‘Native voters can and will decide this election’: Parties fight to secure Native American votes

Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis poses for a selfie with others at a “Native Americans for Harris” event in Phoenix on Sept. 28, 2024. (Photo by Brianna Chappie/Cronkite News)

PHOENIX – Many Native Americans have long felt like politicians overlook them, but both parties are seeking Native Americans’ votes more than ever before – and they could hold the key to the outcome of the presidential election.

The Democratic Party

Vice President Kamala Harris has doubled down on attempts to reach Native American voters in the last several weeks before the election.

Harris has visited Arizona at least 18 times since the start of 2023, with the most recent one on Halloween, and has often addressed Native Americans in her speeches. On Aug. 9, during Harris’ first campaign stop in Arizona, after accepting the Democratic nomination, Harris spoke directly to Native Americans in attendance, saying she would “always honor tribal sovereignty and respect tribal self-determination and fight for a future where every Native person can realize their aspirations, and every Native community is a place of opportunity.”

Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz recently visited the Navajo Nation – the largest tribal nation in the country – the day after President Joe Biden visited Arizona’s Gila River Indian Community to issue an apology for the federal government’s role in Native American boarding schools.

“I recognize the promises this country has made to Indigenous peoples. We will safeguard and strengthen the bonds within nations and uphold our trust and treat obligations,” Walz said at the rally.

According to Native News Online, more than 70 tribal and Native American leaders have now endorsed Harris for president, among them Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, Nygren’s Vice President Richelle Montoya, Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Verlon Jose and San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler and the San Carlos Apache Tribal Council.

Other prominent politicians have also joined in rallying support from Indigenous communities. On Sept. 28, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M., spoke during a Harris-Walz event in Phoenix, urging Native Americans to vote for Harris.

Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis, Tohono O’odham Nation Vice Chair Carla Johnson, and Arizona Rep. Mae Peshlakai, D-Cameron, also joined Kelly and Fernández.

Trump has faced scrutiny from the Gila River Indian Community in the past. In 2017, the tribal nation sued the Trump administration for failure to fulfill a multiyear investment in the Lower Colorado River Basin Development Fund.

Trump also drew ire from the Tohono O’odham Nation for his border wall. The tribal government claims the Trump administration never consulted the nation about building the wall and that the wall’s construction desecrated sacred sites on tribal lands, including burial grounds.

The Tohono O’odham Nation stretches across the Arizona and Mexico border, and Border Patrol deported some Tohono O’odham members for what the tribal nation says was “simply traveling through their own traditional lands, practicing migratory traditions essential to their religion, economy and culture.”

“This is one of the most monumental, historic elections of our generation,” Lewis said. “This election will have long-term ramifications not only for our tribes and our members but also for our state and this country.”

The Harris campaign has also hired at least 20 organizers for tribal outreach in Arizona, according to NPR.

U.S. Rep. and Ruben Gallego is the former chair and current member of the House Subcommittee for Indian and Insular Affairs, which oversees issues related to Native American tribes and Indigenous rights. During his time in the House, Gallego introduced the Coverage for Urban Indian Health Providers Act and the Urban Indian Health Facilities Improvement Act, which would expand Federal Tort Claims Act coverage to Urban Indian Organizations, saving these organizations money they could allocate to patient care instead of liability expenses.

In his campaign for the U.S. Senate, Gallego has pledged to visit all 22 federally recognized tribal nations in Arizona. On Indigenous Peoples Day, Gallego made the 10-mile hike to visit one of the most remote communities in the country, Havasupai Reservation, which is accessible only by hiking, riding a mule or horse, or taking a helicopter.

“With less than three weeks left we’re hitting every corner of the state. No one left behind,” Gallego wrote on X.

Leaders at a Sept. 28 Native Americans for Harris gathering also expressed enthusiasm for Walz’s potential replacement: If Walz becomes vice president, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a member of the White Earth band of Ojibwe, is set to become governor of Minnesota – and would become the first Native American woman to serve as governor of a U.S. state.

Flanagan lauded Harris during a media call on Oct. 2.

“Native voters are strategically located in swing states across our nation,” said Flanagan. “Native voters can and will decide this election.”

The Republican Party

Kari Lake takes the stage at CPAC’s conference in Mesa, ahead of JD Vance’s appearance at the event on Oct. 9, 2024. The former news anchor-turned politician ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022 and is now running for U.S. senate. (Photo by Brianna Chappie/Cronkite News)

Many Indigenous voters have also shown support for the Republican Party.

“I believe, in general, Native Americans – specifically the Diné people – are conservative,” said Elisa Martinez, who has both Navajo and Zuni roots, and ran for election in 2022 for New Mexico’s District 27 House of Representatives. “We have conservative values – especially for respect for family, respect for our ancestors and the sacredness of life.”

U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake discussed those values at length during two roundtable discussions with Indigenous people in Arizona, speaking mostly about God and the importance of preserving traditional values.

“On native land, whether they be anywhere across this country, when the moms get involved and start voting and getting politically involved, there’s going to be a change in this country,” Lake said during her most recent “Empowering Arizona Indigenous Voices” roundtable. “And I think it’s going to be for the better.”

Lake has strong support from the Republican Party, including former President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Lake for Senate.

Trump held a presidential rally in Prescott Valley near the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe reservation on Oct. 13. Trump invited Lake to the stage and boasted about her performance in her debate with rival Gallego. At that same rally, Trump acknowledged some political figures in the crowd, including Tanya Lewis, who is chairwoman for the Yavapai-Apache Nation.

Lake also made several trips to Native American nations around Arizona, including a trip to the Navajo Nation this summer, and received an endorsement from former Navajo Vice President Myron Lizer.

“I’ve seen us voting Democratic for five decades, and nothing’s changed in Indian country,” Lizer said in a story with The Washington Post. “I want to give Republican leadership another opportunity to enhance life here.”

Lizer recently applauded former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard over X for endorsing Trump. Gabbard, the first female American Samoan elected to Congress in 2010, has been a Democrat for most of her political career _ including an unsuccessful run for presidency in 2020 – announced she was joining the Republican Party at a Trump rally in North Carolina on Oct. 22.

“I was a Democrat for over 20 years,” Gabbard said at the rally. “Today’s Democratic Party is completely unrecognizable, which points to the clear choice we have in this election.”

Gabbard accused the Biden-Harris administration and the Democratic Party of weaponizing the federal government and law enforcement to prevent Trump from running for president. “Why have they done this? Because this man has the courage to take them on and root out the deep rot of corruption in the swamp in Washington,” Gabbard said.

Like Harris, Trump has also talked about preserving sovereignty for Indigenous communities. While at a North Carolina rally in September, Trump vowed to grant federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe if he is re-elected in November.

Halee Dobbins, an Republican National Committee Arizona communications director, wrote in a statement that “Team Trump in Arizona has been dedicated to uplifting the Native American people and addressing the unique challenges facing their communities.” Dobbins added that her team was proud to have staff and volunteers in communities to meet Native American voters where they are – including flea markets, fairs, rodeos, chapter houses and churches.

The Arizona Republican Party opened its first office on the Navajo Nation in Window Rock, the capital of Navajo Nation, in October.

“We know the top concerns for many Native Americans today include the rising costs of goods and services, the safety and protection of women, and energy independence,” Dobbins wrote. “The Trump campaign is committed to offering real solutions that address these concerns, from restoring our energy dominance, lowering inflation, and supporting our law enforcement.”

“We are connecting with voters in meaningful ways and listening to how Kamala Harris and Arizona Democrats have made life harder for Native American families,” Dobbins continued.

For Martinez, the New Mexico Navajo and Zuni Republican, immigration is another issue she believes is being tackled more efficiently by Republicans. “The crime that’s spilling out all over – be it from the drugs, drug trafficking, fentanyl use and the human trafficking – all of those things go back to the border, so that’ll be addressed by the Trump administration,” Martinez said.

At the rally on Oct. 13 in Prescott Valley,, Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, spoke about why some Native Americans who have been Democrats are now voting for Trump: “They recognize that a wide-open Southern border and unaffordable groceries and rent _ it hits our Native communities as hard as it hits anybody else, and we’ve got to stop it.”

“You assume that a particular tribe is going to come out one way on an issue, and then you sit down and talk to them and they actually have a totally different perspective than what you thought they would have had,” Vance said. “And that’s something Donald Trump and I really believe in – talking to the American people.”

Martinez also expressed hope in the economic development for Native Americans under Trump. “We want to see further development of opportunity zones, and streamlining the access to capital for our Native and Indigenous business owners is so hugely important that we have to start looking at ways to break the cycle of poverty on reservations,” Martinez said.

“We’ve been through this generational cycle of expecting a handout from the government,” Martinez continued. “And I believe in a hand-up, and that’s what opportunity zones present and represent.”

Martinez is from Gallup, New Mexico, often called the Heart of Indian Country because it sits on Navajo, Hopi and Zuni land and a significant portion of the city’s population is Native American.

Gallup, like many other cities on tribal land, has high poverty rates. Many households on Native American nations don’t have access to running water, and 13, 000 homes on the Navajo Nation alone don’t have access to electricity, according to KJZZ, an NPR station in Phoenix.

“There’s a real juxtaposition there,” Martinez said. “How we’re being treated, how many of our people still live in poverty and don’t have access to running water – yet the Biden-Harris administration is rolling out the carpet for noncitizens.”

Native Americans in U.S. politics

Voters will also determine the representatives of Arizona’s nine congressional districts in the election.

Former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez could become the state’s first Native American in Congress. The Democratic candidate is running for Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District, which spans over 62,000 square miles and is the largest district by land in Arizona, engulfing most of the northeastern part of the state.

According to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, which is in charge of drawing congressional and state legislative district lines, over 18% of District 2’s population is Native American. District 2 covers a significant portion of the Navajo Nation and is home to the Hopi Tribe, White Mountain Apache Tribe, Hualapai Tribe and eight other tribal nations.

Indigenous presence in the White House is slowly growing. Five members of Congress are Native American: Tom Cole (R-OK) who is Chickasaw; Sharice Davids (D-KS) who is Ho-Chunk; Mary Peltola (D-AK) who is Yup’ik, and Josh Breecheen (R-OK) who is Choctaw. Peltola and Breecheen are up for re-election this November.

Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) from the Cherokee Nation is currently the sole Native American in the Senate.

While Native Americans still only represent a dismal percentage of elected officials at the national level, their representation is also gradually increasing. If Nez wins, it would mark a historic milestone for Arizona and highlight the growing influence of Native American voices in U.S. politics, especially in areas with large Indigenous populations. This election underscores a broader trend of increasing political engagement and representation for Indigenous communities across the country.

In 2020, Joe Biden narrowly won Arizona by 10,457 votes, just 0.3% percent of all ballots cast in the state. Native Americans make up roughly 5% of Arizona’s population and could easily ensure the victory of the party that wins their votes.

In the last election, Native American voters significantly influenced the outcome. This year, their voices could again be decisive, with a growing focus on issues impacting Indigenous communities and increased representation.