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Indigenous Peoples Day celebrated with an eye on the election

A dancer performs on Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday in San Francisco. Minh Connors/AP Photo
In 2020, Native voters proved decisive in the presidential election

As Native Americans across the U.S. came together on Monday for Indigenous Peoples Day to celebrate their history and culture and acknowledge the ongoing challenges they face, many did so with a focus on the election.

From a voting rally in Minneapolis featuring food, games and raffles to a public talk about the Native vote at Virginia Tech, the holiday – which comes about three weeks before Election Day – featured a wide array of events geared toward Native voter mobilization and outreach amid a strong recognition of the power of their votes.

More than 200 people were registered to vote in a matter of hours at the Minneapolis event, where volunteers handed out T-shirts, stickers and special posters created from designs commissioned from artists with tribal affiliations that range from the Onondaga Nation in New York to the Karuk Tribe in California. The theme was clear: Make voting a tradition.

In 2020, Native voters proved decisive in the presidential election. Voter turnout on tribal land in Arizona increased dramatically compared with the previous presidential election, helping Joe Biden win a state that hadn’t supported a Democratic candidate in a White House contest since 1996.

Janeen Comenote, executive director of the National Urban Indian Family Coalition, which is involved with at least a dozen of these types of voting events across the country, said this year it’s especially important to mobilize Native voters because the country is selecting the president. But she cautioned that Native people are in no way a monolith in terms of how they vote.

“We’re really all about just getting Native voters out to vote, not telling them how to vote. But sort of understanding that you have a voice and you’re a democracy, a democracy that we helped create,” said Comenote, a citizen of the Quinault Indian Nation.

On Monday, the Democratic National Committee announced a six-figure ad campaign aimed at Native voters in Arizona, North Carolina, Montana and Alaska. A majority of the digital, print and radio ads were being placed in local and national Native-owned publications.

In Arizona, Comenote's coalition partnered with the Phoenix Indian Center to hold a town hall Monday called “Democracy Is Indigenous: Power Of The Native Vote,” which featured speakers and performances, along with Indigenous artwork centered on democracy.

Local Navajo artist Richelle Key was commissioned to create a painting during the event. Her vibrant brushstrokes were meant to remind people “to keep our culture alive.” A second painting featuring the message “Vote for our future” also was on display.

“It's important to vote because we don't want to be forgotten,” Key said.

In Apex, North Carolina, about 14 miles southwest of Raleigh, the coalition is working with the Triangle Native American Society for an event expected to include a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 and a booth with nonpartisan voter information and giveaways.

During a celebration in Arizona over the weekend, Walter Murillo, a member of the Choctaw Nation and CEO of Native Health in Phoenix, also talked about the anniversary of the federal act and the power of Native voters.

“That is especially important in an election year,” he said, mentioning that activities have been centered on getting people engaged, registering them to vote and encouraging them to cast their ballots.

There were also dances and sunrise gatherings to mark the day at spots across the nation, from the campus at the Santa Fe Indian School in New Mexico to San Francisco, where passengers boarded ferries headed for Alcatraz Island.

Alcatraz has served as a symbol for self-determination after it was taken over in the 1960s by Indigenous students who demanded that the U.S. government recognize longstanding agreements with tribes.

While not a federal holiday, Indigenous Peoples Day is observed by 17 states, including Washington, South Dakota, New Mexico and Maine, as well as Washington, D.C., according to the Pew Research Center. It typically takes place on the second Monday in October, which is the same day as the Columbus Day federal holiday.

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Associated Press journalists Ross Franklin and Katie Oyan in Phoenix, and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report.

Hundreds attend the Indigenous Peoples Day Sunrise Gathering on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
Flags representing different nations and tribes, American and abroad, are flown on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
A performer burns charcoal during a ritual on Indigenous Peoples Day Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
A dancer performs at the Indigenous Peoples Day Sunrise Gathering on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
FILE – Performers from the Native American Hoop Dance of Ballet Arizona dance at an Indigenous Peoples Day festival, Oct. 9, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
FILE – Khalako Lloyd, 2, of the Mandan and Hidatsa tribes, beats on a drum while carried on the shoulder of his father, Julius Lloyd during a celebratory march for Indigenous Peoples Day, Oct. 9, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE – An American Indian Movement flag is flow during a march for Indigenous Peoples Day, Oct. 12, 2015, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
FILE – Hopi children dance in front of City Hall on Indigenous Peoples Day in Flagstaff, Arizona, Oct. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Felicia Fonseca, File)
FILE – Tatanka Gibson of the Haliwa-Saponi/Nansemond Tribal Nations leads attendees in song and dance during a gathering marking Indigenous Peoples Day at Penn Treaty Park, Oct. 11, 2021, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Hundreds attend the Indigenous People Day Sunrise Gathering on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
Leticia Bustos-Castaño dons a copilli on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
Tank Young, 14, performs at the Indigenous Peoples Day Sunrise Gathering on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
A man wears a vest in support of the American Indian Movement on Indigenous Peoples Day Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
People attending the Indigenous Peoples Day Sunrise Gathering offer tobacco to the fire on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
A sign from the Occupation of Alcatraz stands during Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
Dancers exit the circle on Indigenous Peoples Day Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
Teacher Irma Pineda teaches Amayah Lara-Ponce in putting together a capilli on Indigenous Peoples Day Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
Gabby Flores, right, attempts to light charcoal as Kholoud Nasser helps block the wind on Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
Passengers play drums and chant on the way by ferry to Alcatraz Island on Indigenous Peoples Day Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
People board and receive tickets for the Ferry to Alcatraz Island on Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
Dancers perform during the 2024 Indigenous Peoples Day Alacatraz Sunrise gathering on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)


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