By: ICTMN Staff
"When President Barack Obama bounded into the White House, he brought with him the goodwill of tribal leaders who vouched for him, as well as the adoration of tribal citizens who voted for him. And he was freshly anointed with the adopted name Barack Black Eagle, granted by citizens of the Crow Nation in May 2008. Given these gestures of support, many Natives thought it would reasonable to expect an apology from this unique president—not for any sins he had committed, but to make amends for the Indian-related injustices of America’s past. But as his presidency has progressed—especially as the now-infamous Geronimo/Osama bin Laden code name controversy played out—it has become increasingly clear that a mea culpa from Obama to Indians isn’t coming."
My Thoughts:
I'll never forget that day as I sat in a Washington, DC hotel room and heard the words straight from our President's mouth... Geronimo was the code name for Bin Laden. I was in disbelief - I even asked a friend if I had heard what I thought I did. Less than two months earlier, I had been representing our Tribal Chairman on the issue of a military tribunal comparing Al Qaeda terrorist acts with those of our people during the Seminole wars. We urged the President to take action and we were pushed aside and sent to the Department of Defense "to handle."
I urge all of you to take a serious look at what this means for our people and our future. We celebrated when President Obama named Kim Teehee to an elevated position within White House. "Policy Advisor" - where are you Kim? What are you advising or what did you advise on the issue of Al Bahlul and Geronimo?
Native nations - it's time to stand up and it's time to fight for our rights as native people. I urge all of you to get involved - VOTE in 2012!!! We cannot convince this administration or any other if we can't show that we matter at the polls!
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