years, and he’s created a great intertribal team of loyalists.
The piece begins with Richardson recounting his achievements on behalf of Native Americans in his various political roles over the years. One of those achievements that I’ve always found aprticularly gratifying is this:
As governor, I’ve had two cabinet members [who were] Native Americans; I’ve elevated the Indian affairs to cabinet level - it never used to be cabinet-level. I’ve appointed Native Americans to not just jobs in the administration, but commissions that deal with water and infrastructure.
I’ve known some of these folks, and they’ve made outstanding contributions to the process of government in this state. These are not simply patronage appointments: These are professionals who, by their presence and input, have improved both the process and the result, and who have helped ensure that indigenous needs and concerns get addressed by a bureaucracy that has always been too willing to ignore their existence (until, of course, it’s time for non-Natives to bitch about the casinos, or tribal lands, or the fact that some Indian had the temerity to object to racist imagery).
In discussing the cabinet post, he had this to say:
If I’m elected president, I would propose to make the cabinet secretary of Indian Affairs the Secretary of Indian Affairs; I would make it cabinet level. I would try, because I believe within the Department of the Interior it does not get the attention it deserves. I would have a cabinet department for Native American affairs. […]In terms of being governor, we have said that we recognize all tribes as equals, self-determination and government-to-government. And a Pueblo governor is equal to the governor of New Mexico. They’re citizens of New Mexico. I just feel very strongly about it and I’m going to continue doing that if I’m elected president.
Now, how many politicians - anywhere in this country - have you ever heard acknowledge that a "[tribal] governor is equal to the governor of [a state]?" I’d pretty much guarantee that you haven’t. Because tribal sovereignty is the proverbial elephant in the room, and no American pol wants to touch it with a barge pole.
Considering my own vested interests, if I had not already decided who to support in the primary, that one statement would have made up my mind for me.
I particularly like the substance of this next exchange:
Bill, baby, you’re singin’ my song. Native health care, education, sovereignty - "a government-to-government relationship" . . . ! Now this is what we, as Native Americans, should be demanding from our leaders.Skyhawk: As a candidate that is running for the highest office in this land, can you see the relationship with American Indians as being not only vital to the presidency but vital to the point that you try to acquire the acceptance of Native Americans throughout America?
Richardson: Yes, I would consider it a vital relationship and today it’s not considered that. I’m very concerned about the lack of commitment by the federal government, not just in the area of health care but also education. This is why in New Mexico, because there is no strong federal commitment, we have the statewide Indian Healthcare Act where the state, not takes over, but supplements the health care that is not happening [on the federal level].
I’m particularly concerned about the plight nationally: not just of reservation Native Americans, but urban Indians. Many are living in our cities, off the reservations, and they are not getting health care - they are not getting assistance. We need to develop some better delivery systems for urban Indians throughout the country in our major cities. I would consider it vital. I would make it a government-to-government relationship.
I would include also a number of initiatives that would bureaucratically elevate that status, such as a cabinet agency; such as an effort to deal with each tribe as a sovereign nation and I would try to resolve this Indian trust fund issue. I would try to resolve some of the issues related to waters and public lands and the disputes that exist.
And then he gets specific:
First, I would fully fund the Indian Healthcare Act. There would be a stronger budget in my administration on Indian health care. When it comes to education and when it comes to childhood obesity, the highest suicide rate is among Indian kids. I would try to set up on the reservations, as I have here in New Mexico, school-based health clinics: health clinics in schools that are able to work with kids, counsel them and give them early intervention.
I feel like dancing right now. Full funding for the IHCA is essential - the federal government’s failure to do so is killing our people. And he’s right about suicide rates; to those I would add diabetes, alcoholism, and drug (especially meth) use rates.
To my knowledge, this is the first interview that ICT has done with any of the ‘08 presidential candidates. Of course, Richardson’s a natural choice, since we have so many different tribes in this state, and he has done so much more than most other pols to bring them thoroughly into the mainstream of the political process. But I’m still glad to see ICT lead off with him - both for the exposure it gets him, and for the attention it calls to the benefits of treating Native Americans as political equals. Maybe it’ll shame of few others out there into doing likewise.
