Democrats say getting out Indian vote a daunting but important task

Frank Lamere, chairman of the Democratic National Convention's Native American Caucus, is urging Indians to get out and do what some of his friends call "that white man's thing" -- vote. With the prospect of a tight presidential race in November, Democrats are courting Indian country with vigor. And that, in itself, is a daunting prospect, given the fact that Indian voters are, literally, few and far between. For example, the land occupied by the 250,000-member Navajo Nation, the largest tribe in the United States, covers more than 27,000 square miles in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Many of the farmers, sheepherders, and others who live scattered across the reservation -- an area larger than West Virginia -- don't have telephones or televisions and rely largely on local Navajo-language radio stations for news. [more]