Bernie in Hibbing MN meeting with Native Americans and Steel Workers
http://bringmethenews.com/2016/02/26/sanders-addresses-hibbing-meets-with-steelworkers-and-native-american-leaders/
My grandfather was Ojibwa or Chippewa as they are also known. I lived in Minnesota when I was younger.
I want to thank my brother for sending this to me in an email
Prior to his event this morning at Hibbing High School, Bernie Sanders held back-to-back meetings in the school library with two groups: Native Americans from the Chippewa tribe and members of United Steelworkers locals.
Sanders entered the school library at 9:21 a.m. accompanied by his wife, Jane, and carrying a cup of coffee and some folded papers.
“Good morning. My wife, Jane,” he said as he greeted the group of about a dozen people seated around a conference table and began shaking hands.
“We don’t have a lot of time, so let’s get to work,” Sanders said, asking the participants to share issues impacting the Native American community. “What’s good, what’s not so good?”
He was told there were participants from five different nations present, including elected council members. (A list provided by the campaign is below.)
In response to a concern about federal funding flowing to tribes, Sanders said: “Sequestration is a very stupid way to do budgeting.”
A representative of the Chippewa Tribal Council relayed that poverty is a big issue.
Sanders ticked off several of his proposals to fight poverty: a $1 trillion federal jobs program aimed at rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, a $15 minimum wage, pay equity for women and free tuition at public colleges and universities.
Sanders was asked about the quality of healthcare and was told the Indian Health Service provides worse funding than what federal prisoners receive. He said in the grand scheme of things it would not have a major impact on the federal budget to provide better funding.
Sanders asked about drug and alcohol abuse: “Is this something that kids are gravitating toward?”
He was told of too-frequent overdoses from heroin, meth and painkillers.
The discussion next moved to youth suicide. Other topics include the quality of education, access to broadband and the impact of climate change on growing wild rice.
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