Obama snubs state-recognized tribes

Obama meeting exclusion insults state recognized tribes

By Gale Courey ToensingThe White House announcement that President Barack Obama and tribal leaders will meet in early November was greeted with elation at the National Congress of American Indians annual conference, but that happiness soon turned to disappointment for representatives of state-recognized tribes who learned they would be excluded from the historic event.

“The interests of the state tribes should be just as important as the interests of the federal tribes,” said the Rev. John Norwood, president of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation.

“I don’t begrudge our federal brothers and sisters one iota. I know they deal with different issues in some respects and I think having an audience to deal with those types of issues is appropriate. But to be snubbed and not to be told that there will be a meeting for us state recognized down the road is surprising,” Norwood said.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Obama to Hold Tribal Summit.