By Graham Lee Brewer, Associated Press
Candidates vie for support in Indian Country, addressing land rights, environmental protections and tribal recognition
Indigenous communities were decisive voting blocs in key states in 2020, and with the 2024 race remaining stubbornly close both campaigns have tried to mobilize Indian Country in the final weeks of the presidential election.
Yet, when it comes to messaging, the two campaigns could not be more different, many Native voters have said. It’s been 100 years since Indigenous Peoples were given the right to vote through the Snyder Act of 1924. Whichever campaign is able to harness their power in this election could sway some of the most hotly contested counties in the country.
In swing states like Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan, and Nevada, the candidates — particularly Vice President Kamala Harris — have been targeting Indigenous Peoples with radio ads and events on tribal lands.
Indigenous voters tend to favor Democrats, but they’re more likely to vote Republican than Latinos or African Americans, said Gabriel R. Sanchez, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He said they are one of the least partisan and youngest voting demographics in the country, often motivated by issues that directly impact their communities, like land rights and environmental protections.
In 2020, the Biden administration campaigned in several tribal nations in critical states like Wisconsin and Arizona, and precincts on tribal lands there helped narrowly tip the election for the Democrats. “Arizona was kind of like a textbook example of what that could look like if you make those early investments,” Sanchez said.
As part of a $370 million ad campaign released this month, including on several reservations, Harris said the U.S. should honor treaty rights and uphold tribal sovereignty. Crystal Echo Hawk, CEO of IllumiNative, a nonprofit that works to increase the visibility of Indigenous Peoples, said those commitments, along with the economy and environmental protections, are the top issues voters have identified in IllumiNative’s surveys.
Echo Hawk said those investments could pay off again for the Democrats. “I haven’t seen the same kind of targeted messaging and outreach from the Trump campaign,” she said. Harris also stands to inherit some of the goodwill left from the administrations of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, she said.
Obama increased consultation with tribes on matters like land protections and criminal justice, and Biden appointed more than 80 Native Americans to senior administration roles.
“The minute that the announcement came that Harris was stepping into the race, you saw people organize overnight,” Echo Hawk said. Trump, she said, will have to contend with his reduction of Bears Ears National Monument by 85% and his revival of the Keystone XL pipeline, both unpopular with Indigenous peoples. “I think a lot of these people remember that,” she said.
On Friday, Biden formally apologized for the country's support of Native American boarding schools and its legacy of abuse and cultural destruction. While seen as long overdue, it was met with praise from tribal leaders. On Saturday, vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will campaign amongst the Diné (Navajo Nation).
The Trump campaign hasn’t released ads targeting Indigenous Peoples, but U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, has stumped for the former president in Native communities in North Carolina, a swing state that was decided by less than one point in 2020.
Both the Biden and Trump administrations pushed to produce more oil and gas than ever, including extractive energy projects that were opposed by Indigenous Peoples. However, Native leaders have expressed concern that Trump is more likely to further erode protections for tribal lands.
