 In 2004 I watched the Democratic National Convention. I was feeling very let down. It’s not that I support the Party, but I do generally appreciate opposition. The speeches and the pageantry failed to impress. Quite the opposite, actually. But, for me, the only interesting moment was the keynote address. At the end, I turned to my girlfriend, who was incredibly bored, and could not have cared less, I said, “Watch. They are going to run that guy next time. Wouldn’t it be great if he had a chance!?” She doesn’t talk to me anymore, so I can’t verify this, but it is true, I swear.
Barack Obama was effortless in his eloquence and delivery at the podium. He spoke emphatically and in a manner that didn’t feel dumbed-down, like speaking to the lowest common denominator, as with so many politicians. His run, from the primaries though the Presidential election, was equally impressive. The effectiveness of his campaign was unmatched, especially when it came to his pursuit of the Indigenous community’s vote.
Voting rights came slowly to Native America. In 1870, the recently freed Black Americans were given the vote (on paper, at least). Fifty years later women demanded and gained suffrage. Four years after that, the United States decided that the American Indians were citizens and should also have the right to vote. As with African-Americans, the right to vote was largely lip service and took the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1964 and not a little struggle to truly attain the right for these groups to vote. So, Native Americans could be considered the country’s newest voting block. It is a vote that overwhelmingly goes to the Democrats. But with historically low voter turnout, is it surprising that the demographic has been largely ignored in presidential politics? At one percent of the U.S. population the Native vote might easily be written off as insignificant. But when you consider the narrow margin of victory that has occurred in recent elections, along with the fact that voter turnout for the entire country hovers around sixty percent, that one percent seems a bit more attractive; especially since as a group that tends to vote nine to one in favor of Democrats. Perhaps, if there were a payout to show up at the polls, as is the case in many tribal elections, voter turnout would increase? Or, maybe all it would take to get the Native vote is for a presidential candidate to directly address and engage the First Nations in a dialog?
In its endorsement of Obama for president, The Native American Times called him, “the man who actually wants our vote.” I don’t think that this was an uncommon opinion. My own cousin reached voting age two decades ago and had never voted. His only previously held political opinion was, “Don’t trust the government. No matter what.” So what was he doing wearing the ‘Barry’ shirt? You know the one, the one with a stenciled Obama face, made to resemble that classic stenciled face of last century’s most famous (or most marketable) Argentine.
So I asked him about this sudden change in his attitude. Was he now going to vote? Was he even registered? Truthfully, I knew he wasn’t. The t-shirt was like a starter pistol for postulation. Beyond the trendy t-shirt, could parallels be drawn between the current presidential candidate and Ché? What did this t-shirt mean? Was the hype surrounding Obama really so pervasive as to involve a person who previously remained actively uninvolved?
Out here in the resort-ridden mountains of the West my cousin and I live a very “under the table” sort of life. The less our names show up on official government forms, the better. Remaining uninvolved, and more or less off the radar, leaves more time to worry about important things like snowpack conditions and where to get money for a new snowmachine. But I guess there was a perceived urgency to this election that seemed to preclude my cousin’s personal politics of abstention. Besides, he said it was the first time that a viable candidate had been put forth that he felt he could vote for in good conscience. So, he registered, and then he voted, and did so only to vote for Obama.
Perhaps, his pledge to aggressively pursue Universal Health Care, his demonstrated understanding of Native American issues, like sovereignty, and the acknowledgement that it is not ‘The Indian Problem,’ but a number of complex and varied issues that, apparently, were enough to convince a proud non-voter to register and vote for the first time in his life. However, circumstances were different in my case.
It seems as though I am prattling on in praise of Obama, as have so many others in the recent past. The truth is my vote would have gone to the Democrats regardless of the candidate. Because of the nature of the election I expected to cast a cynical vote that was not in favor of one candidate, but against the other. Kind of a safety vote, for the less unfavorable option offered. Instead it turned out to be a vote that I felt okay about.
For the first time since I started voting, I felt there was a legitimate and reasonable choice on the ballot. Rather old war-heroes, businessmen and career politicians, we were offered the choice of a man who held a terminal degree in law, who was a senior lecturer on law at a major university. A Doctor of Jurisprudence, not just a lawyer, but also a civil rights lawyer. I was incredulous. Could I really be punching the ticket for someone who I actually thought should be the President?
There was an awful lot of 'Hope' thrown around during Obama's campaign, but this is American politics, so it remains to be seen how much hope survives the transition from campaign to administration, from rhetoric to tangible change. Who can say what, if any, progressive policy will actually be put in place? Maybe that's what the Hope is all about. Hope that the "Change You Can Believe In" is truly possible. Presidential campaigns are always full of promises, many more than are actually delivered. Cynicism is hard to let go and doubt is always easier to hold on to than hope. But this election may have had a tangible effect that remains to be seen. Here’s hoping that the incoming administration can change my mind.
*Statistics on the Indigenous vote are not abundant. It is a category that has not been fully explored, largely due to omission in Census Department surveys. Despite the modicum of real data, there seems to be the impression that the Obama campaign’s more aggressive ‘First Americans’ strategy, combined with what might be called a perceived increase in the importance of this election, have inspired a more engaged and expansive response from Native America.
[Photo M. Colon]
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Leonard Gath is an occasional contributor to the NAICA. He lives in Colorado, where he rides snowboards by day and works in the service industry by night.
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