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Native Americans could put Trump or Harris over the top a century after they got the right to vote

Native Americans could put Trump or Harris over the top a century after they got the right to vote

RED SPRINGS, NC – Native American communities were decisive voting blocs in key states in 2020, and both campaigns sought to mobilize Native voters in the final weeks of the presidential election as the 2024 race remains stubbornly close.

But many Indigenous voters said the two campaigns couldn’t be more different when it comes to messaging. It’s been 100 years since Native Americans were given the right to vote with the passage of the Snyder Act in 1924, and whichever campaign can flex its muscle in this election could shake up some of the most hotly contested counties in the country.

In swing states such as Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan and Nevada, candidates — especially Vice President Kamala Harris — have been using radio ads and campaigns like Bill Clinton and Donald Trump Jr. on tribal lands. It targets Native Americans with events featuring speakers such as.

Native American voters tend to prefer Democrats, but they are more likely to vote Republican than Latinos or African Americans, said Gabriel R. Sanchez, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. They are one of the least partisan and youngest voting demographics in the country, he said, and are often influenced by issues that directly affect their communities, such as land rights and environmental protection.

The Biden administration campaigned on many tribal lands in critical states like Wisconsin and Arizona in 2020, and reservations on tribal lands there were of little help Election tip for Democrats. “Arizona was kind of like a textbook example of what this could look like if you make those early investments,” Sanchez said.

as part of $370 million advertising campaign The United States should respect treaty rights and support tribal sovereignty, Harris said in the report released this month, which included several reservations. Crystal Echo Hawk, CEO of Illuminative, a nonprofit organization that works to increase the visibility of Native Americans, said those commitments, along with the economy and environmental protection, are the top issues identified by Native voters in Illuminative surveys.

Those investments could pay off again for Democrats, Echo Hawk said. “I haven’t seen the same kind of targeted messaging and support from the Trump campaign,” he said. Harris will also inherit some of the goodwill left over from the administrations. Barack Obama And Joe Bidenhe said.

Obama increased consultation with tribes on issues such as land protection and criminal justice, and Biden appointed more than 80 Native Americans to senior administration roles.

“The moment it was announced that Harris was entering the race, you saw people organize overnight,” Echo Hawk said. And he said Trump will have to fight it himself. Reduction of Bears Ears National Monument 85% regeneration rate Keystone XL pipelineNeither is popular with Indigenous peoples. “I think most of these people remember that,” he said.

on friday, Biden officially apologized For the nation’s support of Native American boarding schools and its legacy of abuse and cultural destruction. Although it was seen as long overdue, it was praised by tribal leaders. On Saturday, vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will campaign on the Navajo Nation.

The Trump campaign has not run ads targeting Native Americans, but U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, has admired the former president in Native communities in North Carolina, a swing state that has been decided. By less than a point in 2020.

On a sunny evening earlier this month, Mullin met Donald Trump Jr. and sat with former Hawaii Representative. Tulsi GabbardA former Democrat who recently announced he will join the Republican Party is on a small stage in front of a few hay bales, answering questions from an audience of several hundred people. They discussed a variety of topics, from economics to tribal self-determination.

The event took place on a small farm in Red Springs, North Carolina, which is part of the traditional homeland of Mullin’s ancestors and is now home to the Lumbee Tribe, a state-recognized tribe with about 55,000 members.

Federal recognition of the Lumbee has been opposed by many tribal nations, including the nearby Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Mullin’s own tribe, the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. The Lumbee push for federal recognition has become a focal point of both campaigns, a rare issue on which both parties agree. Last month, Trump said he would sign legislation granting federal recognition to the Lumbee. Harris called the Lumbee tribal chairman last week to discuss the legislation.

“This is an injustice that needs to be corrected when it comes to the Lumbees,” Mullin told the crowd. “This is absolutely ridiculous. It needs to be done. I was so proud when I heard President Trump say he would sign this.”

But Mullin soon pointed to one of the many areas where the two candidates differ: energy policy. Stressing that he believes Trump’s second term will mean a better economy and lower energy costs, Mullin laid out Trump’s policy with a recognizable phrase that viewers repeated: “Taste, baby, drill.”

Both the Biden and Trump administrations have sought to produce more oil and gas than ever before, including through extractive energy projects opposed by Indigenous peoples. But Native leaders have expressed concern that Trump will further erode protections for tribal lands.

If tribal nations are truly sovereign, Mullin argued, they should be able to extract energy without the burden of federal intervention. Tribes’ rights to manage their own lands have also fallen victim to federal bureaucracy, he said, as has the Lumbee’s fight for federal recognition.

“Why are tribal lands treated as public land?” Mullin asked, questioning why the federal government should have any control over tribal nations that extract natural resources on their lands. “Natural resources are being extracted from the land just beyond protected areas. “There are extremely wealthy private landowners and people literally starving to death on reservations,” he said, comparing some to third world countries.

He promised that Trump would have a deep understanding of tribal sovereignty.

That message resonated with Robert Chavis Jr., a physical education teacher and army veteran who was at the rally and will vote for Trump. Chavis, a member of the Lumbee Tribe, said tribal nations are not just governments, they are also businesses, and the United States is no different. “I don’t think you need a politician there. “We need a businessman who will govern the country as it should be.”

But other Lumbee voters are not so convinced. A few miles away at the art gallery in Pembroke, Janice Locklear said the last time Trump was in office he promised to recognize the Lumbee at the federal level, and she has no reason to believe he can achieve that this time. But he described what Trump has done from a broader perspective than his community January 6, 2021poses a nationwide threat to democracy.

“He really thought he could be a dictator, get in there and take over. Even though he lost the election; He knew he lost the election. “So what do you think you will do this time?” he said.

Locklear said she is confident that, as a black woman, Harris will have a deeper understanding of the unique challenges facing Native Americans. “I’m sure he had to face the same problems we faced,” Locklear said. “I’m sure you’re facing discrimination.”

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