Empty ribbon-shirt?
Last Saturday night, Senator Barack Obama held a brief interview with Montana's Great Fall Tribune. Montana being home of Blackfoot banker and lead plaintiff of the 12 year old Indian Trust case, Cobell v. Kempthorne (was Norton, was Babitt), I wasn't surprised by this question:
Q:You talked about creating a high-level position at the White House for a representative from Indian Country to help you address Native American issues. Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe, has sued the federal government for the government's mismanagement of Indian trust lands. Do you have a position on the federal government's responsibility in the Cobell vs. Kempthorne lawsuit?
However, I was surprised by Senator Obama's answer:
A:You know, I haven't looked at the lawsuit carefully. It's something that I want to find out more about.
Why was I surprised? Because Senator Obama has made a very big deal about his proposed Indian policies, purportedly the brain-children of his long-time adviser on Indian issues, Cherokee tribal member, Keith Harper.
Yes, Keith Harper. You know, the lead counsel for the plaintiffs in Cobell v. Kempthorne. So on top of the fact that not long ago Senator Obama was a lecturer in Con Law at a Tier 6 law school and was still unfamiliar with the most famous federal Indian law case in recent history, he never thought to ask his lead adviser on Indian issues, the lead counsel on the case? And how does a US Senator not know about a case in which three Cabinet Secretaries were found in contempt and potentially headed for jail?
And as if that wasn't enough, the remainder of Senator Obama's response on the Trust relationship was even more pitiful, because, well, it wasn't at all about the Trust relationship:
But the basic principle is that we have to have somebody not just in the Bureau (of Indian Affairs), but somebody in the White House, who has my ear, directly, to communicate the needs of native populations, and a commitment for me to meet, at least once a year, with tribal leaders and hear directly about their concerns. That, I think, is what's needed right now.The Bureau of Indian Affairs has become sort of a backwater. It doesn't have a lot of clout in the administration. I want to put it front and center, along with other agencies, because on every indicator, Native Americans are having a much tougher time than the population at large.
Giving the BIA more power doesn't solve the problem, and on some level, it could create bigger ones. The BIA lacks transparency, and in the wrong hands (as it has been often in the past 100 years) providing it with more "clout" guarantees many more Indians might be harmed by its actions. Not only is the BIA a "backwater", so is the entire Interior Department; we have an agency overseeing one fifth of US lands, billions in resources and millions of people, essentially handed over to whichever Western state governor raises the most cash for the candidate. You can't split the problems with Interior from the problems with BIA, unless you actually split BIA from Interior (which, frankly, would be a positive step.) A simple "someone in the White House" isn't revolutionary - even Richard Nixon had a tribal adviser to chew on his ear now and again. Besides, do we really need Swimmer with a free pass into the Oval Office?
The US government, and its historical antecedents, have signed hundreds, thousands, of treaties with American Indian tribes. With no other nations have they had such a long and interdependent relationship. Imagine if the President proposed speaking to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom or the President of France once a year, as if that were an improvement over the current situation. While Senator Obama may believe he is offering a king's feast, these are frankly mere table scraps. Real "change" would entail a true shift of power and control, and not understanding the basic Trust relationship between Indians and the federal government precludes any of that.
I'm putting a call into Senator Clinton's office to see if she's familiar with the facts surrounding Cobell.
I'd actually planned on writing a positive piece on Senator Obama's support for extending tribal jurisdiction when non-Indians commit crimes on federal lands. But now I wonder if he's even heard of Ex Parte Crow Dog, Oliphant, Lara and Duro.
Comments
We need to give that man a test, and find out what he does know. He's good at spinning when he doesn't know something, when he takes a debate question after her, he gives her answer and then adds his hope to it. He would have done better if you'd interviewed them both. I have no doubt that Hillary is well-informed on this issue and she's got some solutions too. Invite her, and video it so we can all hear what she has to say. there are some very long-term wrongs that are overdo being righted. HIllary's can multi-task, she has far more than one priority.
Posted by: anna shane | April 8, 2008 09:26 PM
Or about a Governor, Schweitzer, who is willing to tell DHS to go to hell on RealID. At a certain level ALL of us mere humans are indigenous people. How far will Schweitzer go - jail? - or is he just like the Vichy legislature and Governor in Maine - looking for the first opportunity to cave to Feds. It should be an interesting hearing Thursday, 1pm EST. [damn, link not responding - Transportation Committee off http://www.mainelegislature.org/, Stream there.)
At a certain level: RealID, Hannaford, LNG, biodiversity, local control - we are all indigenous people. We are killing ourselves.
Posted by: chris miller | April 8, 2008 09:41 PM
Saying he doesn't yet know enough about something is NOT saying he knows NOTHING about it.
Complaining about his ducking the question is valid. Lying about what he said - not so much.
Posted by: Fred | April 8, 2008 10:25 PM
He either didn't know enough to answer a simple question about Trust responsibility or he's lying about how much he knows. Why would do the latter? Perhaps a plan to screw the Trust responsibility down the line? And if it's the former, then his impressive list of advisers is just for show.
Posted by: MBW | April 8, 2008 10:46 PM
Comments on comments:
1. Chris. This isn't the place for "we are all indigenous people", unless you've hit a patch of late spring intellectual black ice and are replacing the Abenaki land claim (and other treaty claims against the United States) with the claims of Bostonakis against their tyranical state. This isn't the late 17th century and disaffected colonists can't go native to find a superior political culture to live in.
Yes, all those things suck.
2. Fred. The interview was published here, John Adams of the Great Falls Tribune (Montana) and Senator Obama (D-IL). You are free to call MB a liar, on your own blog. Retract or retreat.
Posted by: ebw | April 8, 2008 11:08 PM
Yeah, that was pretty disappointing. Granted, candidates tend to be in news vacuum during the campaign, but Obama is clearly a very intelligent and well-read guy. And if he didn't know about Cobell, then given the setting, someone on his campaign should have briefed him. And even if they didn't, he could've at least managed to cover with something like, "I am firmly committed to justice for Native Americans whose trust has been betrayed by the Federal government" and THEN gotten someone to dash off a position paper.
And just as a P.S., if "we are all indigenous people" how come it's always just our little group of "we" that get screwed? I mean, shouldn't the rest of you take a turn? Just to be fair?
Posted by: The Local Crank | April 9, 2008 12:17 AM
Patrick, you and I having both been candidates ourselves ;), I agree that campaigns do create news vacuums. But really - Cobell is now 12 years old. The facts haven't changed, the federal trust relationship is the same.
This actually reinforces a concern I've had with Obama having lived his life almost exclusively in urban areas, yes, including Jakarta and Honolulu. Does he plan on just handing over Interior to whichever Western governor/senator/AG his "advisers" suggest, just like BushI/ClintonI/BushII yadda yadda, going back generations. I don't really expect Clinton to do any different, although perhaps she's learned from Bill's mistakes with Babbitt. But clearly, not being invested in the vast lands and people governed by one single agency namely due to unfamiliarity with the problems and issues is an ongoing concern. Unfortunately, McCain can argue his creds fairly convincingly (though we all know how I feel about how he abuses those creds.)
Posted by: MBW | April 9, 2008 01:00 AM
Its been clear for months now that the two campaigns are likely to be chasing the diminishing returns from the late contests. Daschle was working South Dakota for his candidate weeks ago, so the first premise to confront is that an intellectually able candidate hasn't got a grasp on northern tier issues, or doesn't answer a specific question about a northern tier issue with a specific answer.
The second premise to confront is that the lead Cobell litigator is the candidate's advisor for Indian issues, and that the intellectually able candidate hasn't got a grasp on Indian issues, or doesn't answer a specific question about an Indian issue with a specific answer.
The third premise to confront is that the interview prep, the time spent prepping the candidate before the one-on-one, overlooked the elephant in the room, or that it didn't, and the answer given was the product of prep and reflection.
I'm a lot happier with the possibility that the campaign is NDN-deef, or that Keith Harper is hiding his light under a basket while slumming on a campaign, or that the candidate had a senior moment while doing a one-on-one with the journal of record of a market with 40 total delegates, than I am with the alternative.
That the candidate is aware of the basic issues -- the Federal Trust responsibility, accountability, and the postures of the Clinton and Bush Secretaries of the Interior -- and does not want to commit to a position.
That bothers me. It's Cobell XVI, and all he needed to say was "The same rules apply for Indian trusts as for any other fiduciary trust."
Unless he doesn't want to say that.
Posted by: ebw | April 9, 2008 01:27 PM