Clinton promises war on diabetes among Native American youths

By Kevin Woster, Journal staff | Thursday, May 15, 2008

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PINE RIDGE - Former President Bill Clinton promised that his wife will wage a war on diabetes among Native American youths and fight for the "overlooked" and "mistreated" if she is elected president.

Speaking to about 800 people in the Pine Ridge High School gymnasium, Clinton said his wife "knows more about Indian Country" than other presidential candidates and would keep promises to address reservation needs once in office.

"It's easier to make a promise than it is to make progress," Clinton said in reference to campaign slogans by presidential candidate Barack Obama. "You have lived with that for decades."

After drum songs and an introduction by Oglala Lakota College president Tom Shortbull, Clinton addressed the crowd for about 25 minutes.

He said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was the first presidential candidate to present an agenda for Native Americans. That agenda will restore respect for tribal sovereignty to the White House, trash the No Child Left Behind initiative in favor of more directed assistance to schools and educators, and improve funding and services offered by Indian Health Service, the former president said.

The new initiative for the Indian Health Service would include an aggressive campaign to stop and reverse the increasing incidence of diabetes among Native Americans nationwide.

"It is disgraceful that there is no serious effort to reverse the explosive growth of diabetes among Native American people when they are young," Clinton said.

Clinton said gains in assistance to Native Americans during his eight years in the White House were faltering under the Bush administration, something he said would change if his wife were elected. He said Hillary Clinton's plan would elevate the standing and influence of the Indian Health Service director in the federal bureaucracy and push for wind and solar energy development on reservations through a special fund that would extend the nation's power-transmission grid to "the most distressed parts of our country."

"You can gain control of your economic future if only you can produce your own energy and sell it to people who desperately need it," he said.

Despite the seemingly commanding lead in the Democratic primary by Barack Obama, Clinton urged Native Americans to believe his wife can win the Democratic nomination and go on to become president.

"Don't tell me she cannot win this election," he said.

After the speech, Clinton spent about 30 minutes shaking hands, posing with members of the audience and in some cases listening intently to personal stories before hugging individuals.

He then left the gym with a small contingent of Secret Service agents and staff members to drive to Chadron, Neb., where he boarded a plane to his next engagement.