September 17, 2008

Todd Palin not Native after all?

Native Obama supporters lead Palin backlash

Democrats concerned Indian votes could be swayedIndian critics of Palin have not stopped with her record. Some Natives have gone so far as to say that Todd Palin is not enough of an Alaska Native to hold any weight in terms of the election.

In an e-mail to ICT, Valerie Taliman, Navajo, director of communications for the Indian Law Resource Center, said that Todd Palin should not be referred to as an Alaska Native.

“[H]e’s 1/16 [blood quantum] and not raised in the Native community,” Taliman, an ICT contributor, wrote.

Kendall-Miller also said she believes Todd Palin “does not consider himself an Alaska Native,” saying he “is much more akin to seeing himself as a sports hunter.”

“I think [Gov. Palin] is using her husband’s Alaska Native heritage the way she is using her developmentally disabled baby to try to draw people in.”
Comment:  For more on the subject, see Eskimo in the White House?

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:09 PM

    "I agree that the Cherokee Nation has the right to determine who's a member of the tribe. In other words, who can identify themselves as officially a Cherokee. But I don't agree that the Cherokee Nation has the right to prevent other people from calling themselves Cherokee or using aspects of Cherokee history and lore. 'Cherokee' encompasses a lot of people and places across the Southeast, not merely one tribe in Oklahoma." -Rob Schmidt-

    After all the bluster on these posts of Native acceptance- seems that between Tim Giago and Todd Palin, the only people who are not allowed to call themselves Natives are Republicans. Heck, in Giago's case, undecided and independent is bad enough.

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  2. I don't know what "bluster" you're referring to, Darryl. I've never questioned the Native ancestry of Republicans such as Ben Nighthorse Campbell or independents such as Tim Giago. I've questioned their political acumen, but that's a different matter.

    Longtime readers know I've questioned the Native ancestry of Ward Churchill on the far left as well as Todd Palin on the far right. Which is only common sense. There's no necessary connection between a person's claims to be Native and his political persuasion.

    See More on Todd Palin's Background for further information.

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  3. I've referred to Todd Palin as "Uncle Todd." His Native status is a joke, since he does nothing to help his people. Rather, he uses his heritage so his wife can have an appearance of being sensitive to people of color.

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