Bill Richardson has accepted the invitation to be a part of the “Prez on the Rez” debate for Democratic presidential candidates. The debate, according to the website prezontherez.org, is scheduled for Aug. 23 at the Morongo reservation in California.

The event, sponsored by Tulsa-based INDN’s List Educational Fund, aims is to place candidates in front of tribal leaders who are representing dozens of Indian Nations. Richardson knows the importance of the Native American vote, and has pledged to the executive council of the National Congress of American Indians, that if he's elected in 2008, he would create the first-even Cabinet-level Department of Indian Affairs.

Recognizing the importance of democratic American Indians in the primary could be Richardson’s ticket to success in Oklahoma. Oklahoma has the largest population of Native Americans in the U.S., according to 50states.com.

For more information on the debate, visit prezontherez.org or read the story in Indian Country Today.

-Lacey Earls