Native Vote 2024. Guest Opinion. In the year of the 100th Anniversary of Snyder Act which granted citizenship to our continent’s first Americans, we faced and still face challenges in elections, including barriers to participation, maneuvers to reduce our impact, voter suppression and intimidation, and the failure to recognize our tribal identification cards at the polls. Still, we can be the change if we register, vote, and vote for candidates who support Indian Country issues.
An opt-in article I authored in 2021 recognized the effort at the time to push for a jobs and infrastructure bill in Congress to address aging roads, bridges, water systems, schools, clean energy transformation, public transportation, high-speed trains and broadband upgrades. The planned $1.2 trillion legislation at the time American Employment and Education Act was slated to bring a record $12 billion to Indian Country. This is not charity or reparation for the wrongs done to our people, but represents only partial remuneration for the treaty and trust obligation that ceded nearly a billion acres of Indian lands that were taken by the United States in exchange for health care provisions, education and social well-being. for perpetuity. The recently announced cost of Indian boarding schools puts the cost of forced assimilation at $23.3 billion (reported in Indian Federal Boarding School Report, Vol.II) resulting in the worst of the worst statistical results, as evidenced in the 2018 U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Broken Promises Report.
As an educator and expert on Indian federal policy, I like to summarize administrative and legislative efforts in terms of “shines” and “grows.” Shines we’ve seen during the current administration include:
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Extension to 2021 of EO 13175 on Tribal Consultation with a period of 90 days issued by Presidential Memorandum in the first 5 days of the current administration;
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The historic nomination and naming of the nation’s first Native American cabinet member, Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo);
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$2.5 billion proposed in the 2021 IHS Budget presented to Congress;
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US$31 billion in Rescue Act Funds and extension of the Cares Act deadline. The Rescue Act reached 2 percent of the total appropriated, while the Cares Act was less than ½ of one percent for Indian Country;
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$1 billion for broadband introduced by Vice President Harris, which I helped formulate
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Omnibus 2023, including advance allocations for financing the Indian health service;
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A presidential budget formulation commitment to support mandatory funding for the IHS;
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More than $12 billion proposed for tribal infrastructure ($6 billion for water, sewer and sanitation; $4 billion for BIA roads and bridges; and another $2 billion for broadband);
These achievements are significant, but there is much more to a Indian Country Selection Sheet for federal candidates to rise and fall at the polls to support our issues. Voters in Indian countries are not monolithic. But as the 2020 election demonstrated, we are willing to set aside partisan preferences to support federal candidates who have informed and specific Tribal Sovereignty Platforms. Outstanding issues (“growths”) that remain include:
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Permanent reauthorization of Tribal VAWA provisions and tribal data collection requirements for the MMIP;
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A fix from Clean Carcieri;
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IHS Portability and ACA Medicaid Expansion to Tribal Nations under a 51st State provision and without means testing as our health care is already paid for in full;
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Indian education reform, including self-determination/self-governance funding, to fundamentally shift public education to AI/AN as we persist in having the worst graduation rates. Let us educate our children to respect the provisions of the treaty;
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Permanently authorize the White House Council and codify an accountability measure for tribal consultations, tribal counsels, and budget formulation for compelling continuity in federal Indian policy that transcends administrations and legislative sessions.
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Establish a Federal Tribal Action Plan to coordinate and ameliorate the impacts of forced assimilation and to address and eradicate the impacts of the Opioid Epidemic.
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Appoint one more member of the AI/AN Cabinet and quadruple the number of AI/AN political appointees;
Candidates who articulate a willingness to establish specific benchmarks for measurable successes will likely attract the attention of individual AI/ANs and their respective Tribal Nations and perhaps just win their respective federal elections.
Finally, honor your ancestors by registering and voting. Prepare for future generations by supporting candidates who support Indian Country issues. I urge tribal leaders and AI/AN colleagues to look to our ancestors for guidance and mobilize to make their expectations known. Vote for federal candidates who support Indian Country. In most swing states, we represent between 1% and 3.5% of total voters, where polls suggest much lower margins of victory. This means federal candidates cannot afford to take our vote for granted and we can determine the outcome.
Aaron A. Payment served for more than 22 years in tribal elected positions, including as chairman and on the Tribal Council of the largest tribe east of the Mississippi. He has a doctorate in Education and three postgraduate degrees, including Education (K12 and Higher Education) and Public Administration. He served for nearly a decade on the NCAI Executive Committee, including serving as First Vice President twice. This opt ed is submitted as an expert on Indian federal policy and does not necessarily represent anyone’s opinion except your own.
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Contact: apayment@nativenewsoline.net
