For help on Election Day, contact the Native American Rights Fund’s helpline at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) for election protection volunteers who can assist voters in Indian Country. The organization can also be reached at vote.narf.org.

Kolby KickingWoman
ICT

MISSOULA, MT — One of the most crucial and hotly contested races outside of the presidency this election cycle has been taking place in Montana.

Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester is locked in a tight contest with Republican challenger Tim Sheehy in a race that could determine which party ultimately controls the U.S. Senate.

The Native voting bloc could prove to be critical this year in determining the outcome.

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There are 65,000 eligible Native voters in Montana, but more than 35,000 – more than half – were not registered to vote, according to Sami Walking Bear, Crow, who is the outreach and field director for Western Native Voice Votes, the sister organization to Western Native Voice.

Walking Bear hit the ground in February with a goal of registering 10,000 people, and by June had more than 30 community organizers across the state on the seven reservations and urban areas of Billings and Great Falls.

Along with traditional door-to-door canvassing and phone banking, she has organized small events like bingo nights to reach people.

“During the bingo games, we would put in a lot of information about voting in the upcoming election and just tips on how to register to vote, and that we offer assistance in any way we can to help you register to vote,” Walking Bear said. “So a lot of our organizing had a lot to do with events and trying to draw people to us.”

A lot of people were hesitant when she approached them “with a piece of paper from the government asking them to sign it.” She gave an example of someone who may have a warrant wondering if the cops would find them if they registered to vote.

“We worked really hard,” she told ICT. “We ended up getting about 3,300 registered voters. That was, we thought, pretty good, and now we’re hoping we have 70 percent turnout for elections.”

Nationally, there has been much focus on the issues of immigration and the economy, but issues to Native voters can be different, including protecting tribal sovereignty, conservation and healthcare.

The race between Tester and Sheehy drew increased attention from Native voters when Sheehy was caught in hot water in August after derogatory comments about the Crow Reservation were made public by the Char-Koosta News, the news publication of the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Sheehy has also drawn fire after claiming to have been wounded in military service despite telling a park ranger that the wound was self-inflicted.

Letting Native people ‘drive the bus’

Tester, 68, an organic farmer, has worked closely with tribal communities during his tenure in the U.S. Senate.

He was instrumental in the passage of water compacts for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in 2020 and the Fort Belknap Indian Community in 2024. He voted for passage of Savanna’s Act, which improves coordination with tribes and enhances law enforcement’s ability to track and prevent crimes against Native Americans.

Tester has also served on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the Veterans Affairs Committee. He is often quoted as saying, “We need to let the Native Americans drive the bus,” when it comes to issues facing tribal communities.

Tester worked two years as a music teacher starting in 1978 before returning to run the family farm and butcher shop near Big Sandy, Montana. After holding several local positions, he won election to the Montana Senate in 1998, and worked his way up to become the chief presiding officer.

Faced with term limits in the Montana Senate, he won election to the U.S. Senate in 2006. He is seeking his fourth term this year.

Jonas Rides At The Door, Blackfeet, is a Marine Corps combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient from Missoula who served in the Iraq War. He said Tester has been an ally with a good record with Native veterans.

Rides At The Door hopes there is big Native turnout on Election Day.

“We can be the change, get out and vote and change this election,” he said.

Controversial remarks

Sheehy, 38, a former Navy Seal, is a businessman who founded Bridger Aerospace, an aerial firefighting and wildfire management company that is based in Belgrade, Montana. He also co-founded a cattle company that produces Montana beef.

He has drawn sharp criticism over the remarks he made during public events that were recorded on audio.

In the clips, Sheehy is heard saying that as a rancher, he is involved on the Crow Reservation, and that roping and branding is “a great way to bond with all the Indians while they’re drunk at 8 a.m.”

Additionally, at a different event, he said that while participating in the Crow Fair parade, “They’ll let you know when they like you or not, if Coors Light cans flying by your head… They respect that.”

The comments were quickly condemned by tribal leaders throughout the state, who called for him to apologize. The Democratic members of the Montana American Indian Caucus expressed their disappointment with the comments as well, saying the remarks perpetuate racist stereotypes.

“The Montana American Indian Caucus cannot express how let down we are by your remarks, where we can hear you disparaging the Crow Nation,” the caucus said in a statement. “Your words perpetuate the damaging and racist stereotype of ‘the drunken Indian.’ This stereotype, and others like it, hurts our young people and contributes to limitations on their opportunity to succeed…Your words are wrong, derogatory, and hurtful to a racial population that is fighting for equality and to improve their homeland.”

During a debate between the two candidates, Tester called for an apology. Sheehy didn’t explicitly apologize but did take accountability for the comments.

“The reality is, yeah, insensitive,” Sheehy said. “I come from the military, as many of our tribal members do. You know we make insensitive jokes and probably off-color sometimes, and you know, I’m an adult, I’ll take accountability for that, but let’s not distract from the issues that our tribal communities are suffering.”

Sheehy has also drawn questions about a bullet wound in his arm, which he said came from a firefight while he was serving in Afghanistan. Glacier National Park Ranger Kim Peach, however, said Sheehy told hospital officials in 2015 that he had been injured by an accidental discharge of his weapon in the park.

The park ranger repeated the accusation in an advertisement from a pro-Tester political action committee, but acknowledged that the ad had been recorded before he spoke publicly about the allegations. Republicans said the ranger is not credible.

“He’s shifting his story left and right because he is a liar and a Democrat partisan,” said Mike Berg with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, according to The Associated Press.

Tester said Sheehy should release his medical records to clear up the dispute, adding: “Stolen valor is a huge problem.”

Follow the money

The race has drawn a major influx of campaign funding.

Democrats, fighting to keep the majority in the Senate, are on track to outspend Republicans by almost $50 million in the Montana race, according to Federal Election Commission filings and the media tracking firm AdImpact.

Total spending is expected to exceed $315 million, or about $487 for each of the state’s 648,000 active registered voters — a record for a congressional race on a per-voter basis, according to party officials.

The Associated Press reported that much of the money traces back to shadowy political committees with wealthy donors. The non-partisan Campaign Legal Center sued over alleged financial transparency violations by a pro-Tester group, Last Best Place PAC, that has amplified some of the claims against Sheehy. Another complaint says the advocacy group used a straw donor to conceal more than $2.5 million in contributions to political committees, including one supporting Sheehy.

A Sheehy victory could shift the balance of power to Republicans.

This story contains material from The Associated Press.

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Mary Annette Pember
ICT

More than 150 years after the first Native children were forced to attend Indian boarding schools that robbed them of their families, culture and language, President Joe Biden will issue a long-awaited apology for the dark history that has left generational damage among Indigenous peoples.

Biden is set to present the apology and a plan for helping tribal communities heal from the enduring traumas on Friday, Oct. 25, at the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, marking his first visit to tribal lands as president.

It’s an apology that Native people have been seeking for decades.

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“This apology is an acknowledgement that the President of the United States sees and hears them,” said U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, whose family members attended Indian boarding schools.

“This is an acknowledgement of a horrific history,” Haaland told ICT in an interview. “This happened in our country.”

For Deb Parker, chief executive of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, known as NABS, it was an emotional moment to learn an apology would finally be made.

“It’s time,” Parker said, her voice taut with emotion as she waited to board Air Force One Thursday on her way to Arizona with Biden, Haaland. Five tribal leaders were also on the plane, including Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin Chairwoman Gena Kakkak, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Chairman Rodney Butler and Bay Mills Indian Community Chairwoman Whitney Gravelle.

“I think he has it in his heart to understand the pain and trauma that we and our loved ones have suffered,” said Parker, of the Tulalip Tribes. “It takes a strong president to deliver this apology.”

The apology comes just three months after the U.S. Department of the Interior released a final report in July of its investigation into the U.S. boarding school system after gathering evidence and witness testimony during a year-long “Road to Healing Tour.”

The first item on the Federal Indian Boarding School Investigative Report’s list of recommendations was for the United States to apologize for and acknowledge that generations of Native children were stolen from their families, and often severely beaten and abused in government and private boarding schools. Many of them died at the schools and were never sent home.

The recommendations also call for a Truth and Healing Commission to investigate further, a memorial to acknowledge those who attended, and for the U.S. to invest in tribal communities to help individual and community healing, revitalization of Native languages and improvements to Indian education. Details of Biden’s proposals had not been released by Thursday afternoon.

Haaland described the president’s apology for the U.S.’s role in operating Indian boarding schools as an example of his ongoing commitment to Indian Country.

“It’s very meaningful to me and I think it will be meaningful to many people,” Haaland told ICT.

Navajo President Buu Nygren praised Biden’s decision. His grandmother was taken to the Sherman Institute Indian boarding school in Riverside, California, about 700 miles from the Navajo Nation, he said in a statement.

“This dark chapter caused untold suffering, trauma, and loss, and its impact still reverberates in our communities today, “Nygren said. “By recognizing this tragic legacy, President Biden honors the resilience of the survivors and their families, many of whom carry the weight of these experiences …

“Ahe’hee’, thank you, President Biden, for your commitment to reconciliation and justice,” he said. 

Why has it taken so long?

The United States lags years behind Canada and even the Catholic Church in offering an apology for residential boarding schools, which were largely patterned after the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania.

Thousands of Native children attended those schools in the U.S. and many died at the schools without ever returning to their families.

Related ICT stories:
—Apologize! Report calls for government to own up to abusive boarding school history
—Truth and healing commission gains ground
— ‘We all carry the trauma in our hearts’
—‘Our children came home with moccasins’
—Buried Secrets: Red Cloud takes the lead in uncovering boarding school past
—Papal Visit: Apology at last in Canada

Canada’s then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized in 2008 for the government’s role in operating Indian residential schools in 2008, and Pope Francis apologized in 2022 in Canada for the role played by members of the Catholic Church in running residential schools. The U.S. Catholic Bishops apologized this year for the church’s role in boarding schools.

“In order to apologize, you have to recognize that something wrong happened,” Parker said. “I don’t think the United States was ready to acknowledge what they did, not only to Native children but also the parents, grandparents and the entire community.”

“This was a crime; now it’s time to examine that crime.”

Haaland, the first Native member of a presidential cabinet, spent more than a year on the cross-country Road to Healing Tour, gathering testimony from boarding school survivors and family members. Bryan Newland, assistant secretary of the Bureau of Indian Affairs who is of the Bay Mills Community, also attended, and authored the final report and recommendations.

Haaland described listening to hundreds of stories from boarding school survivors and descendants during the tour. Haaland’s grandparents and great-grandparents were taken away from their families to attend boarding schools.

“I’ve lived this all of my life,” she said. “The federal government spent exorbitant amounts of taxpayer funding to essentially eradicate the Native culture, languages and traditions of these children.”

While in Congress as a U.S. representative from New Mexico, Haaland worked with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts to introduce a bill in 2020 to create a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy in the United States. The bill was later redrafted and re-introduced in Congress, and is now awaiting a vote in Congress.

“We went to Capitol Hill and testified in support of that bill,” Haaland said. “There’s not a lot of time left, but I hope Congress makes the right decision.”

Few people in the United States outside of Indian Country were even aware of Indian boarding school history, Haaland said.

“So many Native folks around the country have moved this issue forward,” she said. “We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors always.”

Biden’s apology is expected to include a commitment to fund Native language revitalization projects. Haaland noted that although Native Americans are not a monolith, one thing most survivors and descendants agreed on was regret that their languages were stolen from them.

“We are making a concerted effort to ensure the funding is there in the best way tribes want to support language revitalization,” she said.

Native language isn’t just language, she said, it’s culture, tradition, geography, and science. She said both the president and first lady Jill Biden are supportive of language revitalization.

“It’s the foundation of who we are,” she said.

She said her own mother didn’t teach her or her siblings their language.

“My mother was afraid to teach us because of her time in boarding school; that’s one of the things that we heard constantly,” she said.

Haaland was on her way to Arizona Friday, along with tribal leaders including Gila River Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis, who is hosting the announcement Friday, and Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin Chairwoman Gena Kakkak, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut Chairman Rodney Butler and Bay Mills Indian Community Whitney Gravelle.

“When a sitting President makes an apology like this, it’s a big deal,” Haaland said. “I’m honored to travel with him when he makes his first visit to Indian Country and honored to stand by his side when this happens.”

Parker said the apology is just the first step toward healing for Indian Country.

“This (the apology) is only the beginning,” Parker said. “The dark secrets of the past need to be released. We cannot keep suffering intergenerational trauma for the things that were done to us.”

What’s next?

For some, however, the apology is too little, too late.

“It’s like a slap in the face,” said Arthur “Art” Zimiga, an Oglala Lakota elder with years of experience in Indian education on a tribal, federal and local level. “Generation after generation for Indigenous people, educational systems neglected their religious beliefs, their culture, their own freedom of speech.”

An apology without action is a shallow apology, Zimiga said. The elder expressed frustration at a lack of action from the president. “With the stroke of a pen (President Biden) could give us land back, the lands that are being used for national parks. What would that restitution be? Look at the physical health of Native people today, statistics on economic development or the land taken through policies such as the Dawes Act. These are all part of the ways that Native people have been disenfranchised and disinherited. If you’re going to say sorry to someone, there has to be restitution.”

When Amy Sazue first heard that the president would be delivering a formal apology for the boarding school era, the Sicangu Lakota woman was speechless.

“It’s a little hard to wrap my head around it, I’ve been processing it all day,” Sazue said. “It’s a natural expectation that this would at some point be acknowledged out loud, but I was just speechless, it’s long overdue.”

Sazue is executive director of Remembering the Children, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history of the Rapid City Indian Boarding School and the children who never made it home.

The Rapid City school was a federally run boarding school on the city’s west side aimed at teaching middle school students with a military-style daily routine. More than 2,000 students from across the nation were brought to the school over its 35-year run; more than 50 of these students never made it home.

Sazue, like many others, believes this is just the first step.

“An apology needs to be followed by action, it needs to be followed by commitment,” Sazue said. “I believe wholeheartedly that for healing and reconciliation to even be possible this was necessary. The United States Government and the United States President need to apologize and frankly acknowledge the harm caused by federal policy.

When Nick Tilsen heard the news of a formal presidential apology for the boarding school era, he experienced a mix of emotions, the NDN Collective founder said.

“I was choked up immediately, I felt all the emotions of it,” Tilsen said. “And then I immediately transitioned into thinking, ‘Okay, an apology must have action. You can’t just apologize for something that has destroyed nations of people and not have it followed up with action. This is an issue that has impacted every single household.”

Action, the Oglala Lakota man said, should come in the form of granting clemency to Leonard Peltier, who himself is a boarding school survivor.

“As you apologize for boarding schools, you cannot keep the longest-living Indigenous political prisoner incarcerated,” Tilsen said.

Peltier is currently serving two consecutive life sentences in connection to the deaths of two FBI agents in South Dakota in 1975. The Turtle Mountain Anishinaabe elder is currently serving his time in the Coleman I Maximum Security Prison in Coleman, Fla., and was denied parole earlier this year.

Tilsen also said action should include rescinding medals of honor given to the Seventh Cavalry Regiment for its involvement in the Wounded Knee Massacre, pass the Truth and Reconciliation healing bill and work to make unprecedented investments into Indigenous language and education.

“Those are the two things he can do right now before the inauguration and second, make it part of the next administration to carry the other things forth,” Tilsen said.

Moving forward, Tilsen emphasized the need for Indigenous people to keep each other in prayer as the government begins to acknowledge the harm it has caused them and their ancestors.

“We have to hold all of our people and all of our ancestors and elders with love and with prayer right now at this moment in history, while we’re pivoting toward justice,” Tilsen said. “This is one of the most historic moments in the history of this country because of how much damage boarding schools caused.” 

Boarding School Report
The Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative’s second and final investigative report released on July 30, 2024, by the U.S. Department of the Interior includes eight recommendations from Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland, who authored the report. Here are the recommendations:
*Apology: The U.S. government should acknowledge its role in a national policy of forced assimilation of Native children and issue a formal apology to individuals, families and tribes that were harmed by U.S. policy.
*Investments: The U.S. should invest in tribal communities in five key areas: individual and community healing; family preservation and reunification, including supporting tribal jurisdiction over Indian child welfare cases; violence prevention on tribal lands; improving Indian education; and working to revitalize First American languages.
*A national memorial: The U.S. government should establish a national memorial to acknowledge and commemorate the experiences of Native people within the federal Indian boarding school system.
*Repatriations: The government should identify children interred at school burial sites and help repatriate their remains
*Return school lands: The government should work to return the federal Indian boarding school sites to tribal ownership.
*Tell the story: The government should work with institutions to educate the public about federal Indian boarding schools and their impact on communities.
*Further research: The government should study how policies of child removal, confinement and forced assimilation have impacted generations of families, particularly the present-day health and economic impacts.
*Advance international relations: The government should work with other countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand with their own similar but unique histories of boarding schools and assimilationist policies, to determine best practices for healing and redress. 

Updated: This story has been updated to include reaction from across Indian Country to the news of the apology.

Amelia Schafer contributed to this report.

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ICT Staff

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz is set to visit Window Rock, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation on Saturday, Oct. 26, as part of ongoing effort by the Harris-Walz campaign to reach out to Native voters.

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The visit follows a series of events by Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, and Walz in the battleground state of Arizona, where polls show a close race between Harris and former Pres. Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.

Walz is set to speak at an early voting event as a wave of new radio and television campaign ads are airing on tribal radio and stations in the area.

“Arizona Democrats have deep relationships on the ground in the Navajo Nation building up organizing and outreach infrastructure, and earning support from Native American voters for over 15 years,” according to a statement released by the Harris for President campaign.

“This cycle, the Arizona Harris-Walz campaign is taking no vote for granted …”

Related story:
—Harris-Walz campaign hits the ground running in Arizona

More than 70 tribal leaders recently endorsed the Harris-Walz campaign, with about one-fourth from Arizona, according to campaign officials. Among the tribes endorsing the Harris-Walz ticket are the Ak-Chin Indian Community, Colorado River Indian Tribes, Gila River Indian Community, Kaibab Navajo Nation, Paiute Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, San Carlos Apache Tribe, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, and the Tohono O’odham Nation, officials said.

Walz met with tribal leaders at the Gila River Indian Community on Oct. 9, as early voting in person began in Arizona. Walz then moved on to Tucson where he and Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance held dueling campaign events.

Harris held a rally in Phoenix the following day, on Oct. 10, and Trump held a rally on Oct. 12 in Prescott Valley, north of Phoenix. Harris also met recently with Native youth.

The Harris-Walz campaign has set up a national organizing program, Native Americans for Harris-Walz, to mobilize Native voters. The campaign also has set up a tribal organizing team with 29 staffers in tribal communities, including the Navajo Nation, White Mountain Apache, Gila River and Tohono O’odham, campaign officials said.

The statement released by the campaign said Walz’s visit reflects the Harris-Walz campaign’s commitment to tribal sovereignty and support for Arizona’s 22 federally recognized tribes as it works to “lower costs for their families, invest in tribal entrepreneurs and businesses, and make affordable health care more accessible.”

Walz, as governor of Minnesota, has worked closely with tribes there and ran for office with now-Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, White Earth Band of Ojibwe, who would advance to become the nation’s first female Native governor if Harris and Walz win the Nov. 5 election.

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Organizaciones como RAZE se enfocan en amplificar las necesidades de esos sectores del Estados que pocas veces son escuchados en los procesos electorales, pero que siguen siendo cruciales para los candidatos.

Texto: Carlos Torres Bujanda

Fotos: Daniel Robles

Brianda Benítez vive con zozobra cada ocasión que su madre tiene que hacerse sus chequeos médicos. Ella vive en Casa Grande, Arizona, una comunidad ubicada a unas 50 millas al sur de Phoenix, en donde escasean los recursos para la comunidad.

“Nuestra área donde vivimos es más pequeña que en lugares como Phoenix o Tucson, ahí se siente más que la aseguranza no es accesible para todos. Por ejemplo yo tengo a mi mamá que ahorita no está trabajando, toda su vida se esforzó pero ahora resulta que no califica para recibir asistencia médica de ninguna clase, y aparte tenemos que salir a que se atienda a otras ciudades porque en Casa Grande no hay especialistas”, relató Benítez, mientras su voz se quebraba y sus ojos se llenaban de lágrimas.

Lo que Benitez relata no es un hecho aislado; a pesar del crecimiento que ha tenido Casa Grande en los últimos 10 años, aún hay muchos sectores que aún no satisfacen las necesidades básicas de la población como los servicios de salud, vivienda, trabajos y otros. Esto es lo que impulsó la creación de la organización Rural Arizona Engagement (RAZE, por sus siglas en inglés), cuya misión es amplificar y empoderar esos lugares menos atendidos del estado.

Además RAZE se encarga de promover el voto entre las minorías en un territorio hostil hacia los inmigrantes, hacer que su voz se escuche a la hora de exigir sus derechos, lograr que se sientan representados ante las autoridades, contar no solamente con servicios básicos, como vivienda accesible, atención médica de calidad, escuelas en buenas condiciones, seguridad pública, entre otros. 

Pablo Correa es el director ejecutivo de RAZE, y -en la sede ubicada en la ciudad de Coolidge, en el Condado Pinal- platicó acerca de la tarea de esta organización en su tarea de involucrar cívicamente a las minorías en las comunidades rurales del estado, además de ayudarlas a que su voz sea escuchada y que se sientan representadas ante las autoridades.

“Yo era una persona de clase trabajadora que criaba a una familia de clase media y quería representar a mi comunidad de una manera más amplia y entonces decidí involucrarme más cívicamente, ya que veía cómo personas como los latinos, nativos americanos y afroamericanos no tenían representación y sus comunidades lucían abandonadas”, comentó Correa sobre las razones para iniciar esta organización.

El director ejecutivo de RAZE recordó que la apatía y el temor de las personas a querer participar fueron algunas de las dificultades que encontraron en los inicios de la organización fundada en Casa Grande, Arizona, en mayo de 2018.  

RAZE tiene oficinas en los condados de Pinal, Pima, Yuma, Mojave, Coconino y Cochise, en las que se desarrollan programas de participación cívica no partidista como Sal a Votar, registro de votantes y liderazgo juvenil.

Uno de los objetivos de RAZE es identificar los problemas que existen en las comunidades rurales donde están sus oficinas, que pueden diferir aunque sean, en apariencia, zonas parecidas. 

“Por ejemplo, en el área rural del Condado Pinal está la problemática de la falta de vivienda accesible; en Yuma hemos identificado la necesidad del mejoramiento de la infraestructura en cuanto a servicios básico como agua potable, suministro de energía eléctrica, acceso a escuelas en buenas condiciones, atención médica de calidad y esto se expande a comunidades como San Luis y Somerton; mientras que en Cochise está la falta de agua potable”, agregó Correa.  

El director ejecutivo de RAZE añadió que se trata de plantearse preguntas como “¿Qué están buscando? ¿Qué podemos ayudar a construir o a cambiar en su comunidad que haría la vida mejor?”.

Respecto a cómo motivar a los jóvenes o las personas en general a formar parte de RAZE, Correa recordó que todos tienen un propósito en común y que esas son las cosas que los unen para poder mantener o encontrar a los voluntarios del programa.

“Hay que saber lo que realmente motiva a la gente, y esto ocurre en distintas regiones, todas son cosas diferentes. Es que les preguntamos qué les importa, qué dirección quieren tomar con sus vidas y qué dirección quieren tomar sus comunidades, y todos vamos en una dirección similar”, agregó.

Otro de los fenómenos que han encontrado es la polarización política, que considera que se la encrudecido desde la aparición en el escenario político de Donald Trump, expresidente entre 2016 y 2021, y en la actualidad nuevamente candidato republicano a la Casa Blanca. Correa admitió que ello ha afectado la manera en que los voluntarios realizan su trabajo. “La polarización realmente afecta el trabajo que hacemos aquí, y hacemos un trabajo no partidista. Simplemente sentimos que estar involucrados, tener acceso a las urnas, votar, ya sabes, asegurarnos de que podemos registrarnos y que nuestras inscripciones serán contadas, y que nuestros votos serán contados son todos temas no partidistas”, manifestó.

Sobre el tipo de trabajo que realiza RAZE en la comunidad en la actualidad, Correa aseguró que es ante todo “empoderar a las comunidades y conseguir votos así como empoderarse para que tomen decisiones en estos espacios también”.

Pero, ¿qué caracteriza a una comunidad como rural, para que RAZE realice su trabajo?

“La forma en que determinamos qué es una comunidad rural es muy interesante. Hay definiciones federales cuando se trata del Censo sobre la densidad de población, y ese es definitivamente el punto de partida. Lo que nos ayuda a determinar esto es si están recibiendo los recursos necesarios para generar cambios en su comunidad y, ya sabes, generar cambios en el estado”, dijo. 

De acuerdo a la definición del Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos (USDA, por sus siglas en inglés), una comunidad rural se define como “la que tiene menos de 5,000 residentes y 2,000 unidades de vivienda”.  

Por último, Correa dejó un mensaje a la comunidad respecto a RAZE: “Nuestra organización está para ser un recurso y un faro. Entonces, si en tus valores está preocuparte por la comunidad, por tu familia, por cumplir con nuestro deber cívico, entonces RAZE es un hogar para ti”.

“Y si tus valores son el empoderamiento de las comunidades rurales, de las personas de color, de aquellos que han sido privados de sus derechos a lo largo de la historia de este país y del estado, RAZE también es un lugar para ti. Por eso, nos encantaría que interactuaran con nosotros. Estamos en todas las redes sociales en @ruralazengage”.

Los colaboradores de RAZE, su columna vertebral

Pero el trabajo no lo realiza Correa solo: detrás de él tiene un grupo de coordinadores y voluntarios entusiasmados y convencidos de que es posible lograr un cambio en las zonas rurales. Una de esas personas es Esmeralda “Esme” Barajas, quien es directora regional de campañas del sur de Arizona para RAZE.  

Barajas se ha enfrentado a la negativa de las personas a registrarse para votar o actualizar sus datos, o bien el desconocimiento de lo que se debe de hacer para emitir su sufragio. “Lo que he visto más es que mucha gente no sabe cómo votar, o cómo comenzar, o cómo hacer su proceso de registro. Además mucha gente no vota porque piensa que no es importante y también está la idea de que su voto no cuenta”, dijo.

Barajas recordó que cuando se encuentra ante esas situaciones trata hacer entender que en verdad su voto puede hacer la diferencia, no solo a nivel federal o estatal, sino también para cuestiones tan cercanas como asuntos de juntas escolares, la recolección de basura, servicios básicos, entre otras.

“Lo que trato de explicarles es que no solamente es lo federal, sino también aquí en la comunidad  porque muchas veces son cuestiones respecto a cómo van a trabajar las escuelas, muchas cosas como los trabajos, cosas que están en la comunidad, como los concilios municipales”, agregó.

Andrea Varela es la directora de organizadores en RAZE. Ella se encarga de que sus organizadores y voluntarios estén presentes en la comunidad, para asuntos como “llamadas, tocar puertas, hacer textos y también tener eventos para escuchar cuáles son los problemas y los asuntos que quieren arreglar en las comunidades que nosotros servimos”, dijo.

Varela añadió que uno de los retos es encontrar a las personas que estén dispuestas a participar con RAZE, sobre todo en comunidades rurales.

“Es muy difícil encontrar voluntarios, especialmente en comunidades que han sido marginalizadas y que su voz no ha sido tomada en cuenta. Trabajamos en esas comunidades porque queremos que sepan que sus voces cuentan y que queremos luchar por los asuntos y las cosas en la comunidad que quieran cambiar o que enfrentan en su vida diaria”, añadió.

Otra de las razones que Varela mencionó para que las personas no deseen involucrarse es que ya tienen las responsabilidades de tener que ir a trabajar y muchas de ellas tienen dos empleos.

Actualmente en el equipo de RAZE hay unas 100 personas, algunas como organizadoras y otras como voluntarias en los seis condados donde están presentes, pero no son suficientes.

“¿Que si son suficientes? Pues ahorita no. Queremos trabajar en áreas que son difíciles de organizar, porque ahí se necesita más apoyo y representación. Y que se reflejen en representantes como legisladores, miembros del concilio municipal o del condado, de juntas escolares, mesas directivas de organizaciones civiles y así”, indicó. 

Las minorías no se sienten representadas en las comunidades rurales

El color de piel u origen afecta a las personas en áreas rurales a la hora de sentirse representadas para hacer sentir su voz y expresar sus necesidades, aseguró la directora de organizadores de RAZE.

Varela comentó que esta diferencia sí es “sensible” y cómo distintos asuntos tocan a la comunidad.

“Son diferentes los asuntos entre los afroamericanos, las comunidades indígenas y las comunidades hispanas. Y sienten que no son representados, no son representados en el gobierno, no son representados en la comunidad, no se ve personas que son líderes, que se vean como ellos, y eso no crea fe entre la comunidad. Mientras que los miembros de comunidades anglosajonas no tienen tanto miedo de ser involucrarse, ser voluntarios, registrar a votantes, asistir a esos foros. Y nosotros entendemos que, en comunidades de color, sienten más que no tienen voz”, agregó.

Pero también Varela comentó que han visto cómo, poco a poco, la comunidad se ha involucrado en los foros informativos, con personas de distintas edades. 

“Hemos visto, en los últimos tres o cuatro meses, que la participación en nuestras comunidades ha crecido mucho. Recuerdo que, hace un año, ninguna persona quería salir (de su casa) para atender un foro y hace una semana tuvimos uno en el condado de Cochise y doce personas asistieron”, comparó.

No siempre son bienvenidos

Abel Álvarez es uno de los voluntarios que ha estado en la calle, en contacto directo con la población para registrar a nuevos votantes, o para que actualicen sus datos en el registro de votantes. “Lo primero que hice con RAZE fue registrar a la gente para votar. Iba a las tiendas. Nomás preguntaba a las personas: ¿ya están registradas para votar o tienen sus datos actualizados?”, recordó.

En un principio Álvarez, manifestó que se sintió algo “raro” por abordar a las personas en un tema tan personal. Logró reacciones de todo tipo. “Se me hizo muy raro que iba con la gente en su carro preguntando si ya se había registrado para votar porque es una pregunta bien personal y mucha gente se apartaba de mí o me cuestionaba por qué hacía esas preguntas, o qué me daba derecho a hacerlas”, recordó.

También aceptó que tuvo miedo cuando las personas se comportaron de manera hostil con él. “El ambiente puede ser bien hostile. A veces he tenido miedo porque mucha gente aquí en Casa Grande es hostile y dice ‘pues te voy a seguir’. Era algo bien extraño pero con la práctica se hizo más fácil”, concluyó.

The post Voto Rural: Las prioridades en las comunidades más desatendidas de Arizona appeared first on Conecta Arizona.

When 19th-century miners first scouted eastern Arizona, they found that the region’s alpine streams contained more golden wealth than merely ore. The White Mountains are home to the Apache trout, one of only two native salmonids within Arizona’s borders. They’re lovely fish, endowed with mustard flanks, pink and purple undertones, and constellations of black spots. Miners called them “yellow trout” or “yellowbellies.” 

Colonization wasn’t kind to the Apache trout. The newcomers caught and ate them by the bushel, and logging, overgrazing and mining degraded their mountain creeks. Worst of all were the legions of non-native trout — brook, brown and rainbow — that the state stocked for mining camps and anglers, which swiftly overwhelmed their native rivals. When the first iteration of the Endangered Species Act passed in 1967, Apache trout were protected by it, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service classified the species as threatened in 1975. 

This is a familiar ecological saga in the West, where native trout are among the most imperiled groups of species. But thanks to the concerted efforts of federal and state agencies, nonprofits and the White Mountain Apache Tribe, the Apache trout gradually recovered. On Sept. 4, the Fish and Wildlife Service removed Oncorhynchus apache from the federal list of threatened and endangered species — making it the first American sportfish to achieve delisting. The fish’s recovery, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement, “reminds us of the transformational power that collaborative conservation efforts — grounded in Indigenous Knowledge — can have on fish and wildlife.”

Yet the Apache trout’s future is far from assured. The West is rapidly getting hotter, drier and more flammable — hardly promising for a fish dependent on cold, clear flows. “I don’t see this as, ‘OK, it’s time to stop, we’re patting ourselves on the back,” said Nathan Rees, Arizona state director for Trout Unlimited.

ALTHOUGH CONSERVATION SUCCESS stories never have single authors, the White Mountain Apache Tribe deserves the lion’s share of credit for the trout’s comeback. By the 1940s, Apache trout endured in just 12 streams — all of them on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. (At the time, Apache trout were lumped together with Arizona’s other endemic salmonid, the Gila trout; not until 1972 did biologists reclassify the Apache as a separate species.) In 1955, the tribe, which regards the trout as sacred, closed its streams to sportfishing — an act of radical foresight that predated the trout’s federal listing by more than a decade.

In the 1980s, the White Mountain Apache, aided by a panoply of agencies, began assisting Apache trout in earnest. Land managers closed forest roads, improved logging management and fenced cattle out of streams to ease pressure on the fish’s habitat. Tribal and state agency staff bred Apache trout in captivity and returned them to their former public-land domains. Slowly, the fish’s population began to tick upward. 

“The species was resilient and would just persevere.” 

“I think we’re the leaders,” said Tim Gatewood, the tribe’s longtime fisheries manager and a tribal member. “A lot of times, those guys that helped take part in management came through our office, and we kind of told them what we wanted.” 

Most crucially, fish managers curtailed the non-native fish that bedevil Apache trout. In many streams, agencies installed barriers to prevent invasive trout from penetrating Apache strongholds. With those headwaters secured, biologists set about purging the invaders, both with poison and currents of electricity. The process was hardly linear: Rock barriers failed and had to be replaced with sturdier concrete ones, and the 2011 Wallow Fire, the largest conflagration in Arizona’s history, killed thousands of Apache trout and incinerated riparian vegetation. Several times the fish was on the verge of delisting, only to narrowly fall short. 

“We’d get close, and then there’d be a setback,” said Julie Carter, aquatic wildlife branch chief for the Arizona Department of Game and Fish. “But the species was resilient and would just persevere.” 

Today, surveys indicate that the species currently inhabits less than a third of its former range, which once encompassed nearly 700 miles of stream. Still, recovery efforts have saved the fish from immediate jeopardy. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona has 30 discrete populations of Apache trout, enough to satisfy the agency’s recovery plan. The Apache trout is now among a tiny handful of Western fish, alongside the Modoc sucker, the Oregon chub and the Borax Lake chub, ever to escape the threatened list — and the only one to which an angler might conceivably cast a line. 

IN ITS 2023 PROPOSED delisting rule for the Apache trout, Fish and Wildlife acknowledged that the Southwest suffers from “a megadrought that has large consequences for streamflows” and thus for the suitability of trout habitat. Megafires, too, remain a concern: According to the Service, some important drainages still face “a high risk of crown fire … and subsequent debris flows” that could smother trout streams.

For those reasons and more, not everyone is celebrating the trout’s delisting. In public comments submitted to Fish and Wildlife, Robin Silver, co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity, excoriated the decision for its failure to account for “the foreseeable effects of climate change and related long-term impacts.” While the agency’s analysis suggested the fish’s prospects were fairly rosy for the next 30 years, Silver objected to the timeframe’s relative brevity. Silver also noted that some streams are still battered by overgrazing, and that non-native fish barriers aren’t foolproof. “The bottom line is that the habitat is objectively not protected,” Silver said. 

Over the next six decades, climate change’s impacts on Apache trout may be complex. According to one 2023 study, some formerly frigid headwaters could become just mild enough to support spawning trout, increasing Apache habitat. When the study’s authors incorporated the likelihood of reduced rain and snowfall into their model, however, they found that a number of Apache-bearing streams will become less hospitable by the year 2080. 

Apache trout are hardly the only Western salmonid in climate-related peril. A 2021 study found that the distribution of bull trout and cutthroat trout stands to contract, respectively, by 39% and 16% by 2080, as their streams become warmer, drier and more vulnerable to invasive species. Such projections present a conundrum for managers: How should agencies weigh a species’ current status against its dubious future? 

“The bottom line is that the habitat is objectively not protected.”

One answer is to pursue restoration projects aimed at enhancing climate resilience. This year or next, for instance, Trout Unlimited will begin to restore Thompson Meadow, a section of the Black River watershed degraded by overgrazing. According to Rees, the group intends to plant willows, fence out elk and construct more than 200 artificial beaver dams — efforts that will, in theory, cool the drainage’s overheated flows and bring back the complex shaded habitat that Apache trout require. The White Mountain Apache Tribe, the trout’s traditional keepers, has received more than $2.5 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act to replace derelict road culverts on trout-bearing creeks, allowing the fish to flee to cold headwaters as downstream reaches warm.

“I know (delisting) is not the end here,” said Gatewood. “It’s just more work.”

This story is part of High Country News’ Conservation Beyond Boundaries project, which is supported by the BAND Foundation. hcn.org/cbb

The post After half a century, the Apache trout swims off the threatened species list appeared first on High Country News.

• Por FactChequeado
• Si sólo tienes unos segundos, lee estas líneas:
• La vicepresidenta Kamala Harris, candidata presidencial por el Partido Demócrata, y el expresidente Donald Trump, candidato presidencial del Partido Republicano, participaron en un debate presidencial organizado por ABC News el 10 de septiembre de 2024.
• Desde Factchequeado estamos realizando en directo chequeos y verificaciones de las afirmaciones de ambos candidatos para las Elecciones en Estados Unidos 2024 durante el debate presidencial.
• Es falso que la criminalidad haya aumentado bajo el mandato de Biden, que la inflación era la más alta de la historia y que el exgobernador de Virginia apoyara el infanticidio, como afirmó Trump y necesita contexto la frase de Harris sobre que Trump dejó el peor desempleo desde la Gran Depresión.

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El 10 de septiembre de 2024, la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris, candidata presidencial por el Partido Demócrata, y el expresidente Donald Trump, candidato presidencial del Partido Republicano, participaron en un debate presidencial organizado por ABC News, en el National Constitution Center de Filadelfia, Pensilvania. Ambos candidatos para las Elecciones en Estados Unidos 2024 hablaron sobre temas clave de la campaña, incluyendo economía, inmigración y el derecho al aborto.

Es la primera vez que ambos candidatos debaten de cara a las elecciones presidenciales del 5 de noviembre de 2024, luego de que Harris sustituyera al presidente Joe Biden en la campaña. 

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TRUMP: “La criminalidad ha aumentado y está por las nubes y tenemos una nueva forma de criminalidad llamada crimen migrante y está ocurriendo a niveles que nadie pensó que fuese posible”

FALSO 

Los datos muestran que el crimen violento en Estados Unidos viene bajando desde el año 2020, incluyendo en las ciudades que han recibido recientemente altas cantidades de inmigrantes indocumentados, como Chicago, Los Ángeles, Nueva York y Miami.

Como puedes ver en la gráfica, tras un pico de crímenes violentos (asesinatos, asaltos agravados, robos y violaciones) en 2020, durante la pandemia de COVID-19, la tasa ha venido disminuyendo. En 2022, se situó en 380,7 por cada 100,000 habitantes, un nivel similar a la del año 2015, cuando fue de 373,3 por cada 100,000 habitantes.

El Buró Federal de Investigaciones (FBI, por sus siglas en inglés) todavía no ha publicado los datos definitivos del año 2023 y de lo que va de 2024. Pero sí publica trimestralmente reportes preliminares. En el más reciente, publicado el 10 de junio de 2024, el FBI indicó que la tasa de crímenes violentos disminuyó en un 15.2% entre enero y marzo de 2024, comparado con el mismo período en 2023. En ese período de 2024 los homicidios bajaron en un 26.4%, las violaciones en 25.7%, los robos en 17.8%, y los asaltos agravados en 15.1%.

Las cifras del FBI coinciden con los estudios de organizaciones independientes del gobierno, como la Major Cities Chief Association (una asociación nacional de cuerpos de policías de las ciudades principales del país), el Council on Criminal Justice (organización no partidista que promueve mejoras al sistema judicial penal), y AH Datalytics (empresa privada que monitorea cifras de criminalidad y hace cuadros comparativos de cifras de homicidios). 

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HARRIS: “Trump nos dejó el peor desempleo desde la Gran Depresión” 

NECESITA CONTEXTO 

Harris afirmó que Trump dejó “el peor desempleo desde la Gran Depresión”. Durante la administración de Trump, el empleo en Estados Unidos creció de manera constante cada mes desde su llegada al poder en enero de 2017 hasta febrero de 2020, según indicaron los verificadores de Snopes tras analizar los datos de la Oficina de Estadísticas Laborales (BLS).

En febrero de 2017, la tasa de desempleo era del 4.6%, y alcanzó su nivel más bajo, del 3.5%, en septiembre de 2019 y nuevamente en febrero de 2020. Sin embargo, en marzo de 2020, la pandemia de COVID-19 golpeó con fuerza al país. 

En los meses posteriores, millones de estadounidenses perdieron sus trabajos, lo que generó una brusca caída en el crecimiento del empleo y un aumento acelerado del desempleo. En abril de 2020, con el impacto de la pandemia, el desempleo aumentó drásticamente hasta casi el 15%. En comparación, durante la Gran Depresión, la tasa de desempleo llegó al 24.9% en 1932. Para diciembre de 2020, el desempleo había disminuido al 6.7%.

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TRUMP: “Yo no tenía inflación, virtualmente no inflación. Ellos tenían la inflación más alta, quizás en la historia de nuestro país” 

FALSO 

La inflación durante la administración de Joe Biden llegó a 9.1% en junio de 2022, según datos del Índice de Precios al Consumidor (CPI), pero no es la cifra más alta registrada en EE. UU.  

En marzo de 1980, se registró una inflación anual de 14.8%; en marzo de 1947, la inflación incrementó en un 20.1% respecto a los 12 meses anteriores y, en junio de 1920 aumentó un 23.7%, también en relación con los 12 meses anteriores,  según datos del CPI de la Oficina de Estadísticas Laborales (BLS, por sus siglas en inglés).

Trump también afirmó que el gobierno actual no heredó ninguna inflación. Según las cifras del BLS, la inflación anual registrada en enero de 2021 (cuando Biden asumió la presidencia) era de 1.4%. Actualmente, la inflación se encuentra en 2.9%, según el reporte del CPI de julio de 2024.

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TRUMP: “El exgobernador de Virginia dice que la ejecución después del nacimiento está bien” 

FALSO 

Trump afirmó que el exgobernador de Virginia, Ralph Northam, dijo que la ejecución de un bebé después del nacimiento “está bien”. En realidad, es falso que Northam apoyara el infanticidio. 

Esta desinformación ya fue desmentida por Factchequeado durante el primer debate presidencial del 27 de junio de 2024 entre Trump y el presidente Biden. También por los verificadores de las agencias AP y Reuters.

Trump tergiversó unos comentarios que Northam hizo en 2019 sobre el aborto en Virginia en WTOP, una estación de radio de noticias que presta servicio al área metropolitana de Washington. En esa entrevista, Northam habló de los abortos en el tercer trimestre, que se realizan en casos “en los que puede haber deformidades graves”. “Cuando hablamos de abortos en el tercer trimestre, estos se realizan obviamente con el consentimiento de la madre y de más de un médicos. Y se realizan en casos donde puede haber deformidades graves o puede que el feto no sea viable”, afirmó. 

Acto seguido contó qué sucedería en el caso de que el feto no fuera viable: “El bebé nacería, se le mantendría cómodo, se le reanimaría si eso es lo que la madre y la familia desean. Y luego se produciría una conversación entre los médicos y la madre”. Este comentario fue rápidamente abordado por los comentaristas republicanos que, como informó Vox, tomaron sus palabras como “un respaldo al infanticidio”. 

En ese momento, un portavoz de Northam declaró a Vox que el exgobernador “de ninguna manera se estaba refiriendo a la eutanasia de bebés nacidos tras un aborto fallido”. Además, explicó que afirmó que sólo estaba tratando de describir las “circunstancias trágicas o difíciles” que a menudo implica el aborto tardío.

“Intentar extrapolar estos comentarios de otra manera es de mala fe y subraya exactamente por qué el exgobernador cree que los médicos y las mujeres, no los legisladores, deberían tomar estas decisiones médicas difíciles y profundamente personales”, dijo.

Además, sólo el 0.9% de los abortos en Estados Unidos se realizaron con más de 21 semanas de gestación en 2021 (el último año del que hay datos disponibles), según el Sistema de Vigilancia del Aborto de los CDC. Puedes consultar este y otros datos sobre los abortos para que no te engañen con desinformaciones en esta nota de Factchequeado.

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TRUMP: “[Kamala Harris] era la ‘zar de la frontera’”

FALSO

El presidente Joe Biden, en marzo de 2021, le encomendó a la vicepresidenta, Kamala Harris, la tarea de “abordar las causas de la migración” proveniente específicamente de El Salvador, Guatemala y Honduras, en el llamado triángulo del Norte, pero eso no significa que estuviera formalmente “a cargo de la frontera”.

De la seguridad fronteriza está a cargo Alejandro Mayorkas, secretario del Departamento Seguridad Nacional (DHS) de Estados Unidos, porque dentro del DHS funciona la Oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza (CBP).

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HARRIS: “Trump ha dicho que en esta elección habrá un “baño de sangre” si el resultado no es de su agrado”

NECESITA CONTEXTO

La vicepresidenta, Kamala Harris, acusó al expresidente Donald Trump de haber pronosticado un “baño de sangre” [bloodbath] si el resultado no es de su agrado. Pero esta frase necesita contexto, porque Trump, cuando dijo eso, no se refería a una derrota en las elecciones, sino a “un periodo de pérdidas” económicas en un mitin sobre la industria del automóvil, como ya contamos en Factchequeado.

La referencia al “baño de sangre”, el expresidente y candidato republicano Trump la realizó durante un mitin el pasado 17 de marzo de 2024 en Vandalia (Ohio). El comentario se produjo en medio de un discurso sobre la industria del automóvil, los vehículos eléctricos y las plantas de producción de empresas chinas en México. 

Trump dijo ante los asistentes que iba “a imponer un arancel del 100% a cada automóvil que cruce la frontera” e impedir que las empresas chinas que producen vehículos en México los vendan en Estados Unidos [29:48 min]. Acto seguido pronunció la frase que se viralizó: “Si no salgo elegido, será un bloodbath [baño de sangre o periodo de pérdidas] para todo el país, eso será lo de menos, pero no venderán esos coches” [29:56 min].

La palabra “bloodbath” tiene diferentes significados. Es un término que en inglés estadounidense se puede traducir como periodo de pérdidas o recesión. Según el diccionario Collins, su traducción más cercana podría ser la de masacre, como una “matanza indiscriminada”. Pero en inglés estadounidense se añade una nueva acepción. En un contexto informal, se puede emplear también refiriéndose a un “período de pérdidas” o de fuerte “recesión”, o una “purga” o “despidos masivos”.

Por lo tanto, en el contexto que lo dice, las palabras de Trump sobre el “baño de sangre” no se referían a muertes o insurrecciones similares a las del asalto al Capitolio si el candidato republicano perdía las elecciones del 5 de noviembre de 2024, sino que Trump estaba hablando de cómo afectaba a la industria del automóvil la importación de coches chinos desde México, a la que pretendía poner aranceles si ganaba.

Factchequeado es un medio de verificación que construye una comunidad hispanohablante para contrarrestar la desinformación en Estados Unidos. ¿Quieres ser parte? Súmate y verifica los contenidos que recibes enviándolos a nuestro WhatsApp +16468736087 o a factchequeado.com/whatsapp.

The post Segundo debate presidencial 2024 en Estados Unidos: chequeamos lo que dijeron Harris y Trump sobre inmigración, aborto y otros temas appeared first on Conecta Arizona.

Por Johani Carolina Ponce (colaboración especial para Conecta Arizona).

Tim Walz, gobernador de Minnesota y candidato demócrata a la vicepresidencia, se destaca por su firme apoyo a la acción climática y su liderazgo en la transición hacia una economía de energía limpia. En contraste, el candidato republicano a la vicepresidencia J.D. Vance, senador de Ohio y autor del libro Hillbilly Elegy, ha cambiado drásticamente sus posturas sobre el medio ambiente, pasando de escéptico del cambio climático y defensor del petróleo y gas a crítico de las políticas demócratas y entusiasta del fracking. Examinamos cómo estas transformaciones políticas podrían influir en el futuro de la política ambiental en Estados Unidos.

TIM WALZ, LIDER EN ENERGIA LIMPIA Y POLITICAS CLIMATICAS

El gobernador de Minnesota, Tim Walz, es el candidato a vicepresidente del partido demócrata. Walz es un maestro que se convirtió en político. Fue elegido por primera vez para un cargo público en 2006, cuando logró que el 1.er Distrito Congresional rural de Minnesota cambiara de partido. Fue reelegido cinco veces antes de convertirse en gobernador de Minnesota en 2019.

Durante sus seis términos como congresista Walz se centró en temas agrícolas y en asuntos de veteranos, apoyado en su experiencia en la Guardia Nacional del Ejército. Sin embargo, en sus dos mandatos como gobernador ha emergido como uno de los principales promotores nacionales en la lucha contra el cambio climático.

“Cuando eres gobernador, claramente vas a abordar un conjunto más amplio de temas prioritarios. El cambio climático no es una excepción,” dijo Trent Bauserman, quien trabajó en la Casa Blanca de Obama y como asesor climático del ex Líder de la Mayoría de la Cámara de Representantes Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). “Creo que ha evolucionado a medida que su rol ha evolucionado y el problema del cambio climático ha evolucionado.”

En 2023, Walz firmó una ley histórica que exige que Minnesota obtenga toda su electricidad de fuentes eólicas, solares y otras libres de carbono para 2040. Esa ley se aprobó en medio de una sesión legislativa en la que los demócratas de Minnesota, en colaboración con el gobernador Walz, impulsaron casi 40 otras iniciativas climáticas, incluidas rebajas fiscales para vehículos eléctricos y un mayor acceso a estaciones de carga para estos vehículos.

“Con estas inversiones históricas, estamos posicionando a nuestro estado como un líder nacional en soluciones climáticas, asegurando que Minnesota siga siendo un gran lugar para vivir, trabajar y criar una familia para las generaciones futuras.”, manifestó Walz.

Economía de energía limpia

El 27 de junio de este año el gobernador Walz visitó una granja de energía eólica en Dexter, Minnesota, tras unas inundaciones catastróficas que devastaron partes del estado. Allí se llevó a cabo una firma ceremonial de la legislación que acortará y agilizará el proceso de permisos de energía. Se estima que las reformas ahorrarán entre 9 y 12 meses en el proceso de permisos y construcción de proyectos de energía renovable y transmisión. “Al firmar esta legislación, las comunidades de un extremo a otro de nuestro estado se enfrentan a meses de reconstrucción tras un evento climático extremo exacerbado por el cambio climático. Esta es una medida que ayudará a proteger nuestro medio ambiente y a poner en marcha los proyectos de energía limpia que van a ayudar a combatir el cambio climático”, aseguró el candidato demócrata a vicepresidente. “Hoy estamos eliminando burocracia para las empresas, ayudando a que más proyectos despeguen y apoyando al sector de empleos de energía limpia para facilitar la transición a una economía de energía limpia”.

Energía limpia para 2040

Minnesota debe avanzar hacia un 100 por ciento de energía limpia para 2040, conforme a un proyecto de ley que el gobernador demócrata firmó en febrero de 2023. Hizo campaña sobre este tema en dos ocasiones. Según esa ley, Minnesota hará la transición a fuentes de electricidad limpia incluso más rápido que California, que durante mucho tiempo ha sido líder en la acción climática estatal.

El historial climático más destacado desde Gore

En julio, la Agencia de Protección Ambiental (EPA, por sus siglas en inglés) otorgó a Minnesota una subvención de 200 millones de dólares para reducir las emisiones restaurando turberas, apoyando vehículos eléctricos y reduciendo el desperdicio de alimentos. La EPA, en su anuncio, agradeció a Walz “por su liderazgo y planes innovadores”.

“El gobernador Walz y su equipo fueron muy agresivos al intentar reunir una estrategia para atraer la mayor cantidad posible de fondos de la Ley de Reducción de la Inflación (IRA, por sus siglas en inglés),” dijo Jamie Long, líder de la mayoría en la Cámara de Representantes del estado, abogado ambientalista demócrata y defensor del clima.

Si la fórmula Harris-Walz resulta ganadora en las elecciones, Walz tendría el historial más sólido en cuestiones climáticas de cualquier presidente o vicepresidente entrante desde Al Gore. Gore, quien recibió el Premio Nobel de la Paz en 2007 por su activismo climático, expresó en un correo electrónico que Walz “es un líder probado en el tema climático y conoce el tema a fondo”.

Seth Schuster, portavoz de la campaña Harris-Walz, destacó que uno de los logros más significativos de Walz ha sido su constante apoyo al medio ambiente a lo largo de su carrera. “El gobernador Walz, quien creció cazando y pescando, ha dedicado toda su carrera a conservar nuestras tierras públicas y proteger nuestros recursos hídricos”.

TRANSFORMACIONES AMBIENTALES EN LA CANDIDATURA DE J.D. VANCE

El candidato republicano a la vicepresidencia, J.D. Vance, actual senador de Ohio, es un firme defensor de la industria del petróleo y el gas. “La administración Biden está haciendo todo lo posible para subsidiar fuentes de energía alternativas y demonizar las fuentes de energía más confiables de nuestra nación”, escribió en una columna de opinión el año pasado. También expresa dudas sobre la influencia humana en el cambio climático. “Soy escéptico sobre la idea de que el cambio climático sea causado puramente por el hombre”, afirmó el Senador en el Foro de Liderazgo Americano de 2022 (2:08:35 en el video de YouTube al que se hace mención en el enlace).

El 97% de los científicos climáticos coinciden en que los seres humanos están causando el calentamiento global y el cambio climático. La mayoría de las principales organizaciones científicas del mundo han emitido declaraciones públicas que expresan esta postura, incluyendo academias científicas internacionales y estadounidenses, el Panel Intergubernamental sobre Cambio Climático de las Naciones Unidas, y una gran cantidad de cuerpos científicos de prestigio en todo el mundo. Aquí se proporciona una lista de estas organizaciones.

Giro radical en políticas ambientales

Vance, de 39 años, inició su “vida pública” en 2016 con el lanzamiento de su exitoso libro de memorias Hillbilly Elegy. En los últimos ocho años, ha experimentado una transformación política significativa: de un conservador que se autodenominaba “Nunca trumpista”, a convertirse en un firme seguidor y defensor del expresidente. Sin embargo, su cambio no se limitó a lo ideológico; también dio un giro radical en sus posiciones sobre políticas ambientales.

En un foro organizado por The Ohio State University en 2020 Vance reconoció que tenemos un problema climático en nuestra sociedad y que en gran medida es causado por las emisiones descontroladas de China. “La razón de este problema es que no estamos generando energía de manera mucho más limpia que hace 30 o 40 años. De hecho, la mayor mejoría en las emisiones proviene de la energía solar, que puede proporcionar una cantidad sustancial de nuestra energía, pero no puede ofrecer ni siquiera el 50% de nuestra energía, mucho menos el 100%. A medida que aumentamos nuestra dependencia del gas natural, que, aunque es una mejora respecto a formas de energía más sucias, no es exactamente lo que nos llevará a un futuro con energía limpia”.

Crítica a los demócratas

El senador Vance ha expresado opiniones contradictorias sobre el medio ambiente y las políticas actuales. “Absolutamente creo en la tradición de Teddy Roosevelt, deberíamos preocuparnos por el medio ambiente. Estoy seguro de que cada persona en esta sala estaría de acuerdo con eso”.

Al mismo tiempo Vance criticó la atención que se presta a las políticas ambientales propuestas por los demócratas, argumentando que deberían centrarse en problemas más inmediatos, como la contaminación del agua y el estado del sistema alimentario. “Pero hablemos de los contaminantes en nuestra agua, hablemos del hecho de que nuestro sistema alimentario es un desastre que nos está haciendo poco saludables y miserables, en lugar de hablar de un montón de políticas ridículas que los demócratas promueven constantemente y que lo hacen es enviar dinero a China, el país más sucio y con la economía más contaminante del mundo entero”. Vance acierta al señalar que China es el país con la economía más contaminante del mundo. El consumo de combustibles fósiles alcanzó nuevos máximos históricos en 2023, impulsado por el aumento del uso de carbón y petróleo en China, a pesar del auge global de la energía renovable.

El senador de 39 años cuestiona la eficacia de las soluciones propuestas para el cambio climático, sugiriendo que las políticas actuales son inadecuadas y tienen efectos negativos, como la pérdida de empleos y la construcción de infraestructuras que considera poco prácticas. “Si se preocupan tanto por el cambio climático (demócratas y ambientalistas) y piensan que el cambio climático es causado por las emisiones de carbono, entonces ¿por qué su solución es gritar al máximo volumen, enviar una gran cantidad de nuestros empleos a China y luego fabricar estos ridículos y feos molinos de viento en las granjas de Ohio que no producen suficiente electricidad para alimentar un teléfono móvil?”.

J.D. Vance no es el primero en malinterpretar el potencial de las fuentes de energía intermitentes como la eólica. Al igual que el expresidente Trump, quien ha afirmado que las turbinas eólicas no pueden alimentar ni siquiera una televisión, Vance ha cometido el error de pensar que la energía eólica se “apagará” en ausencia de viento. Sin embargo, las redes eléctricas están diseñadas con redundancias para evitar apagones y, además, se utilizan baterías para almacenar energía. De hecho, una turbina eólica en EE. UU. puede generar suficiente electricidad para cargar 316 teléfonos móviles dos veces al día, lo que demuestra que la afirmación de Vance es incorrecta y una turbina de 1.5 MW operando al 33% de su capacidad puede abastecer de energía a 415 hogares en los EE.UU., lo que demuestra que, a pesar de las críticas de Vance, las turbinas eólicas pueden tener un impacto significativo en la generación de energía renovable.

Por otra parte el viento representa menos del 2% de la electricidad generada en Ohio, y a pesar de que el estado es uno de los lugares de nacimiento de la energía eólica, solo tiene alrededor de 419 aerogeneradores en funcionamiento, ubicándose en el puesto 24 entre todos los estados.

¿LA IRA envía empleos a China?

Kamala’s Green New Scam means the end of American manufacturing. https://t.co/Ha9QBuCpr0

— JD Vance (@JDVance) July 30, 2024

Vance afirma que la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris envió empleos a China al emitir el voto de desempate en 2022 en el Senado para aprobar la Ley de Reducción de la Inflación (IRA), una ley que incluyó 370 mil millones de dólares en fondos para el clima y la energía con el fin de combatir el cambio climático. La IRA fue diseñada para fomentar empleos de manufactura verde en los Estados Unidos, y la evidencia muestra que está funcionando. De acuerdo con un reporte de Climate Power, la IRA ha creado más de 330,000 nuevos empleos en energía limpia y ha estimulado miles de millones de dólares hacia la transición a la energía limpia, incluidos 134,385 empleos creados en comunidades de bajos ingresos en 38 estados. Además, un análisis de Bank of America arrojó que los mayores impactos de IRA comenzarán en 2024 y 2025 propiciando inversiones importantes y creando de puestos de trabajo.

Vance es un opositor de la ley IRA. “Es una tontería, no hace nada por el medio ambiente y nos empobrecerá a todos”, escribió en las redes sociales durante su campaña para el Senado en 2022.

Tim Ryan’s green new deal is little more than a handout to Chinese companies at the expense of Ohio workers. It’s dumb, does nothing for the environment, and will make us all poorer. I wish he’d stick to renaming post offices. https://t.co/H35YVdMciY

— JD Vance (@JDVance) August 12, 2022

En el primer año después de la aprobación de la IRA, según un análisis de Goldman Sachs, se anunciaron 280 proyectos de energía limpia en 44 estados, representando una inversión de 282 mil millones de dólares que crearía 175,000 empleos.

Defensor del fracking

Vance ha celebrado la tecnología de la fracturación hidráulica, comúnmente llamada fracking, por su capacidad para ayudar a extraer vastas reservas de gas en Ohio. Fracking o fracturación hidráulica es una técnica de extracción de recursos naturales, como el gas y el petróleo, que implica la inyección a alta presión de una mezcla de agua, arena y productos químicos en formaciones rocosas subterráneas. El objetivo es fracturar las rocas para liberar los recursos atrapados en ellas. Esta técnica se utiliza principalmente en formaciones de esquisto y, aunque ha permitido acceder a vastas reservas de combustibles fósiles, también ha generado preocupaciones sobre posibles impactos ambientales negativos, como la contaminación del agua y la liberación de sustancias tóxicas.

El senador escribió un ensayo de opinión diciendo que los habitantes de Ohio “son afortunados de vivir sobre la cuenca de petróleo y gas de Utica Shale”, un reservorio que contiene aproximadamente 38 billones de pies cúbicos de gas natural.

La trayectoria de J.D. Vance en temas ambientales revela una notable transformación política. Al continuar analizando las posturas de los candidatos a la presidencia y vicepresidencia, el caso de Vance subraya la urgencia de una discusión fundamentada sobre cómo enfrentar el cambio climático de manera efectiva y sostenible. Es esencial contar con información verificada para abordar estas cuestiones de manera informada y precisa.

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The post Medio ambiente: ¿qué proponen y piensan los candidatos a vicepresidente Tim Walz y J.D. Vance? appeared first on Conecta Arizona.

Mary Annette Pember
ICT

Former President Donald Trump’s decision to tap U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate drew immediate concerns from Indigenous leaders over his views toward Indian Country.

Vance called Indigenous Peoples’ Day a “fake holiday” and praised Columbus just a few weeks after questioning the term “two-spirit” in separate postings in 2021 on social media. He also has fought name-changes requested by tribal leaders for historical sites.

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The social media comments were made before Vance, a native of Middletown, Ohio, was sworn in as one of Ohio’s U.S. senators in 2023.

“‘Indigenous Peoples’ Day” is a fake holiday created to sow division,” Vance wrote on Oct. 11, 2021, on the social media site now known as X. “Of course, Joe Biden is the first president to pay it any attention.”

In a subsequent posting on Oct. 11, Vance wrote, “A half a millennium ago Columbus used technology developed in Europe to sail across a giant ocean and discover a new continent. Today we celebrate that daring and ingenuity. Happy Columbus Day!”

A month earlier, he commented on a Sept. 8, 2021, post from Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York that makes references to “trans, two-spirit and non-binary people.”

“I’m sorry but what the hell is two-spirit?” Vance asked on the site known then as Twitter. “Would love if progressives would just stop inventing words.”

This week, after the announcement that Vance would be Trump’s vice presidential nominee, leaders at the Urban Native Collective issued a statement expressing concern over his remarks.

“These remarks undermine the inherent rights and self-determination of Indigenous Peoples and perpetuate historical inaccuracies,” according to the statement issued on Wednesday, July 17, by the collective, a nonprofit based in Cincinnati that advocates for Indigenous peoples.

‘Resilience and strength’

President Biden issued the first-ever presidential proclamation recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2021, lending the most significant boost yet to efforts to refocus the federal holiday celebrating Christopher Columbus toward an appreciation of Native peoples.

The day is observed each year on Oct.11, along with Columbus Day, which is established by Congress.

“For generations, federal policies systematically sought to assimilate and displace Native people and eradicate Native cultures,” Biden wrote in the Indigenous Peoples’ Day proclamation. “Today, we recognize Indigenous peoples’ resilience and strength as well as the immeasurable positive impact that they have made on every aspect of American society.”

In a separate proclamation on Columbus Day, Biden praised the role of Italian-Americans in U.S. society, but also referenced the violence and harm Columbus and other explorers of the age brought with them.

Making landfall in what is now the Bahamas on Oct. 12, 1492, Columbus, an Italian explorer, was the first in a wave of European explorers who decimated Native populations in the Americas in quests for gold and other wealth, including people to enslave.

Vance has said little during his political tenure regarding Native Americans or Indian policy, as reported by Indianz.com.

Opposing tribal requests

Vance has opposed the renaming of several sites requested by tribal leaders, however.

In August 2023, as a U.S. Senator, Vance issued a public letter asking the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture to oppose changing Ohio’s Wayne National Forest to the Buckeye National Forest.

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The agriculture department had proposed changing the name in response to requests from tribes and local community members, according to a press release issued by the agency. The changes is still under discussion.

“The forest is currently named after General Anthony Wayne, whose complicated legacy includes leading a violent campaign against the Indigenous peoples of Ohio that resulted in their removal from their homelands,” according to the statement.

In his letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and the Forest Service Chief Randy Moore, Vance wrote, “The federal effort denigrates Ohio history and represents a lack of fidelity to our nation’s founding generation.”

He went on to write, “I take exception to the U.S.D.A.’s designation of Wayne’s legacy as ‘complicated.” Labeling the life and times of Wayne in such a way is an all-too-common dismissive, academic handwave that is beneath the dignity of the U.S. government.”

In 2023, Sabrina Eaton of Cleveland.com described Wayne as a general in the Revolutionary War, nicknamed Mad Anthony Wayne either because of his bold military tactics or his hot temper.

In 2019, ICT quoted George Ironstrack, assistant director of education for the Myaammia Center at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, about Wayne’s history with Native peoples in Ohio. The center is an initiative led by the Miami Nation of Oklahoma, whose homelands include lands in and around the Ohio river valley. They were removed from the state in 1840.

“As part of his campaign, Wayne’s forces systematically burned Miami villages, food stores and crops,” Ironstrack told ICT.

According to Ironstrack, Wayne’s strategy of starvation culminated by the 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers, which forced the Miami tribe to the negotiating table and resulted in the 1795 Treaty of Greenville in which the Miami and other tribes ceded most of their lands in Ohio.

Vance, who is the author of the memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” frequently touts his hardscrabble upbringing and aversion to elitism in politics as bridges to the populist wing of the Republican Party. He also opposed Trump sharply before shifting his rhetoric to support the former president.

A story published Thursday, July 18, by the news site Wired, however, details the senator’s contacts with the elite, conservative heavyweights, wealthy financiers and others that he previously had denounced.

The contacts came from a Wired analysis of Vance’s public Venmo account network. Venmo is a digital payment application that frequently makes users’ phone contacts and friends’ lists public.

Among those listed as Vance contacts is Amalia Halikias of the controversial Project 2025. Created by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank, Project 2025 sets forth a political plan that calls for dismissal of thousands of public servants, expanded power of the president, dismantling of the Department of Education, halting sales of the abortion pill and many other actions that appeal to the far right. Trump has claimed ignorance of Project 2025 but Vance has stated in previous interviews that the document has “some good ideas.”

‘We demand respect’

Vance’s nomination as the GOP’s vice presidential candidate came during the Republican National Convention, which ran July 15-18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Indianz.com noted a lack of Native events during the convention in a state that is home to 11 federally recognized tribes, but ICT reported the scheduling of a federal Indian policy roundtable organized by Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who is Cherokee.

A couple of Native delegates from Oklahoma were also voting at the convention, which included appearances from some tribal leaders from Wisconsin, including Forest County Potawatomi Chairman James Crawford. Former Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer, who made a statement during the 2020 convention, had been expected to attend the roundtable discussion.

The announcement of Vance as the vice presidential candidate, however, came at the last minute as the convention was set to begin.

“Our rights and history as Indigenous peoples are not up for debate; we demand respect from someone in such a potentially powerful position like the vice president,” Briana Mazzolini-Blanchard, executive director of the Urban Native Collective, told ICT. Massolini-Blanchard is a citizen of the CHamoru Nation of the island of Guam.

“It’s saddening that political leaders continue to stand by these colonized names that hold such deep pain for Indigenous peoples.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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Felix Clary
ICT + Tulsa World

TULSA, Okla. — This year is the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act, yet tribal leaders and advocates say too many Natives are still hesitant to vote.

For the past two decades, Oklahoma’s voter turnout rate has been around 55 percent. Fourteen percent of Oklahoma’s population identifies as Native American, with two of the largest tribes being Muscogee and Cherokee.

Less than 20 percent of Muscogee Nation citizens were registered to vote this year as of June 1. In 2021, the Cherokee Nation estimated that 45,000 Cherokee citizens were registered to vote, a significant increase over previous years but still amounting to around 150,000 Cherokee citizens not registered to vote in the state.

“In Oklahoma, Natives are still living with historic trauma. There is still a lot of mistrust with federal processes. The tribes here lived through boarding schools, removal from our homelands, and so many things.” said Ginny Underwood (Comanche) from Rock the Native Vote.

Rock the Native Vote is one of many Native voting campaigns in Oklahoma. Underwood said that in the years she has campaigned for Native adults to register in local, state and federal elections, she has seen voter anxiety in Native people centered around mistrust for state and federal governments.

“Maybe we’re jaded, and rightfully so, but we need to help people understand that if we show up in numbers, it can have positive impacts, like getting elected officials that support tribal sovereignty,” Underwood said.

Shawnee Chief Ben Barnes said in an ICT interview that the Warrior Up and Vote campaign expresses an even stricter message than Rock the Native Vote.

“We need to look at it like, ‘What is at stake when we vote? What bills do we want passed?’ We need to make sure people we elect on state and national levels truly understand what sovereignty means,” he said.

Voting is still 60 years young for Native American citizens, according to Randy Knight, a Cherokee law student at the University of Tulsa College of Law.

The Indian Citizenship Act gave Native people the right to U.S. citizenship, but it wasn’t until 1965 with the Voting Rights Act that all Native adults and other racial minorities had the right to vote.

Knight also said it wasn’t until 2019 that the Native American Voting Rights Act was passed by Congress, giving tribes the ability to increase polling sites and expand the types of facilities they use for voter registration.

The act states that there is a wide gap between the voter registration and turnout rates of eligible Native citizens and non-Native citizens.

It says that Native voter access is obstructed by nontraditional addresses for residents on reservations, as well as “a lack of accessible registration and polling sites, either due to conditions such as geography, lack of paved roads, the absence of reliable and affordable broadband connectivity, and restrictions on the time and place that people can register and vote.”

The act posed the solution of annual consultations between tribal leaders and the Department of Justice to resolve voting related issues.

“I think there are some tools we’ve been given in the last four years that can help with Native voter turnout, and I think we’ll start to see the fruits of that in this 2024 election,” said Knight.

He said that engaging in voting is a form of assimilation, but one that is necessary at this point in history. Since NAVRA and the recognition of tribal sovereignty through the McGirt decision, he said “we’re seeing right now how important it is for people to engage in the system, whether they like it or not, because one of the ways to change the system is to engage with it.”

Oklahoma tribes have also made efforts in the past four years to increase Native voter registration.

Cherokee Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. is hopeful that the next generation of Cherokee citizens will be more engaged in voting.

“We have to identify the issues in terms of public policy and connect them to politics,” he said. “From here forward, Cherokees are particularly motivated to have a governor of Oklahoma who is respectful to tribes and won’t be hostile.”

A recent issue that Hoskin has discussed is Stitt’s attempts to dismantle tribal tag agencies. For Hoskin, this is a threat to tribal sovereignty, fueled by Stitt’s concern for state toll tag profit loss.

Knight warned that while youth, Native or non-Native, may be passionate about political issues, that doesn’t mean they will vote.

“You see the young generations get all riled up for an election, and they seem really engaged, but that doesn’t always turn into voter turnout,” he said.

The Muscogee Nation has worked to diagnose voter apathy in the tribe for the past four years, looking for a remedy. Spokesman Jason Salsman said the most common symptom of voter apathy is feeling invisible.

“You see a lot of politicians being critical of the McGirt decision. They don’t really see things from a Native perspective. That can make you feel like you are not being heard, and sometimes make you feel like you’re invisible in your own state,” Salsman said. “Well, this is subscribing to a false mentality. We have to get people to understand that if they go to the polls, you can let your voice be heard.”

He said Native people in Oklahoma have learned a lot about resilience and enduring spirit in the past 100 years. He believes one of the biggest lessons they have learned is what it means to be a citizen of a sovereign Native nation while also a U.S. citizen.

“When people say we have to walk in two worlds, that is what they mean. It’s not easy. It’s not a simple reckoning inside your soul. We’re still fighting for people to understand and respect us in 2024,” he said.

Correction: This story originally misstated the number of eligible voters among Cherokee Nation citizens in Oklahoma. The story has been corrected.

This story is co-published by the Tulsa World and ICT, a news partnership that covers Indigenous communities in the Oklahoma area.

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