Of the nine Democratic county committees in South Dakota that are campaigning for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois), five are run by Indian women, Indian Country Today reports.

Cecelia Fire Thunder, the former president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, heads the Bennett County committee. She said Indian women were chosen for a simple reason.

"We have a long history of working hard and being committed and we rise up to the occasion when the work needs to get done," Fire Thunder told ICT.

The other organizers are: Elsie Meeks (Oglala), Julie Garreau (Cheyenne River), Helen Gilbert (Santee Sioux) and Kimberly Killer (Oglala).

Voters on reservations in South Dakota overwhelmingly vote Democratic and were responsible for keeping Sen. Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota) in office in 2002.

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