Indianz.Com > News > ‘Trump is hitting us really hard’: Biden campaign confronts last minute push for Native vote
‘Trump is hitting us really hard’: Biden campaign confronts last minute push for Native vote
Friday, October 23, 2020
Indianz.Com
With less than two weeks before the presidential election, Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump continue to make major plays for the Native vote and their efforts are focused on an unexpected place.
American Indians and Alaska Natives represent just 1.6 percent of the population in North Carolina, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But their votes are increasingly seen as vital by both campaigns as Biden and Trump head into the final stretch of this heated electoral cycle.
“We are going to get those 15 electoral votes to get Joe Biden elected,” Crystal Cavalier, who hails from the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, said during a watch party hosted by Native supporters of the Democratic candidate before the final presidential debate on Thursday night.
North Carolina is home to 160,000 Native people, Cavalier noted, the largest such population east of the Mississippi River. Eight Indian nations are located within state borders, and a ninth finally began restoring its homelands there earlier this year.
As director of tribal engagement for Biden in North Carolina, Cavalier said the Democratic candidate’s team is “working daily to make sure we have our elders and youth registered” as the election quickly approaches. But she isn’t the only one taking stock of the Native vote.
Earlier this week, President Trump made news when he said that he supported federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe, the largest Indian nation in North Carolina. His declaration marked the first time he has stated a position on the issue since taking control of the White House nearly four years ago. “As you know, the Lumbee Tribe has been fighting for federal recognition for more than a century,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Gastonia on Wednesday. Though Gastonia is almost 2 and half hours away from Lumbee headquarters in Pembroke, Trump’s shout out was significant. He noted that Rep. Dan Bishop (R-North Carolina), whose electoral victory in 2019 has been attributed to the power of the Native vote, also supports the tribe. “When I am re-elected, we’ll work with Congress, and we’ll work with Dan, and we’ll work with all of them, on the Lumbee Recognition Act and we’ll get it done,” Trump said of the GOP Congressman, who attended the rally. “It’s about time.” But the Lumbees weren’t the only ones whose presence was acknowledged by the president, who denounced Indigenous Peoples Day just a few days prior on the campaign trail. Trump also claimed citizens of the Catawba Nation were at the event, though he had trouble pronouncing the tribe’s name correctly. https://twitter.com/tasesurimace/status/1319665653561917441 “With us as well are members of the incredible Lumbee, Catawba tribes,” Trump said in a manner that suggested he wasn’t sure what he was reading off the teleprompter. “Lumbee, Catawba, where are they?” he continued as he peered into the crowd. “Oh look at you guys, wow. That’s a good looking group of people.” “Lumbee, Catawba,” Trump repeated, mispronouncing the latter tribe’s name for a third time. Despite the stumbles, Trump’s call out to the Catawbas was significant as well. Though their headquarters are in neighboring North Carolina, the tribe’s efforts to restore its land base in South Carolina have drawn an unusual level of support from Republicans who had long ignored the issue. Just two years ago, in fact, the Trump administration told the Catawba Nation it could not secure trust land in North Carolina. But after Republicans like Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) got involved, the Department of the Interior changed course and approved the tribe’s fee-to-trust application for a site near Kings Mountain, only about 15 miles from the Gastonia Municipal Airport, where the rally took place on Wednesday evening. “Thom’s a good guy,” Trump said of Tillis, who supports federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe, in addition to backing the Catawba Nation. “Thom has been with us. He’s been working hard.” “He’s really a good Senator. Really, a good Senator, and he’s been strong. So, I hope he gets in,” Trump said as Tillis deals with an unexpectedly difficult challenge from Democrat Cal Cunningham. During the pre-debate gathering on Thursday night, Democrats characterized Trump’s efforts as last-minute entreaties to Native voters. Biden, for example, announced his support for the Lumbee Tribe more than two weeks ago. And he served as vice president when Barack Obama became the first sitting president to support the tribe’s federal recognition. “We just have to say, Biden did it first,” Cavalier said of the message the Biden campaign will give in North Carolina.Fun in Gastonia tonight with @realdonaldtrump, @markmeadows and a fantastic, YUGE crowd. The president is fighting for us in the Ninth—including for Lumbee recognition. Appreciate the shout outs, Mr. President!#ncpol pic.twitter.com/HVGhatJzXP
— Dan Bishop (@danbishopnc) October 22, 2020


Sneed is representing the CHERO(KKK)EE Tribe. (Before we know it, he will be asking for Lumbees to be considered 3/5 of an Indian.) End the @USETINC genocide. Justice for Lumbees. https://t.co/l3saUDbMhv
— Uncle David (@DavidShaneLowry) October 23, 2020
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