Unity, political influence on agenda at national gathering of Indian leaders

By Susan Montoya Bryan
The Associated Press

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Indian sovereignty. Trust reform. Political influence in the 2004 elections.

About 3,000 Indian leaders arrived here yesterday for the start to the weeklong National Congress of American Indians' (NCAI) 60th-annual convention with those issues at the top of the agenda. Organizers hope the meeting will promote unity and awareness.

"Each tribe is an autonomous government and clearly has this autonomous government-to-government relation, but whenever you can get a larger voice, it's easier to be heard," said Jacqueline Johnson, the NCAI's executive director.

With the 2004 elections approaching, the organization is taking advantage of its larger voice to invite candidates to present their platforms on Indian issues.

Democratic presidential candidates Howard Dean, Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark were expected to appear at the convention, and other candidates planned to address the group via satellite.

Competition for the Indian vote isn't as fierce as the national parties' fight for support from the growing Hispanic population, but Indians have been working to take advantage of the clout they do have.

During the 2000 presidential campaign, both Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore wooed Indian voters in New Mexico. That same year, Indian voters rallied to help defeat Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash. And in 2002, Indian voters made the difference in a Senate race in South Dakota and the governor's contest in Oklahoma.

"Native Americans have recently shown a little bit of political muscle," Johnson said. "We've gotten engaged in the political debate."

But it hasn't been easy getting Indians to the polls, mostly because of geographic isolation, cultural barriers and a long-running suspicion of the U.S. government.

"Historically, many tribal members think it's not going to affect them and their voice is not going to be heard anyway, so who cares," said Russ Lehman, managing director of the First American Education Project in Olympia.

With the political victories in 2002, Lehman said, that attitude is beginning to change, and the Indian vote in next year's election could play a pivotal role in some states, including Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, Arizona and South Dakota.

During the conference, members planned to develop platform statements for the 2004 election. They also are to elect new officers and discuss health care, economic development, homeland security and trust reorganization.

Johnson said trust-fund reform is at the top of the list.

A federal judge has ordered the Interior Department to account for royalties that were supposed to have been collected from oil, gas, timber and grazing on Indian lands for more than a century.

Lawyers for the Indians say that, with interest, the account should be as much as $176 billion.

They claim the government squandered billions of dollars that is owed to the Indian landowners.

"We want to move forward and get beyond this," Johnson said. "People want trust reform. People want reform that's meaningful."

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