Palin's Rural Adviser Quits Over Native Record.
What I find most interesting about the Palinsphere is how quickly the "Truth Squad" aka the McCain Spin Doctors come out with new stories to address any negative press about Sarah Palin. (BTW, I know and really respect Rhonda McBride).
from the article:
JUNEAU, Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin's rural adviser resigned Monday amid criticism of the governor's record on hiring Alaska Natives.
Rhonda McBride, who is not an Alaska Native, made the announcement in an e-mail to several Native leaders, saying there need to be more Native voices in Palin's administration.
"I definitely think it would help to have an Alaska Native in this position," McBride told The Associated Press.
Many Alaska Natives have said they felt neglected when Palin, now the Republican vice presidential nominee, made appointments to her administration, including the rural adviser post.
State Sen. Al Kookesh, a Democrat, said Palin left the position unfilled her first year in office and ignored Native leaders' suggestions on the selection process.
"We were really disappointed when an Alaska Native wasn't appointed," said Kookesh, a Tlingit Indian who held the job in a previous administration.
Natives bristled early in Palin's administration when she named a white woman to a game board seat held by a Native for more than 25 years. An Athabascan Indian eventually was named to the post after protests.
And now for the Quick Spin from the McCain Truth Squad that came out CLEARLY in direct response to the criticism of Sarah Palin's lack of respect for and neglect of the needs of Native Alaskans. Oh, what is the story now? Palin's hubby Todd has part Yup'ik! That still doesn't change the fact that she ignores Native needs and issues when inconvenient to her.
Yup'ik ties give Palins unique Alaska connection
NATIVE: Grandmother on Todd's side calls the governor a 'special gal.'
Published: October 19th, 2008 11:20 PM
Last Modified: October 19th, 2008 04:10 PM
HOMER -- Like many Alaska Natives of her generation, Lena Andree, Todd Palin's 87-year-old Yup'ik grandmother, grew up living between two worlds.
Her father was a Dutchman, Glass Eye Billy Bartman, a sled dog freighter in the Bristol Bay region and caretaker of the Alaska Packers saltry on the Igushik River.
Her mother was full-blooded Yup'ik, growing up in a sod-roofed barabara in the now-abandoned village of Tuklung, somewhere on the tundra between Dillingham and Togiak.
Growing up in two worlds along the Igushik River in Bristol Bay, Lena Bartman spoke broken English with her father and more fluent Yup'ik with her mother, whose Yup'ik name was Ahchitmook and western name was Amalia. Later she would make a career as a translator, bridging the cultures of Dillingham, speaking English with the doctors and storekeepers and pilots, and "speaking Native" with the residents.
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