Indianz.Com > News > Gaylord News: Voting rights bill addresses long-standing obstacles in Indian Country
Attorneys, advocates reflect on new Native American Voting Rights bill
Friday, September 17, 2021
Gaylord News
Some people with stakes in Indigenous voter rights are looking to the Native American Voting Rights Act to help address voting and election problems for Oklahoma tribes.
“This legislation greatly improves the tools and resources available to help Native Americans exercise their right to vote, which is especially important for those living in rural areas,” Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, said when he introduced the bill to the House [H.R.5008] alongside U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, on August 13.
Native Organizers Alliance is a volunteer group known for helping to organize and build Indigenous community leaders and groups. One primary objective has been getting Native voters registered for tribal, state and national elections.
The alliance serves several tribes and states across the nation, including Oklahoma. Jennifer Bailey, a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribe, volunteers there when needed. Bailey hopes the Native American Voting Rights Act will address some of the long-standing concerns she’s had for voting participation in her own tribe. “A lot of them don’t trust the voting process,” Bailey said. “They feel like it’s built against them. In reality, it is the voter suppression that’s a tactic to refrain Native Americans from actually voting and exercising their rights to vote. Voting rights is a trust responsibility by the federal government to the Native Americans. It’s a constitutional right for everybody.”Advocating for tribal nations and tribal people through participation in the political process is one of the most important choices we can make. #AaronPayment #NativeVote #NAVRA https://t.co/B76drm9oNO
— indianz.com (@indianz) August 31, 2021
Native American Voting Rights Act Social Media Toolkit: vote.narf.org
Note: This story originally appeared on Cronkite News. It is published via a Creative Commons license. Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
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