A recent article in the independent news site Kaplan Herald has a great roundup of ongoing campaigns to battle continued discriminatory policies hampering voting for Native Americans across the country. Take a look:
In Utah, a federal judge recently ordered school board and county commission districts redrawn after the Navajo Nation argued they had been divided by race. In Nevada, the Pyramid Lake and Walker River Paiute tribes won a legal battle to improve early voting access on their reservations. Alaska Natives reached a settlement in a case that includes increased language assistance for three areas.
When working with local election officials doesn‘t work, tribes often turn to the 1965 Voting Rights Act to try to force changes, said James Tucker, a pro bono attorney for the Native American Rights Fund. The group is part of a coalition holding field hearings nationwide ahead of the next round of redistricting to compile what it believes will be the most comprehensive look at voting rights abuses in Indian Country.
The Four Directions voting rights group is based in South Dakota and has become a major force protecting and enhancing Native American access to the voting booth. According to their website:
Four Directions, Inc., believes voting is within our sacred circle when it comes to preserving our way of life. We are committed to full enfranchisement as a crucial way to navigate a stronger future for our Native communities. An official partner of the Coalition of Large Tribes, Four Directions has become a nationally renowned voting rights leader. The effort began in 2002 when Rosebud Sioux Tribal members Oliver and Barb Semans organized Native voter registration drives on South Dakota’s Indian reservations.
See more on Native American voting rights at Organizations for Native Americans Fight Voter ID Laws and Native American Voters Ignored Completely as Usual.
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