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August 17, 2004
Big Chief W explains tribal sovereignty with his usual flair
During the Q&A period after his speech to journalists of color at a recent conference, the President was asked about tribal/national sovereignty for indigenous persons in the U.S. and what the concept means in the 21st century. With any number of tribal nation issues to choose from (fishing and land rights, criminal justice treatment of indigenous persons, inadequate BIA services, mining and mineral rights, etc), surely the leader of the free world would have a plethora of things to say. Well, not exactly. Instead, the exchange went like this, verbatim:
"What do you think tribal sovereignty means in the 21st century?" (Asked by a Native-American editor from a Seattle newspaper)
Bush's Answer:
"Tribal sovereignty means that -- it's sovereignty...I mean, you're a -- you're a -- you've been given sovereignty and you're viewed as a sovereign entity."
Glad we've got someone as sharp as this guy to clear everything up for us.
Here is a full story about Bush's incoherent presentation to the UNITY conference. Worth the read.
Posted by timwise at August 17, 2004 01:48 PM