{"id":25327,"date":"2024-10-15T11:01:37","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T17:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/indigenous-peoples-day-celebrated-with-an-eye-on-the-election\/"},"modified":"2024-10-15T17:01:37","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T17:01:37","slug":"indigenous-peoples-day-celebrated-with-an-eye-on-the-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/indigenous-peoples-day-celebrated-with-an-eye-on-the-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Indigenous Peoples Day celebrated with an eye on the election"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A
A dancer performs on Indigenous Peoples Day Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

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

From a voting rally<\/a> in Minneapolis featuring food, games and raffles to a public talk<\/a> about the Native vote at Virginia Tech, the holiday \u2013 which comes about three weeks before Election Day \u2013 featured a wide array of events geared toward Native voter mobilization and outreach amid a strong recognition of the power of their votes.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

In 2020, Native voters<\/a> 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\u2019t supported a Democratic candidate in a White House contest since 1996.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re 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\u2019re a democracy, a democracy that we helped create,\u201d said Comenote, a citizen of the Quinault Indian Nation.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

In Arizona, Comenote\u2019s coalition partnered with the Phoenix Indian Center to hold a town hall Monday called \u201cDemocracy Is Indigenous: Power Of The Native Vote,\u201d<\/a> which featured speakers and performances, along with Indigenous artwork centered on democracy.<\/p>\n

Local Navajo artist Richelle Key was commissioned to create a painting during the event. Her vibrant brushstrokes were meant to remind people \u201cto keep our culture alive.\u201d A second painting featuring the message \u201cVote for our future\u201d also was on display.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to vote because we don\u2019t want to be forgotten,\u201d Key said.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> and a booth with nonpartisan voter information and giveaways.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is especially important in an election year,\u201d he said, mentioning that activities have been centered on getting people engaged, registering them to vote and encouraging them to cast their ballots.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

___<\/em><\/p>\n

Associated Press journalists Ross Franklin and Katie Oyan in Phoenix, and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Hundreds
Hundreds attend the Indigenous Peoples Day Sunrise Gathering on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Flags
Flags representing different nations and tribes, American and abroad, are flown on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A performer burns charcoal during a ritual on Indigenous Peoples Day Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A dancer performs at the Indigenous Peoples Day Sunrise Gathering on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"FILE
FILE \u2013 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)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Ross D. Franklin, File)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"FILE
FILE \u2013 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)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Lindsey Wasson, File)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"FILE
FILE \u2013 An American Indian Movement flag is flow during a march for Indigenous Peoples Day, Oct. 12, 2015, in Seattle. (AP Photo\/Elaine Thompson, File)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Elaine Thompson, File)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"FILE
FILE \u2013 Hopi children dance in front of City Hall on Indigenous Peoples Day in Flagstaff, Arizona, Oct. 10, 2022. (AP Photo\/Felicia Fonseca, File)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Felicia Fonseca, File)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"FILE
FILE \u2013 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)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Matt Rourke, File)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hundreds
Hundreds attend the Indigenous People Day Sunrise Gathering on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Leticia
Leticia Bustos-Casta\u00c3\u00b1o dons a copilli on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Tank
Tank Young, 14, performs at the Indigenous Peoples Day Sunrise Gathering on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
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)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"People
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)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A sign from the Occupation of Alcatraz stands during Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Dancers
Dancers exit the circle on Indigenous Peoples Day Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Teacher
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)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Gabby
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)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Passengers
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)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"People
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)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Dancers
Dancers perform during the 2024 Indigenous Peoples Day Alacatraz Sunrise gathering on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Minh Connors)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2020, Native voters proved decisive in the presidential election<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[266,28,561],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-25327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-election","tag-headlines","tag-native-american"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25327"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=25327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}