Opinion. Indigenous vote 2024.The choice for president in 2024 is quite grim in this election cycle.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for 2024, is committed to “making America great again,” without telling voters when that moment was. Perhaps it was a time when millions of blacks were slaves or perhaps when America committed genocide against the indigenous population. Do they long for the days when the federal government stole Native children from their family homes and shipped them off to Indian boarding schools where students were subjected to horrific physical, emotional, and sexual abuse?
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Or maybe it was the “Leave it to Beaver” era when the loving wife, June Cleaver, met her husband, Ward, at the door as he came home from the office wearing a pearl necklace. Maybe people forget that it was fiction written by Hollywood writers.
There is no clarity about when America was great.
It certainly wasn’t four years ago, during Trump’s presidency, when he proved himself a major failure as a crisis manager. He repeatedly told the American public that the Covid-19 pandemic would go away on its own. That didn’t happen and over a million Americans died because of his total incompetence. The fallout from the high inflation inherited by the Biden administration had already begun during the Trump administration, as a shift occurred in the labor force and companies targeted the American public and reaped historic profits.
So I really don’t know what the Make America Great Again crowd is craving.
Personally, I subscribe to the idea taken from the Preamble of the United States Constitution which begins: “We the People of the United States, to form a more perfect Union…” which suggests that America is working in implementation.
The Democratic candidate understands this. A common chant at her meetings was, “We’re not going back!” During her campaign, Vice President Harris pledged to be “a president for all Americans” and pledged to “build a better future for our nation.”
This message is an extension of her closing speech on the Ellipse and stands in stark contrast to what voters have seen from Trump during his campaign.
The mainstream media seems to have two sets of qualifying criteria for the presidency this year. For Trump, he gets a lot of free passes. Harris, on the other hand, is constantly questioned about her policies.
Last week in Kalamazoo, when former first lady Michelle Obama pointed out that the media claims Harris laid out her policies, a woman in the audience shouted, “They can go to her website.” Americans should, because for a candidate who has only been a candidate since the end of July, there is a lot to process on her official website.”
The executive director of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has repeatedly said this election year that Native Americans should not think in terms of party politics but vote for the ticket for tribal sovereignty.
This year presents a unique opportunity for Native Americans because data from both candidates is available for our research.
During the Trump administration, the entry doors were closed to tribes. He ushered in an era where Indigenous people faced a constant assault on our mental health and well-being. Trump has failed to reconvene the White House Tribal Nations Summit, an annual gathering that gives the administration and tribal leaders time to discuss ways to strengthen ties between nations through federal investments and to advance progress for guarantee the Indian land.
In addition to this failure, meaningful tribal consultation was virtually non-existent, and without these crucial meetings, harmful projects were approved near our tribal communities. For example, Trump immediately downgraded Bears Ears National Monument, home to thousands of sacred sites, by 85 percent, and his administration approved construction of the border wall that led to the destruction of Tohono O’odham Nation cultural and cemetery sites.
Trump has diverted funding from the programs created to meet the federal government’s trust and treaty responsibilities to tribes. Year after year, tribal leaders had to fight his proposals to cut funding for Native education and health programs. Trump even submitted budget requests to Congress every year that could have taken away funding from the Bureau of Indian Education.
On the other hand, Harris was a staunch supporter of Indian Country during the Biden-Harris administration.
In July 2023, the vice president made history by visiting the Gila River Indian Community, becoming the first sitting president or vice president to do so. During her visit, she highlighted the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to tribal nations and indigenous communities.
In November 2022, at the White House Tribal Nations Summit, the Vice President discussed the administration’s partnership with tribal leaders to strengthen tribal relations.
Harris has also been involved in:
Maternal health: Indigenous women are more than twice as likely to die from pregnancy. Vice President Harris has prioritized this crisis on the White House agenda, leading the first-ever meeting on maternal health with Cabinet secretaries and agency leaders. Her initiatives have led to significant commitments from both the public and private sectors to address maternal health and the systemic inequities affecting Black, Native American, and rural women.
Access to capital for small businesses: Native Americans are more than three times more likely to lack access to traditional financial services. After securing more than $12 billion in investments for community lenders during her tenure in the Senate, she has worked to implement this financing, encouraging lenders to promote inclusive entrepreneurship and develop high-opportunity communities. This effort has resulted in substantial investments in CDFIs that support indigenous businesses.
Tackling the climate crisis: Before the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, Vice President Harris advocated for investments critical to Indian Country, with an emphasis on climate resilience and water infrastructure. She remains a key advocate for these investments, promoting their potential for job creation and economic opportunity through a variety of initiatives, including groundbreaking events and discussions at the White House.
Voting rights: In July 2021, the Vice President gathered Native American and Alaska Native leaders to discuss voting rights as part of her ongoing efforts to protect access to the ballot. In March 2022, she marked the one-year anniversary of the Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting by highlighting the administration’s achievements and releasing a report on Native American voting rights.
Access to affordable internet: Vice President Harris has consistently advocated for affordable internet access. In August 2022, she announced $146 million in awards through the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program and another $1 billion in funding during a press call with Tribal media outlets.
When choosing the presidential candidate on the tribal sovereignty ticket, the choice could not be much clearer. KAMALA HARRIS is the best choice for Indian Country.
Of course, her experience as California’s attorney general, a U.S. senator and four years as vice president have given her leadership on policy issues that go far beyond tribal politics.
Vote on or before November 5 if you haven’t already done so.
About the Author: “Levi \”Calm Before the Storm\” Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. Rickert was awarded the Best Column 2021 Native Media Award for the print category\/ online by the Native American Journalists Association. He is a member of the advisory board of the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association. He can be reached at levi@nativenewsonline.net.
Contact: levi@nativenewsonline.net
