4pm MST - Everyone gets settled in

David Gipp is a member of the Standing Rock Lakota Sioux tribe, and was chosen as an "everyday American" to speak at the convention. Although given a time with few people in the crowd, he still got some pretty good cheers for his speech, which was strong on Native American issues.

"We are not just another special interest group trying to get a piece of the American pie," he said. "We are, after all, the first Americans."

This got a pretty good cheer from most of the crowd, but especially the Dakota states.


Gipp got an even bigger response from the crowd when he talked about the patriotism shown by Native Americans. He was talking about how America has become something that "liberty for all" no longer applies to, but despite the heavy social costs of the past, the Native people have never wavered in their patriotism, that the First People of this land have joined the military - and every war - "greater numbers per capita than any other ethnic group... We never forget the sacrifices of our veterans or our Elders."

Gipp ended with a quote by Sitting Bull, "Let us put our minds together, and see what kind of life we can make for our children."

I really wanted to be here to hear Gipp, and I made it just in time!



The delegates are busy trading information, networking, and generally getting ready for more to come.











My grandmother told me to make sure and bring pins to trade, and now I see why. Here Alaska delegate Cal Williams and a Hawaii delegate trade buttons and pins.










The New York governor, David Paterson got a huge response (who would've guessed) the New York delegation, practially a quarter of the crowd at this point.











How close is the Alaska delegation to the Fox anchor station?

This close.