General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy no Native Americans in prominent positions?
In Media, government, etc.
MSNBC, DLC, White House
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uppityperson
(115,677 posts)TshaiRedhair
(56 posts)1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)uppityperson
(115,677 posts)I notice you asking questions but not offering an opinion on those questions. Why are there not?
Algernon Moncrieff
(5,790 posts)I'd bet that a man named Lance Morgan will emerge into a position of public prominence in he next decade.
http://www.hochunkinc.com/management.html#!
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YarnAddict
(1,850 posts)
hack89
(39,171 posts)Algernon Moncrieff
(5,790 posts)A spokesman for the Warren campaign, Alethea Harney, said by telephone on May 15 that Warren would not do an interview with Indian Country Today Media Network at that time, but “want[ed] to keep the lines of communication open.”
ICTMN had by that point requested multiple interviews with Warren in order for her to clarify her statements on her ancestry, to explain how she highlighted that self-reported ancestry while working in academia, as well as to examine the fall-out that has occurred in Indian country regarding identity issues as her campaign fiasco has stayed in the news.
In the meantime, throughout the month of May, Warren continued to do interviews with the mainstream and local press, including national appearances on MSNBC.
On May 25, after several more requests from ICTMN, Harney responded by e-mail, “Thanks for your request(s)! I will keep you posted. Thanks for understanding. Have a wonderful weekend.”
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/05/31/elizabeth-warren-avoids-american-indian-media-115802
Downwinder
(12,869 posts)tritsofme
(17,377 posts)As a congressman and senator from Colorado.
Barack_America
(28,876 posts)This seems to be an important issue for you. I see you have scattered this question in a few threads.
nilesobek
(1,423 posts)Its straight up racism. The powers that own the media don't want Native Americans to have a voice because it doesn't fit their agenda, and, powerful Native American voices in influential places would expose one of the greatest crimes ever committed in the history of the entire world.
You mention more than just media, I know, but being influential comes with media coverage. How could they justify what they are doing overseas when powerful and influential Native Americans challenging policies similar to the ones used against them?
raging moderate
(4,304 posts)We need many Native Americans in lower offices, then in higher offices. Eventually, there will be a Native American President of the United States. We must not let go of that hope. The just must live by faith, and faith is the substance of what you are hoping for. As Gandhi said, Be the change you want to see.
SheilaT
(23,156 posts)spend almost all of their lives outside of the mainstream. They live apart, usually, from the mainstream culture. Their schools are crap, often by deliberate policy.
I also suspect that many of them simply don't want to interact with the white man's world. Not all of them, of course.
For what it's worth, here in New Mexico, our failed Democratic ticket for governor included a Native American woman in the lt. governor's slot, Deb Haaland. I actually got to meet her at a wonderful candidate meet and greet. I think if she could have found the money to campaign more or less on her own, it might have led to more votes for the Democratic governor/lt governor slate.
This is actually a state with a very strong Native American presence. Even so, most of them are outside what I'll call the mainstream. They don't seem to wind up as doctors, lawyers, school teachers, or anything else that truly impacts anyone. I'm sure most of that is because of the residual racism from when white people (in this case the Spaniards) first invaded and conquered. We've relegated Native Americans to marginal positions in many ways. And yet, a lot of them truly want to maintain and sustain their culture. A couple of years ago I had the privilege and joy of watching some women from I can't recall which Native American tribe perform traditional dances at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque (a fantastic place you must visit if you get anywhere near this state) and it was clear that maintaining their culture was hugely important to these women. After the dances, I got to speak with them, and they assured me that yes, the younger women in their tribe were learning these dances and would preserve them.
So there's an inherent conflict between maintaining a culture that is very different from what we consider to be the mainstream, and joining that mainstream to the point of participating in its power elite. To assimilate or to maintain the heritage? There is no easy answer. I'm not Native American myself, so anything I might say on this needs to be understood to be of limited value.
Downwinder
(12,869 posts)SheilaT
(23,156 posts)by a white man from Naples, Italy, who now lived in this country. Totally different circumstances from the majority of Native Americans here.
KT2000
(20,577 posts)tribes are sovereign and hold a certain amount of power apart from the US and state governments. I don't think all tribes exercise that power but the ones that have coveted natural resources, historical hunting, fishing, and sacred lands do - but as the tribe.
They have their own political structure.
We did once have a Makah tribal member serve as the ombudsman of the EPA. He was great! After 9/11 he came out in support of protecting the people of NY from the pollution in spite of Christine Whitman's proclamation that everything was safe. They tried to get rid of him and seize his files. He slept in his office to protect the files. They were eventually successful in getting him out - he stood on principle as few would have.
hunter
(38,311 posts)Even in small ways.
My niece and my kid's SO have tribal affiliations and haven't had to pay for fishing licenses, with certain limitations mostly related to $ income.
This makes the same people who froth at the mouth about affirmative action for black people spew the same old "reverse racism" crap.
"It's not fair!"
The sad truth is that many people in the U.S.A. measure everything in terms of Race and Privilege and consciously or subconsciously believe that White Protestant Men ought to be at the top of the hierarchy, followed by White Protestant Women, and so on down the line.
KT2000
(20,577 posts)(white people) who wish our local tribe would take over our whole community. They build beautiful buildings, have set up a medical clinic that everyone can go to, and use their power to preserve the environment and wildlife. Jamestown S'Klallam tribe.
JI7
(89,248 posts)many people get into politics with support from people of their background. with native americans much of this is most likely focused within their own communities in the reservations .
and add in the usual discrimination they faced for centuries and poverty and it's not surprising. so even without the reservations they would have a tough time .
Jenoch
(7,720 posts)of Minnesota, but the chief of the 1,100 member Minneapolis Police Department is a Native American. Not only that, but the chief is a woman and is homosexual.
Xithras
(16,191 posts)Brad Carson is the current Undersecretary of the Army and a former Congressman from Oklahoma. He's also an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. Keith Harper, the U.S. representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council, is also Cherokee. Additionally, there are also many Native Americans in state legislatures across the Western U.S.