ABSTRACT
The Native American population is 6.8 million, according to the US Census Bureau. Those Native people are going to vote, and a lot of those people are in rural areas, where Republicans have come to feel comfortable, because Native people have not voted. Tribal leaders, journalists, and attorneys put candidates on the spot, asking for some answers and some commitments. Iron Hawk said a new “awakening” of political activism in Native American communities is prompting candidates to respond. The historic midterm election of 2018 changed the playing field. In September 2019, Kimberly Teehee became the Cherokee Nation’s first delegate to the US House. And in Minnesota, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan became the highest elected Native in state office nationally. Native people remain as separate nations but are subjected to state and federal policies that have destroyed sacred sites and people. Native people were only able to win the right to vote by fighting for it state by state.
