Sanders to Natives: ‘We owe you’
Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero U.S. Presidential Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders waves to the crowd Friday during his campaign rally at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.
At his rally at the Albuquerque Convention Center May 20, Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders addressed the social issues of each minority group affiliated with New Mexico. But he received the longest applause from the crowd when he commented about Native Americans.
“Native Americans, we owe you a tremendous debt that we can never repay,” said Sanders. He promised to rebuild the damaged relationship between Native tribes and the federal government if elected.
He also addressed the high suicide rates among Native American teens, mentioning a trip to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota where the suicide rate is three times the national average.
“If you go to a reservation today, what you will find is a people living in Third World Conditions … If elected, we will change our relationship with our Native American neighbors,” said Sanders to thunderous applause.
Sanders added that he would work with Native tribes to address the problems faced on reservations every day like unemployment, poverty, mental health, suicide and broken treaties.
The rally, less than three weeks before New Mexico’s primary election on June 7, drew more than 7,000 people, filling the center. Another 2,000 watched on a big screen set up in Civic Plaza.
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow