Oral history interview with Lindsay M. Early, 2022
Abstract
Lindsay Early reflects on her upbringing, education, and career, and discusses her engagement with the Obama White House, including the letter she wrote to the president about the administration's impact in Indian Country, as well as Obama's inclusion of her story in his remarks at the 2016 White House Tribal Nations Conference. Early shares stories of her relationship with her grandmother, and des cribes her political commitments and emphasis on the importance of Comanche culture and language. She also discusses her experiences at the University of Oklahoma, and recounts the development of her expertise in indigenous legal issues and her involvement in the construction of an assisted living center for the Comanche community. Early remembers her early impressions of Obama; tells the story of her attendance at an Obama 2008 campaign rally in Dallas, Texas; and provides details about the letter she wrote to Obama, her contact with the White House, and her experience hearing Obama speak about her life at the Tribal Nations Conference. Early also speaks widely about the connection between Native American communities and presidential candidates, and about the effects of Obama administration policies in Indian Country
Presidents--Correspondence,--United States; Presidents--United States; Indians of North America; Indians of North America--Political activity; Indian activists--Comanche Nation, Oklahoma; Indigenous peoples--Legal status, laws, etc; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma Social conditions; Comanche Nation, Oklahoma Social life and customs; Early, Lindsay; Obama, Barack; Duncan, Arne; White House Tribal Nations Conference
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2022
Physical Description
31 pages
Note (Biographical)
Lindsay Early is an educator, civic leader, nonprofit executive, and member of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma. A Gates Millennium scholar, Early studied at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, and is an expert on indigenous legal issues. She ha s also taught history and American Indian Studies at a tribal college through Teach for America. In January 2016, Early wrote a letter to President Obama thanking him for his administration's impact on Indian Country, and Obama referenced her letter in his remarks at the 2016 White House Tribal Nations Conference. At the time of the interview, Early was deputy director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association
Note
Interviewed by Mary Marshall Clark on July 21, 2022. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Lindsay M. Early, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023