In case you were wondering about Democrats and the American Indians this election:

[The Straight Story]

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Posted: August 29, 2008
by: Rob Capriccioso
DENVER - The official Democratic Platform is more Native-specific than any other party platform in history.

The document serves as a guide map of principles and efforts the Democratic Party aims to achieve over the next four years.

''In my opinion, not only dramatically improves on the quantity of tribal issues covered, but also the quality of the language that is in there,'' said Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luise�o Indians during a meeting of the Democratic National Convention's Native American caucus Aug. 27.

Macarro serves on the Democratic Platform Committee, which is responsible for drafting and recommending the proposed national platform for approval at the convention.

Oklahoma state Rep. Chuck Hoskin, a Cherokee member of the committee, along with Ron His Horse Is Thunder, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North Dakota, also played key roles in overseeing the platform language pertaining to Indians.

Perhaps most significantly, the platform states that Democrats promise to create a position for a White House advisor on Indian affairs. They also propose to hold annual summits between top federal political leaders and tribal leaders.

Page 50 of the 51-page platform focuses specifically on tribal sovereignty. It states that ''American Indian and Alaska Native tribes have always been sovereign, self-governing communities, and we affirm their inherent rights to self-governance, as well as the unique government-to-government relationship that they share with the United States.''

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096418076