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 Video: Native American delegates on the rise at DNC
from United Press Int
August 29, 2008
LAURIE WEAHKEE FACED SOME POLITICAL DILEMMAS ON HER WAY TO SUPERDELEGATE STATUS. SOT LAURIE WEAHKEE, NEW MEXICO SUPERDELEGATE: At the time the Clinton folks were really embattled for the overall nomination and so a lot of the folks were speculating that I was an Obama supporter and at that point I really hadn't made up my mind. WEAHKEE IS COCHITI PUEBLO, ZUNI AND HALF NAVAJO. SHE'S NEW MEXICO'S TWELFTH ADD-ON SUPERDELEGATE AND SHE'S ONE OF JUST FOUR NATIVE AMERICAN SUPERDELEGATES AT THE 2008 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. SOT LAURIE WEAHKEE: I think the overall sentiment is that we need to become more consistent voters and really utilize voting as one tool in the toolbox. NATIVE AMERICANS ARE MAKING THEIR VOTES COUNT AT THIS CONVENTION. THE NUMBER OF NATIVE AMERICAN DELEGATES HERE AT THE D-N-C IS UP BY 34 SINCE THE LAST CONVENTION FOUR YEARS AGO. AMERICAN INDIANS STILL MAKE UP LESS THAN 3 PERCENT OF THE DELEGATE POPULATION BUT TRIBAL MEMBERS SAY INCREASED INVOLVEMENT IN LOCAL POLITICS IS SPARKING INTEREST IN THE BIGGER PICTURE. SOT CINDA HUGES, DNC RULES COMMITTEE MEMBER: I think one of the big reasons that American Indians are coming to the polls in record numbers is due to the fact that Indians themselves are becoming candidates not only in local elections but in state legislatures. AND ON A NATIONAL LEVEL, NATIVE AMERICANS ARE PART OF A VOTING BLOCK THAT COULD PROVE POWERFUL IN THIS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. SOT CINDA HUGES: I think that for one thing that this is going to be a very close race. And the closer a race is the more significant swing votes become. And American Indians have been the swing voters in many gubernatorial races and in many state senate races. SOT LAURIE WEAHKEE: I would say that a key issue is to make sure the candidate who does win understands that we have a unique relationship with the federal government and that we need to keep that in place. POVERTY AND HEALTH CARE ARE ALSO CENTRAL ISSUES FOR THE NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND THE AMERICAN INDIANS AT THIS CONVENTION HOPE A DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT WILL CATER TO THOSE ISSUES. SOT CINDA HUGHES: American Indians have the highest percentage of people with disabilities of any demographic group…I am one of only three percent of those who are quadriplegics that even have a job. NATIVE AMERICANS MAY BE COMING TOGETHER HERE IN DENVER BUT THEY REMAIN DIVIDED IN THEIR OPINIONS OF OBAMA'S COMPETITOR. SOT CINDA HUGHES: I believe that both candidates have made a significant outreach to Indian country. Senator McCain was on the Senate Chair on Indian Affairs for many years and was a member previous to that for many years. SOT LAURIE WEAHKEE: I think a lot of the tribes are really upset with how they've been treated these past 8 years and really recognizing that McCain is not offering a whole lot more. WEAHKEE HOPES MORE NATIVE AMERICANS WILL HEAD TO THE POLLS THIS NOVEMBER. SOT LAURIE WEAHKEE: If we vote then we help ourselves to create more opps for our communites and we do make things better for the generations yet to come, which is a real value of Native American communities. FOR UPI.COM FROM THE 2008 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION IN DENVER, COLORADO, I'M MELISSE HINKLE.
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 Video: Obama vows to renew America's promise
from Agence France-Presse
August 29, 2008
Barack Obama Thursday savaged John McCain and "broken" Republican politics, vowing to restore America's promise in a tumultuous climax to the Democratic convention before an 84,000 strong crowd. "America, we are a better than these last eight years," Obama said, as he became the first black major-party White House nominee, 45 years to the day since Martin Luther King laid out his "I have a dream" vision of racial unit.
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