“My kids are even excited about this, and they’re young teenagers,” said Gopher, whose children are ages 11 and 13. “This morning they woke me up, ‘Are you ready Dad?’ ”
Gopher, an Ojibwe, joined 8,000 people inside the Adams Center on the University of Montana campus for a 10 a.m. presidential campaign speech, while 500 others spilled into the football stadium, a mass of people who all seemed to share a similar passion, a desire for change in U.S. politics, and especially bringing an end to the war in Iraq.
His call for dramatic shifts in federal policy included writing a new chapter regarding the country’s indigenous population. Native people suffer from disproportionate rates of suicide, infant and adult male mortality, high school and college dropout rates, diabetes, poverty and violence against women, when compared to the rest of the U.S. population.
In an interview after his speech, Obama talked about his proposal to significantly strengthen the government-to-government relationship between tribal nations and the White House.
A key to his Native policy platform includes creating a senior White House staff position filled by a Native person, recognizing that the Bureau of Indian Affairs hasn’t provided Natives a clear channel of navigation.
“My strong belief is you have the bureau, which is often treated as sort of a backwater by the White House,” he said. “Maybe it has access to the White House if there’s a problem; otherwise, there’s not that direct contact between tribal leaders and the president.
“It’s very important that there’s somebody in my White House who on an ongoing basis is keeping me informed, keeping me abreast,” said Obama. “It’s the same reason we want an annual summit with tribal leaders in the White House. I want tribal leaders all across the country to feel as if they have direct access to me, that they’re not going through layers of bureaucracy.”
The Illinois senator said he understands the need to make a difference within communities that are typically given few opportunities to be heard. He said he never forgets his ancestry or the unique position he’s in to become president of the United States.
“You ask yourself, at least once a day, ‘What gave you the crazy idea you should run for president?’ But I do feel that I’m trying to build on what a lot of people before me have done,” he said. “We just commemorated Dr. King’s death yesterday. He’s someone who fought and struggled for a long time to make the country better.
“When I look at the history of Montana and all the Native peoples have done to preserve their culture, when I think of what the pioneers went through to carve out a way of life for themselves, you’re reminded that each generation passes on some obligations to work for the next generation.”
Meanwhile, he’s ready to change the state of health care for today’s generation of Native people.
“This is long overdue,” said Obama. “I’ve consistently believed we have treaty obligations, we have moral obligations to make sure we improve health care for Native American communities. A lot of illnesses being experienced are preventable illnesses. For us not to make these investments is unacceptable.”
Obama said money could be saved in the long run if children received quality primary care and are treated quickly instead of being sent to an emergency room. He said he would provide the same level of support to improving the needs of children in the classroom. “We need to provide first-class health care and first-class education.”
Cher Desjarlais, an enrolled citizen of the Fort Peck Assiniboine Sioux Tribes of Montana, attended the Missoula rally with her husband and three children. She said Obama’s appeal rested in his call to end the war in Iraq. She also appreciated his “inclusion of everybody in society.”
Obama’s message was heard by Montanans of all ethnic backgrounds and age groups.
And it wasn’t lost on the youngest generations of Native America.
Desjarlais’ 10-year-old son, Wyatt Decker, attended the Missoula rally to see the man he kept seeing on television.
“After I heard what he said about the war and everything,” said Wyatt, “I think everything for our country is going to turn out just right.”
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