Obama makes pledge to Native American leaders

Leaders welcomed the president’s efforts.

“It’s a major undertaking; we’ve had meetings before with [former] presidents [Bill] Clinton and [George W.] Bush, but a meeting of this magnitude with so many leaders is unprecedented,” said Richard Milanovich, chairman of the Agua Caliente Bank of Cahuilla Indians.

There are 4.5 million Indians in the US, representing 1.5 percent of the total population.