Sen. Al Franken spoke to a crowd of several hundred at the Minneapolis American Indian Center, reminding voters there about his legislation aimed at preventing rampant sex assaults on tribal lands, as well as improving health care and bringing school reconstruction dollars to American Indians.
Franken, the first-term Democrat in a re-election contest with businessman Mike McFadden, appeared for the first-ever celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day.
Franken opened with a self-deprecating story about his first powwow, when he was advised by an American Indian aide not to dance but did anyway after encouragement from the crowd and a promise not to ridicule him.
"I was a dancing fool," he said.
Earlier in the day Franken held a news conference to discuss his efforts to crack down on so-called "stalking apps" that allow users to track another person's location without their knowledge or consent.
During the news conference he endorsed closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, trying the terrorism suspects in American courts and holding them in American maximum security prisons. He said President Obama does not have authority to do so without approval from Congress, however.
The McFadden campaign said the Guantanamo proposal is "out of touch" in light of the newest American military campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and said it showed Franken's allegiance to the Obama White House.
