GREEN BAY, Wis.—Indian Country was conspicuously absent from Barack Obama's speech at a campaign stop here, much to the consternation of many Native Americans who attended the rally.
Obama appeared at the Kress Events Center at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus Friday and spoke to more than 4,500 attendees eager to see and hear the Democratic candidate for president. The campaign appearance took place ahead of the Wisconsin primary election Tuesday.
The Illinois senator touched on issues such as the war in Iraq, which he promised to end by 2009 if he's elected president; he promised to resurrect the declining health care and educational systems; he addressed environmental and energy concerns.
But he did not mention Native Americans.
Said Rick Hill, former chairman of the Oneida tribe: "His theme of change, which is a big thing with his candidacy, seems to be resonating with a lot of people who have issues with health care, education, the war in Iraq and the economy, and I think he offers some viable solutions to these issues, but I didn't hear as much as I would have liked about Native issues."
Within 60 miles of where Obama spoke, three reservations are located: the Oneida, Menominee and Stockbridge-Munsee. More than 50,000 Native people live in Wisconsin; they represent almost 1 percent of the state's population of 5.5 million people, according to U.S. Census estimates.
Kenneth Fish, a Menominee tribal legislative representative, was one of three Native American leaders invited to the Obama rally for a brief personal meeting and photo opportunity with the candidate before his entrance into the auditorium. Fish said he has not committed to supporting a specific candidate until he learns more about Obama's and Hillary Rodham Clinton's platforms regarding Native issues.
"Until that time when we as Indian people would personally have the time to talk with him and his representatives and hear his specific policies on Native issues, it's hard at this point to support any one candidate," Fish said. "We as Native Americans have always been underdogs in terms of status quo politicians whether it's on a state or federal level, but this individual seems to have a feeling for the common folks. But until we know his specific policies, it's hard to tell which candidate to support."
One issue that concerns some Native American voters about Obama is his stance on Indian gaming. Hill, of the Oneida tribe, expressed worry about Obama's views on the issue.
"It remains to be seen whether he's the best candidate for Indian Country," Hill said. "I don't think he's a strong supporter of Indian gaming, but I think he could be educated to the fact that it supports tribal governments and infrastructure.
"I think he'll appoint responsible people to deal with this issue and come up with a fair and equitable policy that addresses a lot of issues in Indian Country," Hill said.
Other tribal leaders in the area said they agree with Hill.
Lisa Waukau, chairman of the Menominee Nation, also held Obama's position on gaming as a reason to be circumspect at this point in the campaign. She said she believes Obama does not consider Indian gaming as a viable resource for Native communities.
"He doesn't see gaming as an economic engine for Indian people," Waukau said. "Although he is saying all the right things that tribal people want to hear, we've heard all the promises before only to see them broken, so I'll believe it when I see it."
After Obama's visit, some Native American students said that they were now leaning toward voting for him but that he hadn't completely swayed them.
Menominee student Alecia Waupoose, a 20-year old First Nations and social change and development major, said she still had research to do regarding the policies of Obama and Clinton, especially about Native issues.
"I still want to see what Hillary has to offer," Waupoose said. "I'm leaning more towards Obama, though, because it took me 20 minutes to find something on Native issues with Hillary. I typed in ‘Obama and Native issues' and the first five items were really good hits. He was even on powwows.com."
Anton Williams, Oneida, is a 29-year-old sophomore majoring in environmental policy and planning who attended the rally with a loose loyalty to Obama.
"If it's him or Hillary, it's OK," Williams said. "I think they both have an understanding that things need to change."
Critics have deemed the Illinois senator as being too young, inexperienced and vague when it comes to his actual policies. But Obama still touted his message of hope and change at the UWGB rally.
In response to his critics' claims of being too young and inexperienced, Obama quoted the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"I am running because of what Dr. King called the ‘fierce urgency of now,' " Obama said. "Because I believe there is such a thing as being too late, and that hour is almost upon us."