Obama inauguration in D.C. draws Saskatchewan residents

Saskatchewan residents are among the more than one million people converging on Washington, D.C., for the presidential inauguration.

Sarah Dowling grew up in Regina and on Tuesday morning was making her way through the crowds hoping to get a view of president-elect Barack Obama.

"We're trying to get into position right now," Dowling told CBC News via cellphone as she walked through the downtown.

"A little bit overwhelming," she added.

Dowling is a PhD student in Philadelphia who saw Obama during a campaign rally in the Pennsylvania city last year. At that event, she waited in line five hours.

"It was just amazing to see how excited everybody was to see him," she said. "Everyone in the crowd was hugging each other and really, really pumped … I just wanted to be part of that again."

Dowling said she almost got stuck in a tunnel earlier in the morning, got out of that jam and was planning to head toward the Washington Monument in hopes of finding a good viewing spot.

She admitted, however, that a Barack sighting probably wasn't in the cards and she would probably have to settle for video.

"If we even get close to a Jumbotron, I might be surprised," she said.

Among the other Saskatchewan people in Washington is Lawrence Joseph, chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, who's part of the Assembly of First Nations delegation that will attend several events scheduled to coincide with the inauguration ceremonies.

The Obama swearing-in ceremony was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET.