Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean meets with tribal leaders

It's a sign of the tribe's growing clout

By: SEAN COCKERHAM

Howard Dean, chairman of the national Democratic Party, wooed the Puyallup Tribal Council on Tuesday in a sign of the tribe’s growing influence.

Dean met with tribal council members for lunch in the Bridge nightclub at the tribe’s Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma. Midday gamblers played blackjack and fed video terminals on the floor below while Dean dined in an intimate setting with council members in the largely darkened nightclub.

Dean was in the Puget Sound area for Democratic Party fundraisers. The Puyallup Tribe was the only tribe on his itinerary.

“They are politically very active,” Dean said in a brief interview before the meeting.
He also said the tribe is close with Kalyn Free, a Cherokee Indian whom Dean appointed to the Democratic National Committee. Free is founder of INDN’s List, a national American Indian political organization.

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