Native American issues are rarely discussed on the presidential campaign trail, but for the first this year, a candidates’ forum entirely on Native concerns will be held next month in Sioux City, Iowa.
So far, five Democratic candidates have confirmed they will attend the August 19 and 20 discussion about the sovereign rights of tribes, housing, and the protection of Native land, among other issues.
So far, the candidates who have confirmed that they plan to attend the forum are Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D-MT), author Marianne Williamson, U.S. Rep. John Delaney (D-MD), and President Barack Obama’s former Housing Secretary Julian Castro.
Native communities, which are often located in remote areas, face high rates of poverty, lower life expectancy, low high school graduation rates, and high rates of domestic violence. A large number of indigenous women have also gone missing or been found murdered.
Roads and bridges on Native land are deteriorating because of insufficient funding from the federal government and there is a severe shortage of housing.
Native land has been threatened by large scale oil pipeline projects as well. Members of the community staged protests against the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline at the Standing Rock reservation in 2016, because it threatened Sioux tribal land.
Many of those issues will be discussed during the candidate forum that is expected to sell-out the 2,600 seat Sioux City Orpheum Theatre, said Semans. A number of tribal schools have discussed sending students to the event to ask questions to candidates who will be standing in front of the American and P.O.W. flags as well as the flags of tribal nations.
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