WASHINGTON – Since becoming the first female Republican vice presidential candidate in August, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been largely silent on issues pertaining to indigenous peoples. Some Indians have found her silence odd, given the fact that her husband and children are of Yup’ik Eskimo descent and hold shares in at least two Alaska Native corporations.
In her 2006 campaign for governor, Palin was willing to talk about her family’s heritage in an effort to connect with voters. In a campaign letter addressed to rural voters that fall, she wrote that she “so very much appreciate[s] Alaska’s First People, their proud heritage and diverse cultures so abundant in the communities throughout our state.”
Palin also promised to support tribal economic development and fishing subsistence issues, while noting personal fondness for Native culture. However, when she was ultimately elected governor, she ended up becoming the de facto head of several state lawsuits that some Natives believe have been detrimental to fishing and hunting subsistence issues, as well as tribal sovereignty and language preservation.
Some have pushed Palin to drop the lawsuits altogether, but even staunch anti-Palin Democratic Natives have said there is a slim chance. Pro-Palin supporters have defended the governor’s record, indicating that she has always listened to their concerns and has tried to balance her position on Indian issues with the duties of her main job: protecting the state’s interests.
If Palin is elected, her family’s Native blood will be just a heartbeat away from the presidency. Whether that reality would result in better policies for Indians is unknown at this point. A spokesman for Palin said the governor is willing to answer questions about her positions on Indian issues. Stay tuned.
