American Indian Culture and Research Journal

On December 1, 2000, Democratic challenger Maria Cantwell, a former Representative and Internet entrepreneur, was finally able to declare victory over incumbent Republican Slade Gorton in a closely fought Washington Senate race. The contest came down to just over a two-thousand-vote difference out of nearly two-and-a-half million ballots. Though an array of factors contributed to this outcome, it would be difficult to overlook the role played by American Indian interests. Gorton, a staple of Washington politics for over four decades, gained notoriety early on for opposing tribal fishing rights and eventually came to be labeled an “‘Indian fighter’” and “the champion for the anti-Indian effort.” Gorton’s opposition to tribal sovereignty and efforts to reduce funding for Indian programs angered Indians from across the political spectrum. Such a reputation led American Indians and their allies to donate over $1 million to The First American Education Project in an effort to unseat the three-term senator. This financial contribution, likely coupled with the votes of many of the approximately 94,000 American Indians in Washington, helped produce a narrow victory, not only for Cantwell but for American Indians throughout the country. In this particular case, Indian interests paralleled those of the Democratic Party, but was this a coincidence or part of a larger pattern? In an effort to explore the relationship between American Indian interests and political parties in greater depth, this article examines the role that major party platforms have played in addressing American Indian concerns over the past half century. The following investigation compares Democratic and Republican party platforms from 1948 to 2000 to identify consistency and change in party rhetoric over time. This investigation confirms that both parties have made efforts to define policy positions that show support for American Indian interests, but the breadth and intensity of party commitment has ebbed and flowed over time and the parties have emphasized different, though not always contradictory, policy objectives.