Biden goes to Indian Country and Harris appeals to Native Americans

But it’s also a chance for Biden to draw attention to his and Harris’ support for tribal nations, a group that has historically favored Democrats in a state that won just 10,000 votes in 2020.

The race between Harris and former President Donald Trump is expected to be equally close, with both campaigns doing what they can to improve turnout among core supporters.

“The race is a turnout driver right now,” said Mike O’Neil, a nonpartisan pollster based in Arizona. “The trend lines were extremely stable throughout the period. The question is which candidate will be able to win over voters in a race that appears to be decided by narrow margins.”

Since his re-election campaign ended in July, Biden has been used sparingly in the campaign by Harris and other Democrats.

But analysts say Biden could help Harris in her appeal to Native Americans, a group that outpaced others in turnout.

Some tribal lands in Arizona saw a surge in voter turnout in 2020 as Biden defeated Trump to become the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since Bill Clinton in 1996.

Biden is making an official visit, and it appears that a formal apology – which the tribes have long sought – is sure to attract the attention of Native Americans across the country.

At least 973 Native American children died in the violent U.S. government boarding school system over a 150-year period that ended in 1969, according to an Interior Department investigation that called for an apology from the U.S. government.

At least 18,000 children, some as young as 4, were taken from their parents and forced to attend schools that tried to assimilate them.

“President Biden deserves credit for finally paying attention to this issue and others impacting the community,” said Ramona Charette Klein, 77, a boarding school alumna and member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. “I think it will reflect well on Vice President Harris, and I hope that momentum continues.”

She added that whoever becomes the next president must take concrete action and begin to make amends for the damage that residential schools have caused to tribes.

Democrats have stepped up efforts targeting Native American communities.

Both Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, met with tribal leaders in Arizona and Nevada this month. Clinton, who served as a key deputy to Harris, met with the chairman of the Lumbee tribe in North Carolina last week.

The Democratic National Committee recently launched a six-figure advertising campaign targeting Native American voters in Arizona, North Carolina, Montana and Alaska through digital, print and radio ads.

Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is challenging Republican Kari Lake for Arizona’s open Senate seat, visited all of Arizona’s 22 federally recognized tribes.

Harris kicked off a recent rally in Chandler, near the Gila River Reservation, by shouting at a tribal leader.

She also reminded the audience that she was the first vice president to visit the Gila River Reservation. She and her husband, Doug Emhoff, visited the community last year.

“I firmly believe that the relationship between tribal nations and the United States is sacred … and that we must respect tribal sovereignty, trust in treaty obligations and ensure tribal self-determination,” Harris said.

The White House says Biden and Harris have made significant gains in working with Native Americans over the past four years.

He designated the sacred Avi Kwa Ame, a desert mountain in Nevada, and the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon in Arizona as national monuments and restored the boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.

Additionally, the administration has allocated nearly $46 billion in federal spending to benefit tribal nations. The money helped bring electricity to a reservation that had never had electricity, expand access to high-speed internet, improve sanitation, build roads and more.

Biden has chosen former New Mexico Republican Deb Haaland to be his Interior secretary, the first Native American to be appointed to a cabinet position. Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico.

She, in turn, ordered a comprehensive review in June 2021 of the federal government’s troubling legacy of residential school policies, prompting Biden to issue a formal apology.

“He made commitments to Indian Country and he delivered on every one of them,” Haaland said.

Thom Reilly, co-director of the Center for Independent and Sustainable Democracy at Arizona State University, said the Harris and Trump campaigns – as well as their allies – have put an extraordinary effort into microtargeting in Arizona.

Reilly noted that Harris also focused on narrowing Trump’s lead among Mormon voters in the state, a group that has historically favored Republicans. Meanwhile, Trump has placed particular emphasis on young men as the campaign tries to reduce Democrats’ advantage with younger voters.

“They’re pulling back at every turn to see if they can get a few more votes here and there,” Reilly said. “The Indian community is one of the groups that Harris hopes will do better and help make a difference.”

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Associated Press writer Graham Lee Brewer in Norman, Oklahoma, contributed to this report.