Obama tells Indian tribes: 'I get it. I'm on your side'

President Obama promised American Indian leaders that he would reverse years of neglect, and he directed Cabinet agencies to come up with a plan to improve consultation and coordination with tribal nations.

"Today's summit is not lip service," Obama said Thursday in remarks opening a daylong tribal conference in Washington. "I get it. I'm on your side. I understand what it means to be an outsider. You will not be forgotten as long as I'm in this White House."

The gathering organized by the administration was the largest such conference ever of representatives from the 564 recognized tribes, the president said.

Government officials and Indian and Alaskan tribal leaders will discuss broken treaties, settlement of water and mineral-rights issues, tribal sovereignty and how best to spend more than $3 billion of stimulus money on health, education, housing, public safety and other programs on reservations. Bloomberg News