{"id":184328,"date":"2016-09-09T13:15:15","date_gmt":"2016-09-09T19:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=184328"},"modified":"2016-09-12T13:27:07","modified_gmt":"2016-09-12T19:27:07","slug":"native-americans-still-fighting-for-voting-equality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2016\/09\/native-americans-still-fighting-for-voting-equality\/","title":{"rendered":"Native Americans still fighting for voting equality"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/178232509?color=1f2b49&amp;title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0\" width=\"771\" height=\"434\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>SAN JUAN COUNTY, Utah \u2013 Terry Whitehat remembers gathering at the community hall in Navajo Mountain each election day, where Navajo Nation members in this remote Utah community would cast their ballots.<\/p>\n<p>The tribal members would catch up with friends and family and eat food under the cottonwood trees in the parking lot.<\/p>\n<p>So when Whitehat, a social worker who has lived most of his life on the reservation, received a ballot in the mail for the 2014 elections, he said it caught him off guard.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/votingwars.news21.com\/native-americans-still-fight-for-voting-equality\/\" target=\"_blank\">This article<\/a> was produced by News 21,\u00a0a cornerstone of the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education. The program is headquartered at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. Reporting for this story was done in collaboration with DecodeDC, a podcast produced at the Scripps Washington Bureau.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>The county began conducting elections by mail in 2014. Members of the Navajo Nation who live in the area could no longer physically vote in the village. If they wanted to vote in person, they would have to drive to the only remaining polling place at the county seat in Monticello, a 400-mile round trip from Navajo Mountain.<\/p>\n<p>Whitehat and a half-dozen other Navajo community members, along with the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission, sued the county. They claimed the move to a mail-only election disenfranchised Native Americans, especially those who don\u2019t read or speak English and had limited access to mail. They said it also violated the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/crt\/history-federal-voting-rights-laws\" target=\"_blank\">Voting Rights Act<\/a> and the 14th Amendment.<\/p>\n<p>Across the country, other tribal members have filed similar suits alleging that state laws and county election practices intentionally make it harder to vote on reservations. Local jurisdictions don\u2019t always provide translators or polling locations on reservations, and tougher state voter identification laws have created problems for those who don\u2019t have birth certificates or only have tribal ID.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNative Americans have been the victim of the political process since the creation of the United States,\u201d said O.J. Semans, a retired police officer turned Native American voting-rights crusader in South Dakota. \u201cWhat we need to do is organize in order to protect what our ancestors passed on to us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut it\u2019s hard to do when everything you\u2019re trying to have your people participate in, they put stumbling blocks,\u201d Semans added.<\/p>\n<p>Despite gaining the rights to citizenship and voting in 1924 from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.archives.gov\/global-pages\/larger-image.html?i=\/historical-docs\/doc-content\/images\/indian-citizenship-act-1924-l.jpg&amp;c=\/historical-docs\/doc-content\/images\/indian-citizenship-act-1924.caption.html\" target=\"_blank\">federal government<\/a>, Native Americans in some states could not vote until 1962. Those who live on reservations have consistently dealt with distances and language barriers when it comes to voting. But experts who have studied Native American voting rights said recent changes to legal requirements and provisions for voting have exacerbated those problems.<\/p>\n<p>After the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/12pdf\/12-96_6k47.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. Supreme Court<\/a> rejected a key provision of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, states and jurisdictions with histories of discrimination no longer needed to obtain clearance from the U.S. Department of Justice before making changes to the voting process.<\/p>\n<p>The provision had covered Alaska and Arizona, two states with high Native American populations, as well as two reservations in South Dakota. Since the ruling, attorneys have filed lawsuits over voting changes affecting Native Americans in all three states.<\/p>\n<p>Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, director of the Indian Legal Clinic at Arizona State University\u2019s Sandra Day O&#8217;Connor College of Law, has worked on voting rights litigation with Native American nations and advocacy groups for years. She said policymakers simply don\u2019t consider how conditions in some Native American communities pose barriers to voting that wouldn\u2019t cause problems in cities or towns with basic services.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey don\u2019t understand,\u201d she told News21. \u201cThey just think everybody can just walk out to the mailbox, or make a telephone call, but life isn\u2019t like that in a lot of places in Indian country.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"incinf\" class=\"subhead\">Increasing influence<\/h3>\n<p>Native Americans have historically had some of the lowest turnout rates of any ethnic group in the country, according to several studies examining voter participation.<\/p>\n<p>However, two recent studies by researchers at the University of Wyoming and the University of New Mexico indicated that voting among Native Americans has increased. The UNM\u00a0study used U.S. Census Bureau data and found that in the 2008 general election, Native Americans were nearly 30 percent less likely to vote than non-Hispanic whites. However, in 2010 and 2012, there was virtually no difference between the two groups.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Researchers have attributed the change to various factors, including increases in educational attainment and higher incomes. The dynamic between Native American nations and government entities \u2013 from the local to federal levels \u2013 has shifted over time as Native American communities became more involved in issues such as the use of natural resources and gambling.<\/p>\n<p>Jacqueline Pata, the executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, said Native Americans see the direct effects of federal policy on their lives. \u201cThat&#8217;s what pulls people to the polls for us,\u201d Pata said. \u201cWhether it be about Indian health care, or whether it be about the recognition of tribes and inclusion of tribes as governments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Studies have also found a correlation between voting and U.S. military service among Native Americans, who serve at a disproportionately high rate.<\/p>\n<p>And although Census figures show Native Americans only made up about 2 percent of the American population in 2014, academic experts argue they have greater influence than their numbers would suggest.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel McCool, a professor at the University of Utah who studies Native American voting rights lawsuits, said it\u2019s the concentration of the \u201cIndian vote and their propensity to vote as a bloc that gives them power.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Semans credited voters on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Sioux reservations in South Dakota with helping to decide a 2002 U.S. Senate race. Tim Johnson, a Democrat, trailed Republican John Thune until the last ballots were tallied from the reservations on election night. Semans cites the race as the reason he and his wife began Four Directions, which has fought for voting equality on reservations across the U.S. for more than a decade.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers predict the Native American vote will become even more important in future elections. The population increased nearly 27 percent between 2000 and 2010, and roughly a third of all Native Americans are under 18, according to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.census.gov\/history\/pdf\/c2010br-10.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. Census Bureau.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"legres\" class=\"subhead\">Legal resistance<\/h3>\n<p>Even though it appears Native American voter participation has increased as a whole, many challenges remain on reservations, where nearly a quarter of the population lives.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2013, attorneys have filed at least six lawsuits about voting access for Native Americans. Since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law in 1965, more than 90 lawsuits over Native American voting rights have been fought, McCool said. They largely fall into two categories: unequal access to voting on reservations, and changes to voting laws and procedures that target Native Americans, intentionally or not.<\/p>\n<p>McCool, who catalogued decades of these lawsuits in a book, said Native Americans consistently sued for equal access to voting until the mid-1970s when officials expanded Voting Rights Act coverage to more states. He said the pre-clearance provision kept states and local authorities \u201cfrom doing stupid things, some would say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said that changed after the Supreme Court decision in 2013. \u201cA lot of jurisdictions that had been afraid to engage in discriminatory practices were no longer afraid because there was no Justice Department watching them,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so there has been a dramatic spike in cases, not just in Indian country, but all over.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McCool said in most cases, Native Americans have won or settled cases in their favor. For example, after the lawsuit in San Juan County, officials agreed to open polls on the reservation for the November election. Cases in South Dakota prompted county officials to open satellite polling places on tribal land.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you\u2019re winning 90 percent of the cases, that means something is wrong,\u201d he said. \u201cThat means somebody has broken the law, and we see consistent violations of the Voting Rights Act.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ferguson-Bohnee said that filing a lawsuit in these cases is a last resort for Native American communities. \u201cThey&#8217;re very expensive, and they&#8217;re long, and the communities that are impacted don&#8217;t really have the resources to bring the lawsuit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_184331\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-184331\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/img_7902-1800-771x514.jpg\" alt=\"Navajo Mountain\" width=\"771\" height=\"514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/img_7902-1800-771x514.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/img_7902-1800-336x224.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/img_7902-1800-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/img_7902-1800-1170x780.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/img_7902-1800.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Erin Vogel-Fox \/ News 21<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nearly 200 miles separate Navajo Mountain from Monticello in San Juan County, Utah. The trip requires drivers to first travel south into Arizona before traveling north to the county seat. In between the two destinations rests Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.<\/p><\/div>\n<h3 id=\"longtense\" class=\"subhead\">Long distance, tense relationship<\/h3>\n<p>Native Americans make up about half of the roughly 15,000 residents of San Juan County, according to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.census.gov\/quickfacts\/table\/PST045215\/49037,00\" target=\"_blank\">Census data<\/a>. Many lack access to reliable transportation, and residents face a poverty rate that\u2019s twice the national average. Floods regularly wash out roads, and tribal members may have to drive well over an hour to get to the post office.<\/p>\n<p>San Juan County includes part of the Navajo Nation, the largest Native American reservation in the country. The county has been engaged in a court battle for years over redistricting that prevented Navajo residents from receiving proportional representation. A judge ruled in the Navajo Nation\u2019s favor in February.<\/p>\n<p>When the county moved to voting by mail in 2014, officials closed polling locations in rural areas, including all six on the reservation, which disadvantaged Navajo-speaking residents, according to the 2016 lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>County officials said they moved to mail-in voting to increase voter turnout. However, turnout during general elections remained unchanged in 2014 compared with the previous off-year election in 2010, according to a News21 analysis of county data.<\/p>\n<p>Many Navajos, especially elders, do not read or speak English well, Whitehat said. If they could not get someone they trust to translate their mail-in ballot for them, they would have to travel hundreds of miles to have ballots translated or vote in person with the aid of an interpreter. The only remaining polling place in 2014 was Monticello, 200 miles away from Navajo Mountain in the northern portion of the county, where the majority of white residents live, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/278832686&amp;color=ff5500\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy first reaction was \u2018What about those people that don&#8217;t speak English?\u2019\u201d Whitehat said. \u201cWhat happens to those people? How are they going to cast their vote? Who is going to help them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More than 160 miles away on the other side of the county, Kenneth Joe pulled up to the Montezuma Creek post office in a Chevy sedan, its plates reading \u201cNDNJOE.\u201d The retired teacher had stopped by on a June morning to check his mail. A pile of fliers and magazines spilled out. Joe tossed the junk into the wastebasket.<\/p>\n<p>He explained that if someone can\u2019t read or recognize the ballot in English, they may throw it away with the junk mail. \u201cDuring an election year, you have all kinds of advertisements that come to you from all the candidates,\u201d he said. \u201cIt becomes a big pile, so generally people pick up their mail and stick it straight into the trash.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Only 25 percent of the county\u2019s residents have an address and mail delivery to their homes, according to court documents. Instead, they rely on post office boxes in town. Because of the distance, many residents pick up their mail once a month, according to the lawsuit. And when the county gives residents about three weeks to fill out and return their ballots, that poses a problem.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of difficulties with the mail-in,\u201d Joe said. \u201cA lot of times, the mail is late or we send the ballot back either a day late or a couple of days late, and they don\u2019t accept those.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ryan Benally, who works for the Utah Navajo Trust Fund and has been involved in election campaigns in the county, said he believes the change was positive. His mother, Rebecca Benally, became the first Navajo woman elected county commissioner in San Juan County in the first election to use mail-in ballots. The district she now represents is predominantly on the Navajo reservation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s working,\u201d he said. \u201cThe campaign my mother ran is a direct result of that process working. To say that their voting rights are suppressed, I just can\u2019t see that with the data available.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jesse Trentadue, a lawyer defending the county in the lawsuit, said that while San Juan County is the largest in the state, it has a relatively small, dispersed population.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDelivering services is almost a nightmare,\u201d Trentadue said. \u201cWhen you have that few people, you don&#8217;t have a huge tax base either. Ideally, if you had all the money in the world, you could have a poll at everybody&#8217;s house. But that is not possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The decision to bring back polling locations, including Navajo Mountain, came only after the U.S. Department of Justice began an investigation into mail-in voting in San Juan County, and a judge issued a temporary injunction ordering the county to reopen polling places on the reservation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-11 col-md-offset-1\">\n<h3 id=\"fight\" class=\"subhead\">Fighting for polls<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container story-body\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-8 col-md-offset-2\">\n<p>The Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota was the poorest area in the U.S. in 2014. The reservation is vast and sparsely populated, with little land fit for agriculture. Badlands National Park covers the northwest corner of the reservation.<\/p>\n<p>There is a long history of litigation over voting rights on reservations in South Dakota, especially in Pine Ridge. It took a lawsuit in 1975 for residents of part of Pine Ridge to be able to vote for county officials, and four suits have been filed over access to voting on the reservation by Native American plaintiffs since 2005.<\/p>\n<p>Tom Poor Bear, vice president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and other residents of the portion of Pine Ridge that falls within Jackson County filed the most recent suit in 2014, arguing that Native American residents had to travel about twice as far to register and vote early than the county\u2019s white residents because there were no early voting locations on the reservation.<\/p>\n<p>The county eventually used federal funds to open an early voting place in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>A neighboring county faced a nearly identical lawsuit two years prior.<\/p>\n<p>In 2012, 25 members of the Oglala Lakota tribe brought a lawsuit against the South Dakota secretary of state and Fall River County, which runs elections for Oglala Lakota County.<\/p>\n<p>Fall River County Auditor Sue Ganje, a defendant in the lawsuit, said those living on the Oglala Lakota County part of the reservation would have to drive to the Fall River courthouse to register or vote early. The journey could be more than 100 miles for some.<\/p>\n<p>County officials had said they didn\u2019t have enough money to open a satellite office. However, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.eac.gov\/assets\/1\/workflow_staging\/Documents\/4712.PDF\" target=\"_blank\">Help America Vote Act<\/a>, which provides federal funds for states to conduct accurate and fair elections, can provide money in these situations, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n<div class=\"container story-body\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-8 col-md-offset-2\">\n<p>The secretary of state distributed the federal funds, and officials opened early voting locations during the 2014 election.<\/p>\n<p>Ganje said she holds no ill will toward those on the reservation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s all for the people down there,\u201d she said. \u201cThe lawsuit has bettered their opportunities down there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Semans is working with other Native American communities nationwide to ensure they can have early voting locations on reservations. He said his organization recently helped open offices on three reservations in Minnesota without litigation.<\/p>\n<p>Semans put the importance of satellite polling locations in basic terms. \u201cYou can go 5 miles instead of 100 miles,\u201d he said. \u201cAny normal person would say, \u2018You know what, that makes sense.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-11 col-md-offset-1\">\n<h2 id=\"toughlaw\" class=\"subhead\">Tougher laws<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container story-body\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-8 col-md-offset-2\">\n<p>Arizona has the third-largest Native American population in the country. The 22 tribes in Arizona cover about a quarter of the state\u2019s land.<\/p>\n<p>Native Americans in Arizona have long struggled with voting restrictions, including a literacy test at the polls until 1972, which prevented some Native Americans from voting.<\/p>\n<p>In the latest battle, the Democratic National Committee and a group of voters representing several minority groups, including Native Americans, sued the state and Maricopa County \u2013 the state\u2019s largest county.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit accuses officials of voter suppression after the county drastically reduced the number of polling places, and people waited for hours to cast their ballots in the March 22 presidential preference election.<\/p>\n<p>The state also passed a law making so-called ballot harvesting \u2013 when people collect marked ballots for others and return them to elections officials \u2013 a felony. Peterson Zah, former president of the Navajo Nation, said the new restrictions will make it more difficult for the 100,000 members of the Navajo Nation in Arizona to vote.<\/p>\n<p>Lenora Fulton, the Apache County recorder, said many rural residents on the reservation collect ballots from their neighbors and drop them off when they drive to town.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/moritzlaw.osu.edu\/electionlaw\/litigation\/documents\/Complaint041516.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">lawsuit<\/a> asks the U.S. District Court for an injunction to block the law from taking effect.<\/p>\n<p>The suit also aims to force elections officials to count out-of-precinct provisional ballots. The plaintiffs claimed the state rejected a disproportionate number of provisional ballots cast by Native Americans.<\/p>\n<p>Other Arizona laws have also drawn criticism for their effect on Native American voters. Confusion about acceptable forms of voter identification, especially tribal ID, persist even though the state passed its voter ID law in 2004.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_184332\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-184332\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/dsc9911-1800-771x515.jpg\" alt=\"Mikah Carlos\" width=\"771\" height=\"515\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/dsc9911-1800-771x515.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/dsc9911-1800-336x224.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/dsc9911-1800-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/dsc9911-1800-1170x781.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/dsc9911-1800.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Roman Knertser \/ News 21<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mikah Carlos studies at Arizona State University and lives in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. She said a poll worker refused to let her use her tribal ID to vote in a recent election in Arizona.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In a state election in May, Mikah Carlos, 22, said a poll worker stationed at the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community told her that they could not accept tribal ID cards to vote. Carlos, a member of the community\u2019s youth council, said she cast her ballot only after other poll workers came over to help.<\/p>\n<div class=\"container story-body\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-8 col-md-offset-2\">\n<p>Carlos said the poll worker, who wasn\u2019t Native American, should have received better training \u2013 the state law allows many forms of tribal ID.<\/p>\n<p>Fulton, a member of the Navajo Nation, said it helps when tribal members work at the polls. \u201cPeople from the community know the area and culture and know how to address the public. If someone is frustrated, they can talk to them in their own language,\u201d Fulton said. \u201cIf there\u2019s a stranger in their midst, people get apprehensive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Leonard Gorman, executive director of the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission, said Native Americans fight a constant battle over voting rights. \u201cAs we get to a plateau where we believe we\u2019ve achieved something, the rules of the game change,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-11 col-md-offset-1\">\n<h3 id=\"reachout\" class=\"subhead\">Reaching out<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container story-body\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-8 col-md-offset-2\">\n<p>Even without the barriers to vote, it\u2019s hard to make voting a priority for many Native Americans because they often have more pressing things to worry about, Semans said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven here on Rosebud, you wake up in the morning, you\u2019re not thinking about who the president is,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re thinking about survival.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wizipan Little Elk, the outreach director for Four Directions, said Native Americans have a lot at stake when it comes to elections, making it even more imperative that they have a voice through voting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmerican Indians are the most highly regulated group of individuals in this country,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd despite the stereotypes, we do pay taxes and we have a vested interest overall in this economy and this country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe quality of health care that we receive is dependent on federal appropriations and management of federal programs. We have in many senses a literal life-or-death interest in these issues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The National Congress of American Indians operates Native Vote, a national nonpartisan initiative to mobilize Native voters both on and off reservations and advocate for their voting rights. Pata, who works with the organization, said she hopes to see more engagement among communities this election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis year is going to be extremely important for us to be very engaged, and I don&#8217;t think we are in a position to do that at this point,\u201d Pata said. \u201cMore than ever, our tribal issues are on the table right now. We\u2019ve got to show that we care and that we are going to show up and vote.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the Lake Traverse reservation on the northeast corner of South Dakota, the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate tribe held its 149th annual Wacipi \u2013 commonly referred to as a powwow \u2013 on the Fourth of July weekend. Dustina Gill and volunteers from the community conducted voter registration, focusing on the younger crowd outside of the arena as drums pounded in the background.<\/p>\n<p>Richard LaRoque, a member of Sisseton Wahpeton who lived out of state for several years, registered for a second time after his first form came back rejected. He said he would not have tried again had he not run into Gill. \u201cI&#8217;ve never actually had a problem voting before,\u201d LaRoque said. \u201cBut, at the same time, I&#8217;ve never tried to register to vote on a reservation before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gill has done voter registration throughout the state and said she encountered the same barriers to voting in many communities, where the drive to vote could take a full tank of gas. \u201cI felt so bad,\u201d she said. \u201cVoting\u2019s a luxury people can\u2019t afford.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the sun set that Saturday, Gill and another volunteer called after some teenagers asking them if they\u2019re 18 and whether they\u2019ve registered to vote.<\/p>\n<p>Gill said that if Native Americans vote in numbers, they can make a real difference for the next generation. \u201cWe&#8217;re a sleeping giant,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we&#8217;ll wake up.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite decades of progress since Native Americans gained the right to vote, some decisions by officials continue to make it more difficult for people who live on reservations to cast a ballot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":184331,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[708,709],"class_list":["post-184328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2016-election","tag-native-americans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184328\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}