State of Nations: Barack Obama's Indigenous America

ABSTRACT

From his “adoption” by a Crow Nation family while on the campaign trail in 2008, to his renaming of Mt. McKinley to Denali—the mountain's Koyukon Athabascan name—Barack Obama has enjoyed a relationship with Indigenous Americans that is unique in presidential history. He has spent more time in “Indian country,” as it is officially known by the federal government, than any other president. Moreover, he has implemented an annual Tribal Nations Conference to facilitate consultation between the federal government and Indigenous leadership. In this article, the author argues that Obama's discourse of Indigenous issues is marked by a particular form of rhetoric, constitutive rhetoric, through which he calls into existence a new, inclusive relationship between the United States and tribal governments. Focusing primarily on his speeches at Tribal Nations Conferences, the author identifies a “nations-within” concept adhered to by Obama that contrasts markedly with past presidential rhetoric concerning Indigenous Americans.

KEYTERMS:

• ethnicity
• Native American studies
• rhetoric
• race