In response to ”Clinton presents plan for Native America” [Vol. 27, Iss. 23] by Jerry Reynolds: Hilary Clinton pledged to support Native American communities if elected president in 2008. Tribal sovereignty and federal responsibility are on her agenda. Not only does she pledge to appoint Native Americans to governmental positions, nominate judges who are supportive of Native American agendas, and improve the quality of law enforcement, but she also will attempt to increase the quality of living of native peoples. To do this, she will assist with the health care issues plaguing native communities, improve the quality of law enforcement, and contribute to early education programs which benefit the native communities. She also pledges to develop plans for alternative energy sources with tribal governments. Husband and former U.S. President Bill Clinton announced, ”I’m very committed to working with [them] … and I will continue to build on the work that I’ve done over many years … I’m very proud of that roundtable, but we’ve got a lot to do.” He is referring to his own pro-Native American acts during his presidential term including the emphasis he placed upon financial management, nonprofit giving, and corporate giving within Native communities.
In reality, Bill Clinton’s acts were not largely pro-Native American. In November of 1993, Leonard Peltier’s attorney formally petitioned for executive clemency from Bill Clinton. This process normally takes from three to nine months. Seven years later, in late November 2000, President Bill Clinton announced that he would review executive clemency requests before leaving office in 2001. Clinton’s last gesture as president was pardoning 176 people who had been convicted, were under indictment or were otherwise in trouble with the law. Of substantial devastation to Native hopefuls, Leonard Peltier was not pardoned. Rather, Clinton pardoned his own brother, Whitewater criminals and, most suspicious considering the current campaign of Hillary Clinton, Marc Rich. Rich was exiled to Switzerland following tax fraud which led to revocation of his U.S. citizenship. Money from Rich is most likely funding Hillary’s presidential campaign. Rich was pardoned by Clinton, the one man who had the authority to right one of the most treacherous publicized governmental acts against a Native person. Leonard Peltier remains in prison.
I must only wonder if the true cause for Bill Clinton’s ”extensive engagement with Indian country” during the years between 1992 and 2000 was created from an alternative political agenda. Given the time period, it seems this ”engagement” was likely initiated by tribal leaders and Indian communities encouraging the executive clemency for Leonard Peltier rather than the Native-centric agenda that the article accredits to Clinton. Hillary’s claims of a Native American-friendly agenda are pure propaganda in an attempt to get an undeserved vote. Unfortunately, the article concludes that the geographic regions of Indian country, excluding Alaska, indicate campaign support for Clinton.
– Jennifer Etzler
Omaha, Neb.