American Indian Leaders To Meet at White House

AMERICAN Indian leaders have been meeting with presidents since George Washington but never in the numbers coming to the nation's capital this time.

All the nation's 545 federally recognized tribes were invited to send representatives to a meeting today with President Clinton. Nearly all will be there, organizers say.

``We have high expectations,'' said Ron Allen, chairman of Washington's Jamestown S'Kallam tribe. ``We made it very clear ... that we have no intention of coming back here for a photo-op session. We had every intention of coming here for a meaningful dialogue.''

The White House says this is the first time all the nation's tribes have been invited to meet the president.

Eight tribal leaders will address the president. Tribal leaders say they want an executive order committing the administration to recognizing tribal sovereignty and more consistent policies on Indian issues.

The administration announced this week that it wanted to soften the planned Indian Health Service's budget cut. Also to be discussed: regulation of Indian gambling, protection of Indian religious practices, jurisdictional disputes with states and local governments, housing, economic development, and education. US recasts Haiti policy

PRESIDENT Clinton's new Haiti policy will place sufficient pressure on Haiti's military leaders to force their surrender and permit the return of democracy, Ambassador Madeleine Albright says.

Ms. Albright said Wednesday that Clinton's proposals for tighter international sanctions against Haiti will be ready for United Nations Security Council consideration soon.

Clinton's policy envisions a global embargo against Haiti, except for humanitarian deliveries, and proposes a ban on international travel by Haiti's military leaders and their allies. Their assets abroad would be frozen as well. In effect, the policy would make universal the steps that the Clinton administration has already taken unilaterally.

While expressing confidence that the administration has come up with an effective formula for ending the political impasse, Albright refused to rule out the possibility of US military action against Haiti. Albright said Lawrence Pezzullo, a US special adviser on Haiti, was forced to step down this week because ``he became identified with a policy that was not really working.''

The administration's inability to find a way to reinstate President Aristide has produced bitterness among key players involved in the effort. These include administration officials, members of the Aristide camp, and the Congressional Black Caucus.