If Bill Clinton was our first black president, maybe Barack Obama will be the first Indian president. As of May 19th, he is a member of the Crow Nation with the name of Awe Kooda Bilaxpak Kuuxshish, or “One who helps people throughout the land.” If that’s a mouthful, you can also call him Barack Black Eagle, since “Black Eagle” is the family name of his adoptive parents. Obama is apparently the first presidential candidate to make a personal stop at the Crow Nation (but not the first to campaign on any reservation: Bobby Kennedy campaigned on reservations in South Dakota in 1968).
As cynical election ploys go, this one has the potential to be the most heartbreaking - if Obama never goes back to visit his “parents” and “tribesmen” after the campaign is over, that is. But in terms of vote-buying potential, don’t dismiss it. It’s a safe bet the whole tribe will turn out for him now, as well, perhaps, as members of other tribes. All total, natives are about 7% of Montana’s population - and just under 9% of South Dakota’s. Those are game-changing margins in a primary this close. So the strategy seems to be this: if you’re in a state that doesn’t have a significant black vote, invent one.