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In Arizona, Sanders woos Native Americans

Posted at 9:16 PM, Mar 17, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-18 08:02:16-04

Bernie Sanders is courting an often overlooked demographic group as he campaigns in Arizona -- Native Americans.

They are only 3 percent of the state's population but can be influential in a Democratic primary. Sanders is hoping to win Tuesday's Arizona primary. That would give him momentum as the presidential nominating calendar shifts to Western states that he hopes are more favorable to him.

Several of those states have politically influential Native American communities, like Montana, New Mexico and South Dakota. In Arizona on Thursday Sanders spoke at a Navajo casino in the northern part of the state. He dedicated several minutes of his speech talking about the betrayal of tribes by the U.S. government and the problems they face today.