Politics

Abourezk: Crow man spreads Obama's message

Friday, May 2, 2008

"In the summer of 2006, Samuel Kohn logged more than 7,000 miles on his car criss-crossing his home state of Montana.

As a Dartmouth College freshman, he was on a mission to find out what his state's tribes thought about a state legislative act that required all K-12 students to learn about Native history and culture.

This week, the 21-year-old Crow tribal member hit the road again on a different kind of mission.

He wants to find out what tribes in Montana think about Sen. Barack Obama. And he's happy with what he's seen so far.

"It's been an astounding response we've gotten," he said.

Two weeks ago, Kohn was hired as Obama's Native American outreach coordinator in Montana. He spent this week — his first full week on the job — touring the state's Hi-Line, a term referring to northern Montana. He took part in a 100-mile wellness walk and spoke to tribal members in Browning on the Blackfeet Reservation.

On Tuesday night, he spoke to about 35 people on the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation, trying to encourage them to vote for Obama. At the meeting, an older Native man said he had never voted before but planned to vote for Obama.

That night, he registered to vote for the first time."

Get the Story:
Kevin Abourezk: Young Crow Man Spreading Obama's Message (RezNet News 5/2)