LIVE from Spokane: Following the State Democratic Convention from home

Want to follow what's happening here in Spokane at home? If so, check out TVW, which has audio and video at their website.

You can also preview the proposed platform at the state party's website. It was developed over the last few months by a hardworking group of Democrats from every corner of the state. It's fourteen pages long.

Most of the planks are based on language in platforms past, although there is one section of the platform that I wanted to repost here because it doesn't often receive that much attention from candidates or the traditional media.

Indian Tribes and Sovereignty

Indian tribes share a common history with the United States. American Indian Tribal Governments make up a part of our national identity and community. We recognize them as self-determining, self-governing, and separate governments.

Local, state, and federal governments must respect the decisions of the Native American Nations and tribal governments, affirm their rights derived from treaties and state compacts, and oppose attempts to diminish their sovereignty and cultures.

We call for:

• Upholding treaties or tribal agreements by any party.
• Continued efforts to maintain and restore salmon runs and protect shellfish resources that are critical to Indian needs;
• The preservation and protection of sites of historic, cultural and religious significance;
• Local, state, and federal governments to help improve the social, economic, and health status of American Indian people and tribes to a level equivalent to that of other Americans.
• Educating the American public about the inherent and treaty-based rights of Indian tribes, which is vital to respectful and civil relations between Indian tribes and local communities, the state and the nation.

UPDATE, 4:45 PM: Unbelievable. We just adopted the platform. Yes, you read that right. There was no arguing over word choice and sentence fluency in the planks. Nothing of the sort. We simply approved all the excellent work that the platform committee has done.

Here's hoping that things go this smoothly at future conventions, too.