As Native Americans across the United States come together Monday on Indigenous Peoples Day to celebrate their history and culture and acknowledge the ongoing challenges they face, many will do so with a focus on the election.
From a get-out-the-vote rally in Minneapolis with food, games and raffles to a public lecture on Native voting at Virginia Tech, the holiday, which comes about three weeks before Election Day, has a variety of events scheduled to mobilize and serve Native voters. With a strong awareness of the power of voting.
Indigenous voters played a decisive role in the 2020 presidential election. Voter turnout on Arizona’s tribal lands increased dramatically compared to previous presidential elections, helping Joe Biden win a state that had not supported a Democratic candidate in a White House race since 1996.
Janeen Comenote, executive director of the National Urban Indian Family Coalition, which participates in at least a dozen types of voting drives across the country, said mobilizing Native voters is especially important as the country elects a president this year. . But she warned that Indigenous peoples are by no means monolithic in how they vote.
“We are focused on getting Native voters to vote, not just telling them how to vote. But understanding that you have a voice and that you have a democracy, a democracy that we helped create,” said Comenote, a citizen of the Quinault Indian Nation.
In Arizona, her coalition is partnering with the Phoenix Indian Center to host a town hall on Monday titled “Democracy is Native: The Power of the Native Vote.” The event will feature speeches and performances along with Indigenous artwork centered on democracy.
In Apex, North Carolina, about 14 miles (23 kilometers) southwest of Raleigh, the Allied Forces are partnering with the Triangle Native American Society for an event expected to include booths and celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1924. Nonpartisan voter information and giveaways.
Although not a federal holiday, Indigenous Peoples’ Day is celebrated in 17 states, including Washington, South Dakota, Maine and Washington, D.C., according to the Pew Research Center. It is usually held on the second Monday in October, the same day as the Columbus Day federal holiday.
