Thread by @IndianCountry

The DNC's Native American Caucus Meeting is 15 minutes in and it's a packed schedule focused on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and the Native vote. Follow this thread for our coverage and a story after. #DemConvention #NativeVote20

"Your rights are on the line," says Dr. Jill Biden after listing a number of issues including tribal sovereignty.

"You deserve a partner who will stand by you, not stand in your way. And that's Joe. Throughout this campaign he has been clear. We stand with Indian Country," she continues.

Joe Biden's commitment to Indian Country popped up on the bottom of the screen for viewers.
joebiden.com/joe-bidens-com…

DNC Native American Caucus Chair Rion Ramirez introduces DNC Chair Tom Perez.

Perez said New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland, Laguna and Jemez Pueblo, has been instrumental on the drafting committee and she will be speaking tonight, the last night of the convention.

Read more about it below.
indiancountrytoday.com/news/deb-haala…

Perez said of Haaland and Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids: "... the two of them are a dynamic duo in the U.S. House and we're going to continue to work hard to make history."

"This isn't simply a convention for Democrats, this is a convention for everyone. I'm tired of having a divider in chief. I'm tired of having a tweeter in chief," Perez said.

New York Rep. Hakeem Jefferies addresses views. He serves as the House Democratic Caucus Chairman.

"Want to make sure that Native Americans, throughout the land, have the opportunity to pursue the best of what America has to offer," Jefferies said.

"Democrats will fight for Indian Country tomorrow and Democrats will fight for Indian country, forever. Because that is in our DNA," he continues.

Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto was the first Latina ever elected to the U.S. Senate. She says tribal consultation is "so important."

"And then there are so many others but I do want to focus on something that is the topic of this discussion today which is our missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, this is something that really is a focus for me it has been even before I got to the Senate," she says.

She said not having enough data is the issue. She worked with former North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski on legislation.

"There is also a challenge that we have seen in voting. I saw it in Nevada in our Indian country, a couple of election cycles ago, where they were trying to undermine and limit the ability for some of our members of our Native American communities to vote in Nevada... " she said

She continued, "... and this is true across the country I know many of our tribal communities are challenged geographically you get to sometimes you have to drive for hours in the middle of the desert just to get to one of our tribal communities."

Rep. Deb Haaland just introduced Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. Haaland described Pelosi as "fierce, fearless and tireless" and one who has "always protected and defended tribal nations, women, and children." #DemConvention

Pelosi said, "... the issue of sovereignty, as we all know, is in our Constitution.

"We're going to have a good election," Pelosi said. "Now they will try to sabotage the election they will try to undermine the postal system. They will try to invade social media with their tools and their misrepresentations. We don't agonize, we organize," Pelosi concludes.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is on.

"I've seen the federal government break solemn promises and huge corporations put profits ahead of the sovereign rights of Native communities. This must and will change. On November 3, we must select it administration that will fight for the sovereignty," Sanders said.

Quote continued: "... justice opportunity and dignity of Native people. The pain and the lies must end."

Sanders also called this election, "the most consequential election of our lifetimes."

"First and foremost, we need an administration that upholds the trust responsibility, and that guarantees housing, including by greatly increasing the funding for the Indian housing block grant program," Sanders said.

"We need an administration that works to restore tribal lands and protects the sacred places in Native languages and culture. And we need a democratic administration in Congress that will fight every day to provide native communities with health care as a human right," he added.

"Perhaps most significantly, we must fight to stop irreversible climate damage & pass unprecedented environmental policies that create millions of good paying jobs, including in local Native communities & that reverses the damage done to Indian Country & other lands & resources."

Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva addresses attendees now.

Grijalva said the Trump administration has had a "cavalier attitude" with Indian Country. He refers to the "dismantling of the Interior Department" and the selling of public lands and holy places.

"I think I'm firmly convinced that the rising jurisdiction is an opportunity to put in place, things that are happening in an Indian Country as we speak. I think the issue of sovereignty, respect for treaty obligations, trust responsibility is being redefined ... " Grijalva said.

" ... and it's been defined by Native leadership and Native people. And I think Congress has to catch up to that redefinition," Grijalva added.

Haaland is moderating a MMIWG panel with the first panelist being Grace Bulltail, Crow. She speaks about her niece Kaysera Stops Pretty Places.

Cherrah Giles, Muscogee (Creek) and chair of the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center talks about what is different in 2020 when it comes to MMIWG.

Giles called the McGirt ruling "one huge victory, but now it's time for us to really shine and really say, 'OK, how do we protect not only our tribal women but women in our community, women that live in our reservations.'"

Giles said the resource center is working with tribal programs and tribal coalitions "to make sure we're giving expressing their voices on a national scene and pushing national policies that best affect tribal communities because we're not all the same."

Read the latest on the McGirt decision below.
indiancountrytoday.com/news/mcgirt-pr…

Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore couldn't make it but recorded a short video.

Rudy Soto, Shoshone-Bannock and Idaho congressional candidate, makes an appearance.

Another campaign ad from Tricia Zunker, Ho-Chunk, ran. Zunker is running for Congress to represent Wisconsin's 7th congressional district.

Read more about Zunker below.
indiancountrytoday.com/news/native-ca…

A string of campaign ads is happening.

The third campaign message comes from Paulette Jordan, Coeur d'Alene, who is running for the U.S. Senate in Idaho. If successful, she would be the first Native woman to serve in the U.S. Senate.

Jordan introduced Van Jones who is the CEO of Reform Alliance, a three-time New Times bestselling author, and a CNN host and political commentator.

Jones will be moderating the Get-Out-The-Native-Vote panel with Clara Pratte, North Dakota State Rep. Ruth Anna Buffalo, Mark Ruffalo, and Jodi Archambault.

"You know we have to be talking to everybody," Buffalo said. "In our Native American community we know that we have to have these conversations in our families, to start talking and making a plan on how we're going to vote, especially our tribal rural communities."

Jones is introducing Mark Ruffalo now.

"I want that I've seen this guy [Mark Ruffalo] in Flint Michigan helping Black folks who don't have a penny to their name, trying to get fresh water," Jones said.

Ruffalo recognized the Indigenous lands he is on.

Jones asked Ruffalo why he cares. Why he helps.

"I grew up in immigrant communities. I've seen the decency and kindness of people of color. At a time when I was poor, and young and couldn't get any help from anybody. And these are the people who are taking care of me," Ruffalo said.

Ruffalo added, "And these are the people whose hearts are going out to me, just purely because I was a human being, not because of the color of my skin."

Ruffalo said, "... the Native experience is one of the best kept secrets of this nation."

Jodi Archambault answers the questions why should Native people vote and how does the Native vote get activated in this 2020 election. #NativeVote20

Archambault mentioned the voter ID law that happened in the 2018 election in North Dakota. "In 2018, the voters of North Dakota came out big in Indian Country bigger than they did in 2008 during the first Obama election."

"This fire that we have in us as Indigenous peoples to resist and to go towards the things that tell us that we're not supposed to be a part of the system. This is what we need to dig into we need to," she said. #NativeVote20

"We've been resisting since contact. We've been here on these lands protecting the waters, protecting our homeland, protecting the the the future generations, not just for ourselves but for everybody when it comes to the natural resources."

"These are the reasons that we need to get involved. It's not it's not about power for representation. We're not going to mistake representation for power," Archambault added.

"Power is the water. Power is the hurricanes. That's real power. And real power is land back. We're not going to ever achieve land back as Indigenous peoples if we don't get involved," she said.

"We're not going to have the things that ails our communities with health and with climate and the protection of our safe places," Archambault said. #NativeVote20 #DemConvention

"Those things are all going to affects us until we really practice our rights as citizens of this country and this isn't going to be an easy fight. There's going to be a lot of barriers in may put in front of us," she added. #NativeVote20 #DemConvention

"We have to do things what Ruth was talking about about making a plan that's real, like everybody can make a plan. We are really good at organizing against things that want to hold us back," she said. #NativeVote20 #DemConvention

"So people told us in the 20s and at the turn of the century that we couldn't have our ceremonies protected, you know, they couldn't practice our Indigenous ways," Archambault added. #NativeVote20 #DemConvention

"We still did it and we did it in the most formal and the most beautiful ways. We have to take that same energy, and participate in this year's election like no other time because what's at stake is our future," Archambault concluded. #NativeVote20 #DemConvention

That concludes the second and final meeting of the DNC's Native American Caucus.

Stay tuned for the story at IndianCountryToday.com and for more DNC coverage. We'll be watching Rep. Deb Haaland give her remarks tonight.