| My Comment |
| Kee Allen Begay Jr. – Many Farms, Arizona
www.mfcouncil-kbjr.com Remark about the National Election I want to know if I could send out an article to get some attention about Native American Indian issues particularly Navajo Nation and hoping it would be a factor of the current Presidential election. More of main stream American issues and "other" minority issues are only being addressed. Of course they (candidates) are trying to win the vote to get them into "that" office in Washington DC. With the current Bush administration, not much of Native American Indians issues are being address. More funding cuts are on the horizon to the BIA budget and as citizens of this U.S.A, we (Native American Indian) are being administered through a Department (DOI) which Natural Resource is more a priority than us. Take an example of Mr. McCain, me as a registered Republican, I would not support him. Candidates talks about issue, Mr. McCain has 22 Native American Tribes in his state (Arizona) he represent in Congress, but how much help has he "really" made on behalf of the 22 Indian tribes from his state; shut down of jail facilities, limited judicial funding, unsafe BIA schools, limited funding for IHS, unpaved BIA roads... and should I need to go on? In my time as an elected official, I have not seen any of these top officials visits the Hogan level and see first hand of the actual situation. Mr. McCain supports to send billions of billions of dollar overseas just so that USA is "friendly" with these countries. I think the Navajo Nation is only asking for a fraction of such funding for the betterment of the Navajo People. Of course the Native American issues are just tuck back at the back burner and with Indian voting outcome not a major factor, we will only continue to struggle with the next administration. Navajo Nation has a treaty (1868) with the United States of America! WWII was won with the help of our Navajo Code Talkers! Since I was elected to the Navajo Nation Council, I have made numerous visits to the United States Congress to both the House of Representative and the Senate addressing Navajo issues, that’s 5 years! After five years I see no progress from US Government in terms of funding or anything. Serving on the NN Judiciary Committee and representing two Navajo Nation community (Many Farms / Round Rock Chapters), little if not nothing has been developed from the help of the United State Congress or the President of the United States. What will it take to have the United States Government realize of Native American Indian situation! I take you back to a visit by the current United States Attorney General about two weeks ago in Window Rock, AZ that I could not even visit with him because I don't have a security clearance! I started wondering if this is the case that the Navajo if not Native American Indian issues are top secrete in Washington DC! How can I, as an elected official, as a US Veteran and hoping that I am a US citizen that I cannot visit with a Washington DC official who visit the Navajo Nation, my own home land! What I like to see is a National Televised Debate of both parties (Dem. / Rep.) only relating to Native American Indian issues!! I could go on and on about Native American Indian / Navajo Issues but as long I'm an elected tribal council member, I will do my best to address these issues in Washington DC and even at the State level. There is so much to say but I will leave it at this. Thank you. |