Popular Categories

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 21)

NSNT endorses Smith and Bengs


There was a time Indian Country just endorsed the Democrat. He may not have supported the tribes on key areas of interest, but he was a far better choice than the Republican, the party all the Indian haters seemed to call their own.

Whether this was ever true, it was the perception. But if you study history you see that the lines between which party supports tribal interests blur. Hard to find a president with a more tarnished image when it comes to Indians than Andrew Jackson, he was a Democrat. But Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican, made no bones he did not like Indians, and we will forego his most revolting quotes about them. Woodrow Wilson was a Democrat, considered progressive for his day, and yet he was a virulent racist. Nixon was a Republican, but he did more in support of Indian issues than any president before him. Clinton, Obama, Biden, have all signed Executive Orders calling for improved tribal consultation and yet consultation abuses remain as they ever were.

Note that no Republican or Democrat supports the return of the federal land in the Black Hills, or fair market value compensation for the resources stripped since. Tom Daschle openly opposed tribes getting control of the federal land in the Black Hills. None support any compensation for the over forty million acres addressed by Docket 74.

Still, we have to endorse some candidate. When it comes to governor, we acknowledge that Kristi Noem has a bright future, she is a rising star, people like her as a person, even Democrats, and we would probably have nothing against her politically when it comes to Indian issues, had she not worked so hard to erase tribal identity from state school curriculum. That is a coldblooded punch in the nose hard to ignore. Her opponent, Democrat Jamie Smith, displays no deep knowledge or understanding of our most important tribal issues, although having talked with him, we have no doubt he genuinely cares about our interest. If he is that way now, when still on the big promises campaign trail, what will he be like as governor? Odds are we will be far from his top priority, and maybe at the bottom of the list of his secondary priorities. But, all things considered, he is the best we can do at present. We endorse Jamie Smith.

Democrat Brian Bengs is challenging John Thune for his US Senate seat. Let’s look at his Native American Policy from his campaign website. He first brings up health care, how it is mismanaged and abused and in need of transformation. He mentions we need more tribal law enforcement, says he will seek a position on the Senate Committee for Indian Affairs, wants to hire a Native from South Dakota to serve as staff liaison, wants to increase funding for tribal entitlements, remove work penalty on benefits, help maximize Native voting power, and finally, wants to improve reservation economies.

His Republican opponent, John Thune, is not on the Senate Committee for Indian Affairs, although Mike Rounds is. His campaign website does not list his policies and just has a short campaign video. Thune is very gracious in person and displays an impressive knowledge of Native history and issues. He grew up in Indian Country. But his focus is not on our issues. We have no choice but to endorse Bengs.

These are not strong endorsements but they are realistic ones.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.