4:44 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, everybody.  Thank you.  Please,
please have a seat.  It is wonderful to see all of you here this afternoon.  Some old friends and
some new friends.

As you know, I’m not here tonight just as President, but also as an adopted member of the Crow
Nation.  (Applause.)  If my adoptive parents were here, I know what they’d say:  Kids just grow up
so fast.  (Laughter.)

When I made that visit to Montana, I said that my job wasn’t just to win an election.  It was to
make sure that Washington started to focus on you.  And I took that commitment seriously.

My commitment is deeper than our unique nation-to-nation relationship.  It’s a commitment to
making sure that we get that relationship right.  Native Americans have to be full partners in our
economy.  Your children and your grandchildren have to have an equal shot at the American Dream.

And that’s why for three years in a row now, we’ve brought tribal leaders to Washington to
develop an agenda that reflects your hopes and your aspirations and the needs of your tribes. 
I’ve appointed Native Americans to senior positions in my administration and in my White House. 
And many of you have had a chance to work with Kim Teehee, who does an extraordinary job
coordinating our Native American affairs in the White House.  (Applause.)  And we’ve worked
together to tackle some of the most difficult challenges facing Native American families.

And we should be proud of what we’ve done so far.  But it should also sharpen our resolve to do
even more.

As long as Native Americans face unemployment rates that are far higher than the national average,
we’ve got more work to do.  And I wake up every day focused on how do we restore America’s
promise for all our people, including our first Americans.

So in my State of the Union address this week, I laid out my blueprint for an economy that’s built
to last, an economy built on American manufacturing and American energy, skills for American workers
and a return to American values of fair play and responsibility.  And that’s what we’re fighting
for.

And I want you guys to be full partners in that fight because I believe that one day we’re going
to be able to look back on these years and say this was a turning point in nation-to-nation
relations; that this was turning point when the nations all across the country recognized that they
were full partners, treated with dignity and respect and consultation; that this wasn’t just a
side note on a White House agenda, but this was part and parcel of our broader agenda to make sure
that everybody has opportunity.

And it’s also a moment when we build a strong middle class in Indian country.  It’s not simply a
ward but is able to marshal the resources to create its own agenda and its own destiny and its own
economic development and its own businesses.  That’s what we’re looking for.

We want new businesses and new opportunities to take root on the reservation.  We want to stop
repeating the mistakes of the past and begin building a better future -- one that honors old
traditions and also welcomes every single Native American into the American Dream.

We’ve done some great work together -- whether it’s making sure that Indian Health was
permanently extended and that we were putting additional resources to make sure that we’re picking
up the health of Native Americans all across the country.  Whether it’s an executive order that
specifies our focus on education with all of your tribes, whether it’s making sure that we are
working hard to allow the expansion of land in trust on behalf of nations to go further, we’ve
made some significant progress.  But we’ve got a lot more to do.

And I’m going to need all of you to continue to consult with us, to continue to work with us,
continue to partner with us.  I guarantee you that the work we’ve done over these first three
years is not the end, it’s just the beginning.

And if you stick with me, I promise you guys I’m going to be sticking with you.  All right, God
bless you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END
4:52 P.M. EST