 This week, the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives passed an extreme voter suppression law, which would require every voter to present proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. This would gut mail and online voter registration, and disenfranchise millions of people, including most people with Tribal IDs. People who’ve changed their names or don’t have their birth certificates would be unable to use that documentation either. Over 150 million U.S. residents do not have a passport. Even REAL IDs wouldn’t count. This could create a huge impact on elections, adding to the numerous barriers to voting for Indigenous peoples. Earlier this week, the Democratic members of the House Committee on House Administration released a new report about the obstacles that Native peoples already face when voting.1 The report advocates for crucial federal bills like the Native American Voting Rights Act to expand our voting rights. The new voter suppression law won’t pass the Senate, nor would our current President sign this bill. But that could all change in November. Even without new federal restrictions, already right-wing state lawmakers and judges are attacking our right to vote. To overcome racist voter suppression at all levels, the Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund is mobilizing in 11 target states where the Native vote can help determine elections. We support organizing such as issue-based voter education, voter registration, and election turnout. Having a say in the decisions that impact our lives is a core part of our inherent sovereignty and treaty rights. The new congressional Report on Voting for Native Peoples: Barriers and Policy Solutions affirms: “It is unacceptable that 100 years after the Indian Citizenship Act, the promise of full democratic participation remains elusive and purposefully subverted at many turns.”[1] We’re pushing back against a wave of new laws and court decisions that suppress our vote -- such as redistricting, voter dilution, strict voter ID laws, and voter intimidation. With so much at stake in this year’s elections, we’re growing our Natives Vote Campaign to register and turn out our communities, focusing on 11 key target states with high Native populations, including states with barriers to voting like voter ID laws. With your support we’re showing policymakers that our communities are a force to be reckoned with. Protecting Native peoples’ voting rights is a vital part of our work to strengthen sovereignty, the constitutional and inherent right to self-govern our lands and our communities. Here at Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund, we also train hundreds of Native leaders each year, and we support many Native campaigns for self-governance across Turtle Island. Together, we’re growing political power to defend our sovereignty and sacred lands and waters such as Oak Flat, Bears Ears National Monument, Snake River, the Grand Canyon, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Chaco Canyon, Big Cypress National Preserve, and Pipestone National Monument. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately: Hawwih (thank you in Caddo) for continuing to press for Native rights and a multi-racial democracy that works for us all. Together, we’ll keep organizing to uphold the rights of Tribal Nations and to protect our lands, waters, and resources for future generations. Judith LeBlanc (Caddo) [1] Report on Voting for Native Peoples: Barriers and Policy Solutions |
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