Natives React: ‘Totally Overwhelmed’ by ‘Powerful’ Speech

DENVER—On a Rocky Mountain night in an open air stadium, Barack Obama made history as the first African American to be nominated as the presidential candidate for a major political party and immediately promised to reform the "broken politics" of Washington.

Native Americans who were in a crowd of nearly 84,000 cheering Democrats at Invesco Field said Obama's acceptance speech inspired them. A Southern Ute tribal member said she "felt totally overwhelmed" as the Illinois senator spoke 45 years to the day after Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech outlining the civil rights leader's vision of racial equality.

But while recognizing the landmark anniversary, Obama stayed away from the issue of race and ethnicity to sound a theme of needed change and focused largely on the economy, the Iraqi war, energy and taxation.

He also took little time going after John McCain, who is expected to accept the Republican Party's nomination for president next week in St. Paul, Minn. While paying respect to his rival's military career, Obama tied McCain directly to the "failed presidency of George W. Bush" as a supporter of his policies "90 percent of the time."

"America, we are better than these last eight years," he told the crowd. "We are a better country than this."

Obama, who was later joined onstage by vice presidential running mate Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), also spoke about spiraling health care costs and a strained educational system while chiding those who question someone's patriotism merely based on politics.

"The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook," he said.

In outlining plans to cut taxes "for 95 percent of all working families" and assist other Americans in need, Obama said he would pay for the new policies by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens and eliminating wasteful federal programs.

Afterward, Natives in the audience were among those who felt inspired by his talk.

"There were parts of his speech where I felt totally overwhelmed and felt that he was speaking those words directly to us," said Shelly Thompson, a Southern Ute who lives in Colorado.

Erma Vizenor, chief of the White Earth Nation of Ojibwe Indians in Minnesota, agreed with Obama's message for change and said his words inspired her even more while reminding her of an Ojibwe word: "in-qwa-mus."

"That means ‘it is time' in Ojibwe," Vizenor said. "That's what our people say."

The speech blended soaring themes with specific promises while talking about the mother who raised him and the experiences that shaped him. He also sought to blunt McCain's criticism as celebrity and someone too inexperienced to be president.

Margarett Campbell, an Assiniboine from Montana, said that Obama "showed incredible strength" with his words.

"If there were any doubts that he could handle things as president in a crisis, his speech tonight laid those concerns to rest," she said.

"It's amazing to be a part of that," said Kevin Killer, an Oglala Sioux, after the speech. A former field organizer for Obama on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, Killer said, "I think he's going to make a firm commitment to the Native community."

Killer, Campbell and Vizenor were among the 143 Native delegates who had attended the Democratic National Convention this week, a number that represented a 40 percent increase from the 2004 convention. Some delegates said that while they were pleased with the speech they also expressed misgivings that neither Obama nor the speakers who preceded him had represented or recognized Native people or their issues.

"Obviously, I wish they would have mentioned [Natives]. It irritates me when so many are mentioned except us," said Chuck Hoskin, a Cherokee from Oklahoma who otherwise called the Obama speech "fantastic."

Other Natives who did not attend the convention as delegates but were in Thursday's audience felt the same.

"I was hoping that he could have acknowledged us, even just a brief mention," said Mathew Tomaskin of the Yamaka Nation in Washington state, while still calling Obama's talk a "great speech."

Karen Wilde, a Muscogee Creek and Pawnee candidate for the Colorado state legislature, was disappointed to see Native people missing on stage. But she said that won't affect her enthusiasm for Obama.

"What can I say?" she said of his speech. "It was just very powerful, on target."

Wizipan Garriott, who serves as the campaign's Native Vote director, said Obama's speech was never meant to address the concerns of every community. Garriott said the Illinois senator has shown that he supports many Native causes including a commitment to fund the development of wind energy on reservations if elected.

Instead, Obama's speech was meant to address the broader concerns of the American people, Garriott said. "In a 40-minute speech there's just not enough time to address all the specifics that affect a particular community," he said.

Obama's acceptance speech, which was interrupted dozens of times by applause or standing ovations, took place amid a Rocky Mountain backdrop. It was the first time that a presidential candidate had made his acceptance speech at an outdoor venue since John F. Kennedy did so in 1960 in Los Angeles.

Unlike 1960, this high-tech extravaganza had the Obama campaign featuring rock bands to entertain the crowd and a cell-phone contest for the audience to text messages to the campaign Web site. Former vice president Al Gore, now winner of an Oscar and Nobel Prize, also appeared to a rousing ovation as lines stretched as far as six miles outside Mile High Stadium with people waiting to enter the Invesco Field site.