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PRESS RELEASE - 09/03/2019

Joe Sestak unveils new indigenous rights & sovereignty policies
Fulfilling our trust responsibility & treaty obligations - progress through education - justice for Native Americans - tackling the epidemic of violence against indigenous women and girls, and missing women and girls
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Our nation is constantly striving for a more perfect union. We cannot get there until we begin correcting past and continuing injustices that are a stain on our collective conscience.

We have a sacred debt and duty to our Native American fellow citizens. Our America must be an America that keeps its promise to its indigenous peoples.

Like many Americans descended from immigrants, I grew up feeling deep respect and reverence for Native American culture and history. Over time I grew to understand how indigenous people of North America are not only a part of America’s past but an important part of our present too, with rich, vibrant, resilient communities across the 50 states and US territories. As I learned more about the modern history of Native Americans, I came to understand just how resilient they have been forced to be, how much struggle they have endured over centuries of mistreatment and marginalization, up to the present day.

As President, I will work with indigenous communities to secure their full rights and sovereignty, and attempt to make amends for the harm done to native peoples throughout our history. I have outlined a detailed set of policy proposals aimed at doing just that.

My priorities are below (read the full paper here [[link removed]] ):

*
Honor
and
fulfill
treaty
obligations
—
and
moral
obligations
—
to
Native
American
peoples.
*
Acknowledge
past
wrongs
committed
against
Native
Americans,
and
wrongs
still
being
committed.
*
Listen
to
Native
Americans
and
include
their
voices
in
policy
decisions.
*
Recognize
Native
American
sovereignty,
including
by
giving
federal
recognition
to
all
tribes
currently
recognized
by
states,
and
re-considering
all
others
who
seek
it.
*
Fully
fund
the
Indian
Health
Service
—
which,
like
many
of
the
points
here,
is
and
should
be
considered
a
treaty
obligation)
to
deal
with
staff
shortages
and
poor
quality
care.
*
Dramatically
improve
infrastructure
throughout
“Indian
Country”,
including
roads,
dams,
bridges,
potable
water,
electricity,
broadband,
etc.
*
Respect
and
honor
Native
American
sacred
sites
and
religious
practice.
*
Protect
Native
American
lands
and
resources
from
outside
interests.
*
Restore
effective
leaders
to
the
Department
of
the
Interior
who
will
engage
with
Native
Americans
and
treat
them
with
the
dignity
they
deserve.
*
Re-institute
the
annual
Tribal
Nations
Conference
at
the
White
House.
*
Pass
the
RESPECT
Act
to
repeal
antiquated
laws
still
on
the
books
that
are
hostile
and
discriminatory
toward
Native
American
people.
*
Provide
more
federal
support
for
education
in
Native
American
communities,
including
funds
to
repair
crumbling
schools,
and
full
funding
for
the
Bureau
of
Indian
Education
(BIE).
*
Pass
universal
daycare
and
pre-K
for
all
Americans.
*
Increase
funding
for
language
revitalization
and
cultural
preservation
programs.
*
Improve
justice
systems
on
Native
American
reservations,
including
by
providing
more
funding
for
tribal
police
and
restorative
justice
programs,
and
by
working
with
tribes,
states,
and
Congress
to
fix
jurisdictional
problems
that
prevent
non-Native
Americans
who
commit
crimes
on
reservations
from
being
brought
to
justice
(among
other
justice
issues).
*
Focus
federal
attention
on
the
epidemic
of
violence
against
indigenous
women
and
girls,
and
missing
women
and
girls,
starting
with
passing
Savanna's
Act
to
improve
coordination
and
information
sharing
among
federal,
state,
local,
and
tribal
officials.
*
Work
with
tribes
and
states
to
address
the
intersecting
socio-economic
problems
that
harm
far
too
many
Native
American
people,
including
poverty,
discrimination,
lack
of
opportunity,
addiction
and
substance
abuse,
other
physical
and
mental
health
conditions,
poor
nutrition,
sexual
abuse,
and
domestic
violence.

For more, read the full paper here [[link removed]] .

To read all of my policy papers, please click here [[link removed]] to check out my "Plan for America."

For more information, visit my site ( here [[link removed]] ) to read more about who I am and where my campaign is going next, or contact my press team on [email protected] [[email protected]] .

Respectfully,
Joe Sestak



Paid for by Joe Sestak for President.

Joe Sestak
P.O Box 17246
Alexandria, VA 22302
United States

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