Information for your use in getting out the Native American vote:
http://www.nationalvoice.org/

State Election Boards and Information
complete set of links to all state Election Boards

1924 American Indians granted citizenship and the right to vote
Today in History
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jun02.html


On June 2, 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed a bill granting Native Americans full citizenship. Coolidge posed with four Osage Indians in front of the White House to commemorate the event.
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/immig/native_american8.htm
 

Native American Voter Engagement Projects
Published by National Voice, www.nationalvoice.org

National Voice welcomes Native Organizer Intern!

National Voice is excited to welcome Crystal Wabnum to our staff. Crystal’s tribal background is Kickapoo of Kansas, Prairie Band Potawatomie, and Western Band Cherokee. Crystal will be joining us this month and her internship will last through August. Crystal is a student at Ft. Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, where she majors in Sociology with an emphasis on penal reform. She brings with her organizing experience with the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, the Wetlands Preservation Organization, and has done work on behalf of survivors of domestic violence. Crystal can be contacted at: crystal@nationalvoice.org

Rock the Native Vote—Tickets Available for June 5 event in Oklahoma City

The Rock the Native Vote event is less than a month away and promises to be an exciting event. The event will feature national artists, including Jana, Tribal Live, Casper Lomayesva, and Tonemah. The Rock the Native Vote (RNV) concert is a non-partisan event to educate and encourage Indian Country to vote. For more information about the event, please visit the website at: http://www.rockthenativevote.com

Raises Youth Voices—Rock the Vote Bus Tour at UNITY Conference, Gila River, AZ

The Rock the Vote Bus Tour will embark on a five-month, fifty-city tour that combines programming with music and is kicking off in June. The goal: register young people, educate them on the issues and inspire them to vote. The Bus Tour is planning a stop at the United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) Conference in Gila River, Arizona, during their trek through the sunny state of Arizona.

The United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) Conference brings together thousands of Native youth from around the country each year to arm them with the leadership skills to find solutions to the challenges they face. For more information on the UNITY Conference, visit: http://www.unityinc.org/

A group of young Native professionals came together in the Twin Cities to develop a voter registration initiative to target Native American voters in Minneapolis and St. Paul areas. The group is coordinating their efforts with other local efforts head by the Minnesota Council of Non-profits and plans on conducting voter registration drives at local events in addition to doing doorknocking in high-density Native population areas in the Twin Cities. For more information on this initiative, contact Karri Plowman, at 612-870-4533, or Alyssa Burhans, at 612-879-7510.

Native American Voters Coalition of California (NAVCC)

The NAVC is a nonpartisan organization focusing on issues affecting Native, Indigenous, and First Nations people living in California. NAVC’s aim is to educate the public and increase Native American participation in the political process. In order to fulfill its mission, the NAVCC has adopted six goals: 1) to educate the community on the political issues, 2) to educate the community on the platforms of political candidates, 3) to increase voter participation, 4) to engage youth in the political process, 5) to dispel stereotypes which impact the public’s voting decisions, and 6) to advocate for the well being of all indigenous peoples. For more information on this initiative, contact Wayne Arroyo (909) 678.4018

Leading the Way in Oregon—Native American Leadership Institute

The Native America Leadership Institute (NALI) located in Southern Oregon is kicking off their Native Vote 2004 initiative. NALI will be conducting voter registration projects in southern Oregon and at various events throughout the state. The initiative includes voter education and GOTV efforts.

NALI is also hosting the “Social Change Goes Native”—An evening discussion reviews modern Native American social activism on May 14, 2004, in Ashland, Oregon. This event will feature Native American activist Janet Robideau from Montana Indian People’s Action IPA protects the civil rights of Indian people in Montana and addresses discrimination by police, the courts and public school systems but also larger issues such as affordable housing, health care reform and wage protections. For the last eight years, IPA has raised awareness about voter participation by Native Americans with an unprecedented 95% of Missoula’s Native population voting.

For more information in this initiative or the “Social Change Goes Native” event, contact Kristy Albert, at (541) 552-1744.

Native Vote Campaign Materials

The Native Vote effort has posters, buttons, and bumper stickers for voter mobilization projects throughout Indian Country. These materials can be ordered directly from the National Congress of American Indians. For more information and to view the products, visit: http://www.nativevote.org

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