With Blanket Ceremony, American Indians Give Obama a Warm Embrace.

President Obama donned a Native American hat and blanket at his eighth and final White House Tribal Nations conference, symbolically wrapping himself in the mantle of what one tribal leader has called the "first American Indian president." 

"To blanket it to remember those we honor, those we lost, and those who are going to build our futures," said National Congress of American Indians President Brian Cladoosby before wrapping Obama in a black-and-red blanket named, "Rhythm of the Land." 

Obama, grinning, called the blanketing ceremony "an amazing honor."  

"What a kind gesture for the honor song and the blanket and the hat. I have to say that I’m very glad that you also have a blanket for Michelle so she doesn’t steal mine," he said. "She would, too. I’m just saying." 

The annual Tribal Nations conference was a hallmark of Obama's Native American policy, bringing in tribal leaders for high-level consultations with administration officials beyond the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

"We’ve made a lot of progress for Indian Country over the past eight years," Obama said. "And this moment highlights why it’s so important that we redouble our efforts to make sure that every federal agency truly consults and listens and works with you, sovereign to sovereign."

And this year's event had the feel of a farewell, as American Indian leaders lined up to recount Obama's relationship with individual tribes and the entire Native American community. "This president has walked down the path with us," said Marilynn Malerba, chief of the Mohegan tribe of Connecticut. "He has left his footprints for future administrations to follow."

As Obama spoke, protesters outside the auditorium protested the Dakota Access Pipeline. Obama has not taken a position on the pipeline, which a number of tribes have opposed, but the Obama administration has put the project on hold while it reviews the process for approving such projects.

Courtesy: USA TODAY.



American Mid-term Elections Results: The Real Losers.

There is a popular adage by the Yoruba (in Africa) that says: “Ticks always think they are killing a dog when, in reality, they are actually committing mass suicide.” This is because when the victim of ticks (dog) dies, all the ticks in its body will also die from starvation. This adage aptly describes certain categories of people who did not vote during the American Mid-term elections.

It’s safe to state here that the outcome of November 4th's elections amounts to a repudiation of President's Obama's policies. Yet, it's not because the policies were bad in themselves but because a large number of people refused to exercise their rights to vote. According to the news, there were poor turn-outs of voters in many states. But what are the implications of the Republicans' success at the polls and their control of both houses? Here are some examples:

1). The Affordable Care Act otherwise known as the Obamacare, which provides medical insurance for those with none, is in immediate jeopardy.

2). The proposed immigration reform act aimed at protecting those immigrants who are staying illegally in this country. This especially applies to those young people who (through no fault of theirs) were brought to this country as kids. This reform may soon end up in a trash can inside the congress chambers.

3). And lest I forget. There are those who are termed low-income people and living on “welfare” and food stamps (which the Republicans often call government’s "handouts") and those on subsidized housing benefits (section 8) may have to stay at alert henceforth. These are stuff that the Republicans hate and they may subject them to an urgent “reviews” soon.

Ironically, all of these things are likely to be repudiated because many of those who are benefiting from them refused to go vote! So, it was not President Obama or the Democratic candidates that lost. The real losers were the beneficiaries of the current dispensation.

 

Military Action in U.S. Global Leadership.

“Just because we have

the best hammer

does not mean that

every problem is a nail.”

-         President Obama while downplaying the role of military action in US global leadership during a major foreign policy address at West Point’s commencement.