Free Republic

Illegal electioneering and ballot harvesting by supposedly nonpartisan groups reached new heights in this election. Last week, I reported on a coordinated and completely illegal votes-for-cash scheme in tribal areas of Nevada, spearheaded by a group called the Nevada Native Vote Project, which is part of a larger effort called Native Vote funded by the National Congress of American Indians, or NCAI.Under the guise of a get-out-the-vote campaign, these nonprofit groups were bribing tribal members to vote, offering them gift cards, electronics, and other “prizes” in exchange for proof that they voted. They documented these efforts through their own social...

GOP eyes American Indian vote in traditional Democratic stronghold By Carson Walker, Associated Press Writer Bruce Whalen is a college student who speaks his beliefs with conviction, but his message aims to turn the political status quo on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation on its head. The Pine Ridge man's mission is to persuade people to do something they don't do here: Vote Republican. In Kyle, Karlene Hunter has the confidence of someone who has had to fight for what she has. Hunter, last year's National Indian Businesswoman of the Year, dresses casually but carries herself with a Wall Street professionalism...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Tim Giago, a publisher of newspapers for American Indians, said he will run against Sen. Tom Daschle for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination. "My basic reason for running is that for the past 50 years, the Indian vote on the Indian reservations has been taken for granted in this state," said Giago, 69, an Oglala Lakota and editor/publisher of the Lakota Journal in Rapid City and the Pueblo Journal in Albuquerque, N.M. Last month, Lakota Media Inc., owner of both publications, was sold to the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe. Daschle welcomed Giago to the political arena...

Campaign 2004: A presidential year Posted: January 02, 2004 - 11:58am EST 2004 is a hugely important presidential year and a tremendous opportunity for Native people to educate America on the reality of place and position of American Indian tribal nations in the fabric of North America. As the presidential election year progresses, we will return to thoughts and analysis of candidates and policies on a consistent basis. It is hard to assess just how deep the support of President George W. Bush is among the American people. Good news in Iraq and even perhaps at home on the...

Campaign 2004: The Iowa Caucus, silence on the Native front Posted: January 02, 2004 - 11:49am EST by: Jennifer Hemmingsen / Correspondent / Indian Country Today In a few weeks, Iowa Democrats will be the first to weigh in on a slew of hopefuls for the Democratic presidential nomination. Until then, those contenders and their supporters will flood the state, talking to anyone who will listen about prescription drugs, the war on terror, or whatever else is on voters’ minds. But you can bet some issues won’t be addressed; although candidates for the 2004 nomination have been courting Native...