NIGA Encourages You to Get Out the Native Vote Today!

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November 7, 2018


Washington, D.C. – November 06, 2018 – 94 years ago Native American’s were given the right to vote when President Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act. Tribal Governments are the oldest governments in the United States with a unique, sovereign political status that is acknowledged in the U.S. Constitution. As dual citizens of both our Tribal Governments and the United States, we must exercise our right to vote and select our Representatives so that our interests and our legislative issues are given the attention and priority they deserve!

The Native Vote is critical in all elections and is often pivotal for candidates. We have more Natives running for office all across this country from local townships, municipalities and counties to State Representatives and on up to Congressional and Senatorial seats. Who better to represent us, than our own? We understand our history and the unique set of laws that apply to our historic relationship with the United States because of the legally binding Treaties that were entered into with our Nations. The Native Vote is essential and this year more so than any other year before.

A first for Indian Country is that we have a majority of Women candidates running for office. 52 out of 100 candidates are female. This resurgence of Native Women taking back their traditional leadership roles is wonderful to see. They would observe the children as they matured to adulthood and chose those with the best leadership qualities and those who would protect the next seven generations. They were also careful to choose those who had respect for the Women’s Role and would strive for balance in the male/female decision making system.

As Indian Country steps up the pace and continues to gain momentum in the electoral process of this country we look forward to a good result today. While we are confident about the Get Out the Vote message in the last couple of weeks, we close out this day looking for a positive outcome. The next step in this process is to educate, be visible and interact with our leadership. All of Indian Country must weigh in in these critical times. Thank you for your efforts today!