Saturday, October 4, 2008

Navajo Wanda MacDonald: McCain is anti-Native


Navajo Wanda MacDonald: McCain is anti-Native

Open letter to Native America
'Native Americans are in danger of becoming an endangered species'

By Wanda MacDonald
Former First Lady of the Navajo Nation
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

TUBA CITY, Ariz. -- Native America and all my relations, we need to inform and think for ourselves. I want to appeal to all Native voters that electing a US President should have nothing to do with party affiliation (the non-Native party system) as far as our needs are concerned in Native America.
I am a Republican, but I always stand for what is best for our people first. We must look at who will be good for Natives. We need to show our nationalism in this election.We are a big voting block, if we band together.
Otherwise, Native Americans are in danger of becoming an endangered species under a McCain/Palin administration.
Palin does not support her own Native Alaskan rights.
McCain has always been anti-Native although he acts like a friend, as shown by his absence to almost all Arizona reservations to observe the pathetic living conditions!
As a matter of fact, he has not ever offered how he could or would assist us towards socio-economic growth and ultimate self sufficiency.We have hundreds of individual Natives who are capable entrepreneurs, but the federal government bureaucracy run by Republicans maintains policies to keep us from prospering and standing up for ourselves -- that would be a threat to them.
And by the way, establishment of casinos is not the best answer -- that keeps us working FOR someone else -- with a substantial portion of profits going off reservation and into other pockets.
The Navajo Nation Treaty of 1868 with the United States ensures us health care, education and socio-economic sustenance.
But, as it is, we Natives almost have to demand these things. This indifference to our continued existence has been set in stone for decades by the feds.Another thing is, did you hear Palin state that McCain is the ONLY man who put his life on the line for Americans?How about the hundreds of other American POWs and MIAs?And what about all the other active military forces and veterans -- thousands of whom are Native Americans?
The current Republican "war" has taken hundreds of our young Native people and will continue to do so under a McCain/Palin administration -- perhaps in McCain's words, 100 years?
My daily work in behavioral health presents individuals, many returning veterans, who suffer from PTSD, alcoholism and substance abuse, mental health disorders and so forth, with little hope in sight.
Bottom line: lack of self-esteem for lack of personal stability caused by no regular paycheck for themselves and their families. Being a mother and a grandmother, this environment concerns me for our future.
We need to help our people by electing leaders who care and will work with us -- not someone like John McCain with millions in personal financial independence and so many houses that the economic crunch does not affect him.
I urge all Natives to realize that we face a bleak future, IF John McCain and Sarah Palin are elected.
Again, I am a Republican, but I support the BARACK OBAMA/JOE BIDEN ticket. My Navajo people and Native America -- John McCain and Sarah Palin are not a choice.

Ha' goh' nee' and Ah ho',
For The People,Wanda LeClere MacDonald
Former Navajo First Lady
Tuba City, Arizona

Posted by brendanorrell@gmail.com

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

osiyo hello In cherokee that was deep wa'do Wanda for that very very intense deep article and to brenda for putting it on her we site.I voted for Barack Obama in the Primaries in Ohio and for Barack Obama and Joe Biden in the general election as an abasntee voter. And the only reason I did was that even though Senators Obama and Biden did not attend Prez on the Rez that was held at the Morongo Band of Mission Indians in Cabazon California they have really listened to the tribal leaders and they even visted tribes across America and if they couldn't make it in person then they sent someone to talk to the tribal leaders about Senator Obama and Biden and what they will do if elected as President and Vice President of the US. something Senator McCain and Govenor Palin have refused to do. In the Interest of National Discolsure I am a member of Indn's list and the opnion is that of mine and no one on Indn's list.Listen to what this great elder has to say and make sure that you are registered to vote in you state before the deadline ends if you live in a state that has early voting system take full advantage of it. And if you have cable or sattelite turn on to C-span for the best poltical coverage anywere! and they take your phone calls! worth paying the cable and the sattelite bill for!and they are better than cnn, msnbc,fox, abc,nbc,and cbs!if you don't have cable or sattelite then go to cspan.org it's a free site and really nice!By all means if your nation has a tribal election vote in that then in the general election. let's put in people that are better than Bush/Cheney anyday! wa'do

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Censored News is published by censored journalist Brenda Norrell. A journalist for 27 years, Brenda lived on the Navajo Nation for 18 years, writing for Navajo Times, AP, USA Today, Lakota Times and other American Indian publications. After being censored and then terminated by Indian Country Today in 2006, she began the Censored Blog to document the most censored issues. She currently serves as human rights editor for the U.N. OBSERVER & International Report at the Hague and contributor to Sri Lanka Guardian, Narco News and CounterPunch. She was cohost of the 5-month Longest Walk Talk Radio across America, with Earthcycles Producer Govinda Dalton in 2008: www.earthcycles.net/
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