A century after Native Americans gained the right to vote, they could have put Trump or Harris over the top

RED SPRINGS, N.C. — Native American communities were decisive voting blocs in key states in 2020, and with the 2024 race remaining close, both campaigns tried to mobilize Native voters in the final weeks of the presidential election.

Many home voters, however, said that when it comes to communication, the two campaigns couldn’t be more different. It’s been 100 years since Native Americans gained the right to vote with the passage of the Snyder Act in 1924, and whichever campaign manages to leverage their power in this election could impact some of the most contested counties in the country.

In swing states like Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan and Nevada, candidates – particularly Vice President Kamala Harris – are targeting Native Americans with radio ads and events on tribal lands featuring speakers like Bill Clinton and Donald Trump Jr. .

Native Americans tend to favor Democrats but are more likely to vote for Republicans 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 demographics in the country, often motivated by issues that directly impact their communities, such as land rights and environmental protection.

In 2020, the Biden administration campaigned on several tribal lands in critical states like Wisconsin and Arizona, and districts on their tribal lands did little to help tilt the election in favor of the Democrats. “Arizona was a textbook example of what this could look like if early investments were made,” Sanchez said.

As part A A $370 million advertising campaign issued this month, which included several reservations, Harris said the United States should honor treaty rights and uphold tribal sovereignty. Crystal Echo Hawk, CEO of Illuminative, a nonprofit that works to increase the visibility of Native Americans, said these commitments, along with the economy and the environment, are the top issues Native voters identified in Illuminative polls.

Echo Hawk said these investments could pay off for Democrats again. “I have not seen such targeted messaging and outreach in the Trump campaign,” she said. Harris is also expected to inherit some of the goodwill left by the administration Barack Obama AND Joe Bidenshe said.

Obama has increased consultation with tribes on issues such as land conservation and criminal justice, and Biden has appointed more than 80 Native Americans to senior administration positions.

“The moment it was announced that Harris was entering the race, you could see people organizing themselves overnight,” Echo Hawk said. And Trump, she added, will have to face it reduction of the Bears Ears National Monument by 85% and its rebirth Keystone XL Pipelineboth unpopular with the indigenous population. “I think a lot of these people remember it,” she said.

on Friday, Biden officially apologized for the country’s support of Native American residential schools and their legacy of abuse and cultural destruction. Although seen as long overdue, it was met with praise from tribal leaders. On Saturday, vice presidential candidate and Minnesota governor Tim Walz will campaign on the Navajo Nation.

The Trump campaign has not released ads targeting Native Americans, but U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, clashed with the former president of the Native American community of North Carolina, a swing state that was decided by less than one point in 2020 r.

On a brisk evening earlier this month, Mullin sat next to Donald Trump Jr. and former Hawaii representative. Tulsi Gabbardformer Democrat, who recently announced she was joining the Republican Party, took to a small stage in front of several bales of hay to answer questions from an audience of several hundred people. They discussed issues ranging from the economy to tribal self-determination.

The event took place on a small farm in Red Springs, North Carolina, part of the traditional homeland of Mullin’s ancestors and now home to the Lumbee Tribe, a state-recognized tribe with approximately 55,000 members.

Federal recognition of the Lumbee was opposed by several tribal nations, including the nearby Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Mullin’s own tribe, the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. Lumbee’s quest for federal recognition has become a focal point of both campaigns and a rare issue on which both sides agree. Last month, Trump announced he would sign a bill giving Lumbee federal recognition. Harris called the Lumbee tribal chairman last week to discuss the legislation.

“This is an injustice that needs to be righted when it comes to the Lumbees,” Mullin told the crowd. “This is absolutely absurd. This has to be done. I was very proud to hear President Trump say he would sign it.”

But Mullin soon touched on one of the many areas where the two candidates differ: energy policy. Emphasizing the fact that he believed a second Trump term would mean a better economy and lower energy costs, Mullin framed Trump’s policies in one recognizable phrase that was repeated by the audience: “Drill, baby, drill.”

Both the Biden and Trump administrations have pushed to produce more oil and gas than ever before, including extractive energy projects opposed by indigenous peoples. But Native leaders have expressed concern that Trump is more likely to further weaken protections for tribal lands.

Mullin suggested that if tribal nations are truly sovereign, they should be able to extract energy without the burden of federal intervention. He said that, like the Lumbee’s fight for federal recognition, the tribes’ rights to govern their own lands have fallen victim to federal bureaucracy.

“Why is tribal land treated as public land?” Mullin asked, wondering why the federal government should have any oversight of tribal nations extracting natural resources on their lands. “Natural resources are being pulled out of the ground just outside the reserve fence. You have private landowners who are extremely wealthy, and you have people who are literally starving on reservations,” he said, comparing some to third world countries.

He promised that Trump would have a deep understanding of tribal sovereignty.

The message resonated with Robert Chavis Jr., a physical education teacher and Army veteran who was at the rally and will be voting for Trump. Chavis, a member of the Lumbee Tribe, said tribal nations are not just governments, they are businesses, and the United States is no exception. “I don’t think you need a politician there. We need a businessman who will run the country the way it should be run.”

But other Lumbee voters aren’t so convinced. At her art gallery a few miles away in Pembroke, Janice Locklear said Trump had promised to recognize Lumbee federally during his last term, but she had no reason to believe he would get it done this time. But looking more broadly than just her community, she said what Trump did January 6, 2021constitutes a nationwide threat to democracy.

“He thought he could become a dictator and go in there and take over. Even though he lost the election; he knew he lost the election. What do you think he will do this time,” she said.

Locklear said that as a woman of color, she trusts Harris will better understand the unique challenges facing Native Americans. “I’m sure she faced the same issues we face,” Locklear said. “Discrimination, I’m sure she faced it.”