Democratic National Convention Nominates a Man of Color to Run for President By Tanya Lee DENVER, Colo., Aug. 27 -- The nomination of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., as the Democratic candidate for president has fervent support from many Native American leaders. Matthew Baudet (Montauk), a delegate from Illinois committed to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., told NewsWatch that what he hoped for from an Obama presidency can be summed up in two words: "His ears. We had President Clinton's ears, but Washington has turned a deaf ear to tribes for the past eight years." The official roll call vote came with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., presiding. As California and Illinois passed, New York's turn came and Clinton stood to announce the vote totals for New York State, which gave Obama the delegates needed for nomination. She then called for the Obama nomination to be affirmed by acclamation. Dave Gipp, a Hunkpapa/Lakota from the Standing Rock Lakota-Dakota Nation and president of United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, N.D., had a speaking role at the convention. He said he was one of thousands of tribal members who back Obama, and who support him for "accepting tribal nations and their citizens into the future he sees for America. We're not another special interest group trying to claim a share of the American pie. We are, after all, the first Americans. We paid for our place with land and blood. Our status as sovereign tribal nations is specially recognized in the U.S. Constitution. Our rights as tribal nations to determine our destiny within our great United States should be protected and honored by our government. Our treaties with the U.S. are the supreme law of the land." Gipp noted that Native Americans still face significant challenges Ð crumbling schools, a heath care system that is a disaster, and law enforcement authorities who lack the resources to guarantee safety. Said Gipp: "People in the Green Zone in Baghdad may indeed be safer than citizens in Indian country. Yet we have never turned our back on America. Our tribal veterans have served in every one of this nation's wars and conflicts in greater numbers per capita than any other ethnic group." Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., said, "We can't do anything with this administration. The president doesn't want to see tribal leaders. Sen. Obama is talking change. Native Americans are crying out for change." Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Chairman Ernest House, Sr. stressed the importance of having a White House that would coordinate and consult with Indian tribes. Frank LaMere (Winnebago), Nebraska superdelegate and chairman of the Democratic National Committee's Native American Caucus said Obama "may be the only one who can make the changes" needed in Indian Country. Native Americans, according to DNC Secretary Alice Germondand, have 143 delegates and four superdelegates in attendance.