Joshua Adams: Politicans can't keep ignoring Native Americans

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

With the Frank LaMere Native American Presidential Forum just two weeks away, Joshua Adams, a writer and assistant professor at Salem State University, wonders why more candidates aren't reaching out to Indian Country:

Though votes are important, politicians shouldn’t just engage with Native American communities only during election season. Many indigenous communities are the most in need of creative policy solutions to long-running problems. Native Americans have the highest poverty rate of any racial group in the United States and, on some reservations, unemployment exceeds 40 percent.
A few Democratic candidates have recognized these disparities, and are aiming to combat them. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has a platform that would prioritize tribal treaty rights and sexual violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women. In her “Native American Justice” platform, Marianne Williamson calls for returning the Black Hills to the Sioux Nation and halting construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has called for Native Americans to be included in the current reparations discussion. And last month, former housing and urban development secretary Julián Castro put forth a plan to address the disparities in Native American communities, including by focusing on strengthening tribal sovereignty and honoring treaty commitments.
Indigenous communities are pressing politicians to see that native visibility, voices and votes matter. Addressing their concerns should be seen as a civil and moral obligation to presidential candidates, regardless of party. And if Native American voters can play a crucial role in the 2020 election, that might finally force politicians to show up for these long-neglected voters — not just at candidate forums or campaign stops, but throughout every year.