"The debate over ownership of public lands cannot, and must not affect Native American treaty rights and Tribal Sovereignty."

“I will look to Native American leaders to guide me in that goal.” - Bernie Sanders

The Reno Gazette-Journal has been providing excellent coverage of the upcoming caucuses in Nevada. Today they published “Caucus prep: Hillary, Bernie answer 6 Nevada questions.” The questions cover such topics as immigration, drought, renewable energy, recreational marijuana, online gaming, and federal lands management. The answers draw a contrast between the two candidates and i highly recommend reading the whole article. I find the responses to the federal lands management issue to be significant. Hillary’s answers tend to be brief and general:

HILLARY CLINTON: Public lands in Nevada and across the West provide a wide range of benefits, from open spaces for recreation to resources that support grazing, energy production, and other uses. It is vital that the priorities, needs, and vision of local communities help shape the management of America’s public lands, and I would work to improve and support local, state, and federal collaboration.

Bernie’s response goes much further:

BERNIE SANDERS: In my view, we must strengthen, not weaken our public lands system. Our public lands are national treasures for future generations. Public lands should be managed for the benefit and enjoyment of all Americans, and not just the oil and gas, mining, and timber companies that have had disproportionate influence in management decisions on federal lands. We can balance natural resource conservation AND appropriate the use of public lands to create jobs and promote economic growth But to my mind, we must end the sweetheart mining concessions and leasing rate practices that allow these industries to profit at the expense of American taxpayers. We must ban all fossil fuel extraction from public land, and I have co-sponsored important legislation to do just that. The debate over ownership of public lands cannot, and must not affect Native American treaty rights and Tribal Sovereignty. We cannot let the actions of a fringe group of extremists undermine the United States’ historic trust responsibilities to Native peoples. It is time to modernize that trust relationship, by moving away from paternalism and control, and toward deference and support. As president, I pledge to do just that, and I will look to Native American leaders to guide me in that goal.

Not only does Bernie reiterate his position that climate change is something that needs to be addressed immediately, he points out that he has already introduced legislation to confront it. I am particularly impressed to see him be such a vocal proponent for the rights and sovereignty of Native Americans. No other candidate comes close to Bernie’s advocacy for addressing these issues right now.