During an about 15-minute speech, Obama promised that as president his Indian policy would start with honoring the unique government-to-government relationship tribes are entitled to have with the United States. He also committed to a Native American policy adviser on his staff and to holding an annual summit to ensure tribal needs are met, according to the Billings Gazette.
Watch the video of Senator Barack Obama´s speech to the Crow Nation here!
The BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) sometimes acts like a bureaucracy that it´s not aware of what happens in the day to day lives of Indian people, he said.
"We need to shake up that bureaucracy," he said, drawing cheers from about 3,000 spectators at Veteran´s Park, where he was adopted by the Crow Nation.
Read also Indian Country Today’s stories:
Clinton promises more money for Indian health care, housing
Criticizing the Bush administration for ignoring the needs of American Indians, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that she would seek more money for health care and housing on reservations if elected president.
The New York senator outlined her agenda for Indian country in a conference call with reporters four days after her rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, visited the Crow Reservation in southeastern Montana.
Read more in Billings Gazette here!