CAMPUS CAMPAIGN STOP. U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton spoke at Salish Kootenai College in May. Her visit was believed to be the only visit by a presidential candidate to any tribal college. Her husband, President Bill Clinton, spoke at Diné College in2000. Photo by Juan Perez.

For the first time, the race to the White House included a woman and a man of African American heritage. U.S. Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both campaigned intensely to claim the Democratic nomination. While this may strike many Americans as historic, for some students attending tribal colleges, the election is still just that, the election for president of the United States.

In April, TCJ interviewed five students in leadership positions about the two Democratic contenders and about U.S. Sen. John McCain, the Republican candidate. The students said they wanted to know what the candidates would do not just for the country but also for Indian Country.

“It shouldn’t be decided with their sex or race,” says Dylan Maho, “it should be how the people benefit.” Maho, 24, is Rosebud Sioux and attends Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) in Albuquerque, NM.

Ellen Harmon agrees. “The only thing you hear coming out of it is race and gender. It kind of demeans the real issues our nation is facing….It’s kind of irritating.” A 20-year-old student attending Sinte Gleska University in Mission, SD, Harmon is Rosebud Sioux. This will be her first time voting in a presidential election.

“We all belong to the human race. It’s not about white, black, Native American; we’re all human. I don’t necessarily see it as such a big deal.”

As the candidates battled their way to the November general election, students looked at issues that affect them and influence how they vote.

“The economy, I think is probably one of the major issues,” ponders Karl Duncan. “From that stems a lot of other problems.” he goes on to ask, “Where are all of our resources going?” Duncan is a 23-year-old San Carlos Apache, Arikara, Mandan, and Hidatsa student attending the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, NM. He also points to the war in Iraq, which he says is too costly. “I wouldn’t stay in Iraq,” he says. “I don’t think anybody wants to stay.” Duncan worries about when or how to withdraw troops from the region. “If we continue to stay there, how are we perceived around the world?” he asks.

Iraq is also on the mind of Valerie Collins. She’s 25 years old and attends Oglala Lakota College. “I just want it to end,” she says. Collins is enrolled as Cheyenne River Sioux and is also Walker River Paiute. She worries about her cousin who is in the Army. “She used to be a really happy person,” says Collins, “She sent me letters, and you can just tell her whole attitude changed out there.”

AIHEC STUDENT CONGRESS PRESIDENT MODERATES AIHEC AWARDS CEREMONY. Shown are Student Congress leaders, including President Karl Duncan of the Institute of American Indian Arts, at the podium, and l to r: Elijah Hopkins of Fort Peck Community College, Marcus Largo and Desirea LaMotte of Diné College; and Kelley Mitchell of the Institute of American Indian Arts.Photo by Dennis J. Neumann.

Collins would like to see an end to the war in Iraq first. Her second priority is the economy. “Gas prices, yeah, it’s a big one,” she says. She took a class in Rapid City, a three-hour drive, and was counting on her tribe to help her with gas money. That only lasted for a short time before she was told there were cutbacks and no money left in the program. “As a student it was really hard for me to finish this last year of school,” she notes.

Maho also wants to withdraw troops from Iraq. “We’re spending all sorts of money,” he says. “That’s money that should be spent on other things.” He also cites the economy as another major issue. “It seems like we’re in a recession,” he says. “We need someone to get us out (of the recession). If it means cutting back, that’s what it takes.”

Harmon considers the war a priority, but she’s also concerned about the environment. She would like to see the candidates address carbon emissions and how to lower them.

While those students are registered and ready to cast their vote come November, some other students can only watch the political process from the sidelines. Johnny Buck is one of those spectators. The 30-year-old student at Northwest Indian College (Bellingham, WA) is an ex-felon. He’s served his time, but until he finishes paying off his fines, his voting rights won’t be reinstated.

Buck is from the Wanapum Columbia River People in Washington and is enrolled in the Yakima Nation, his mother’s tribe. “I wish I could vote,” he says, “because I think when you participate, that’s how change will be made.”

He’s had a number of years to think about this and come to such a conclusion. The first time he was eligible to vote, he didn’t bother. He says he was young and had other priorities. “I don’t know, I guess I had an ego,” he says. “I wasn’t motivated or inspired. Maybe I didn’t see the larger picture then.”

Today, he is paying attention to the presidential race and the issues even though he can’t vote. “I always keep in touch. I feel that for us (Native Americans) to gain the clout and the influence, we have to keep informed. We must become journalists. I believe we need to have our own Native American television station or network.” Buck is keeping active in this campaign by staying informed and urging his friends to make sure they vote.

“I let them know I can’t vote. There are a lot of Natives here who don’t vote,” he says. “I try to get the word out that it’s not that hard.” He says he tells them their votes do matter. “That’s how I’m kind of contributing,” he adds.

None of the five students interviewed has made a financial donation to a candidate nor have they volunteered for the presidential campaigns, but Buck and Collins have participated in the electoral process by encouraging more Natives to vote. At IAIA, students formed a group, “Indigenous Students for Barack Obama,” and invited him to come to their campus. When Obama was in town visiting a nearby community college, one of his staff people came to IAIA and talked to the students about issues and how they could get involved in the campaign.

On the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, where the OLC campuses are spread across several communities, Collins says, “It’s hard to get a campus life (feeling).” Still she’s motivated enough to start a voter registration project. “I know with the last election, people had signs up.”

She laughs and adds, “I’m sure if I stuck a Hillary (Clinton) sign in my yard, people would start putting up signs. My friends support Hillary. Some are split between Hillary and Obama. I don’t hear a lot of people talking about (U.S. Sen. John) McCain.”

STUDENTS RECEIVE POLL WORKER TRAINING. UTTC received a grant from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to recruit and train college students to serve as nonpartisan poll workers and poll assistants. Photo by Dennis J. Neumann.

Some students are talking about McCain, including Buck. “I think all three of them could potentially help out Native Americans,” he says. “Certainly McCain has the history and experience, but then again, he’s a Republican. I like his leadership and that he’s been to war and a POW. The relationship he has with Native Americans in Arizona helps,” says Buck. “But Republicans have been in office, and we need a change.”

Buck thinks Obama, as an African American, shares a similar history with Native Americans in their oppression. “I like the way he talks, speaks, the way he carries himself,” says Buck. “I think he has the best leadership qualities. I think he’s the one I’d vote for.” Buck says Clinton is well informed, smart, and sensitive. “She’s a woman, and she’s a fighter.”

Collins also likes Clinton. “I just feel that she’s had a lot of experience in the White House already,” she says. “Clinton’s had her plan on Indian Country set for a long time. Obama just created his a couple of months ago. She’d be able to help us the most, the soonest.”

Collins says that John McCain has done a lot for Indian Country, especially with his work on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, but she doesn’t see him focused on tribes now.

Duncan thinks Clinton’s time in the White House (as First Lady) created more negative feelings than positive, which he says is never good for a campaign. Obama’s newness appeals to him. “I’m supportive of a lot of his ideas. He would be the candidate I would support,” says Duncan.

Duncan acknowledges McCain’s history of helping Native Americans. “It’s great, and I respect him for that. I’m from Arizona; he’s from Arizona; people respect him,” says Duncan, but that still won’t sway him to vote Republican.

The same goes for Harmon. “I respect him,” she says. “He’s a veteran. I disagree with some of his views. He’s a Republican, and I’m a Democrat. I think he would want to stay in the war, and I don’t want that.” In the end Harmon will vote along her party lines.

“Whoever is on the Democratic bill I’m going to vote for. Either Hillary or Obama will do wonderfully.”

Maho favors Clinton. “She seems to have a pretty good outline of what she wants to do and how she’s going to get that done,” he says.

In the end, Maho thinks this will be another close election. “I think people need to hone in more on the issues and topics rather than the gender or race. They’re going to be in office for four years.” Choose wisely, he advises.

“It’s such a pivotal point with our nation being at war,” adds Harmon. “I feel like if I don’t vote, I’m kind of cheating the democratic process. I’m not doing my part.”

Patty Talahongva(Hopi/Tewa) enjoys covering politics, both tribal and federal.  Her first big election was the showdown between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan—in the midst of the Iran Hostage Crisis.