The First American Citizens

Our Future Depends on Your Vote by Sam English (Ojibwe)

They came from all over Indian Country to gather in Columbus, Ohio, on a cool autumn day in 1911. The list of attendees was an all-star constellation of prominent American Indian leaders and professionals—Dr. Charles Eastman (Santee Sioux), Arthur C. Parker (Seneca), the Reverend Sherman Coolidge (Arapaho), Henry Roe Cloud (Winnebago), Esquire Thomas Sloan (Omaha), Dr. Carlos Montezuma (Yavapai Apache), Zitkala-Sa (Yankton Sioux), among others. Their goal was to establish a new intertribal organization, the first of its kind, that would advocate on behalf of Native people to improve economic conditions, undermine stereotypes, expand educational opportunities, and, perhaps most significantly, press relentlessly for American Indian citizenship and suffrage.

Although the Dawes Act of 1887 granted citizenship to those who took a land allotment, over one-third of American Indians still were not considered U.S. citizens but rather wards of the government—they could not vote, hold office, or exercise legal rights. The founders of this new organization—the Society of American Indians—would argue forcefully that this ongoing deprivation was unacceptable. The injustice came into sharper focus with the onset of World War I when the United States instituted selective service and drafted Native men regardless of their citizenship status. In his publication Wassaja, Carlos Montezuma pointed out the outrageousness of the situation: “We Indians are ready to defend the country of our forefathers as we have been doing these five hundred years against all odds, but what have we and what are we?” he asked. “We are nothing but wards; we are not citizens and we are without a country in this wide world. . . this drafting of the Indians into the army is another wrong perpetrated upon the Indian without FIRST bestowing his just title—THE FIRST AMERICAN CITIZEN.”

During the ensuing peace negotiations in Paris, Zitkala-Sa likewise highlighted the hypocrisy. “We are seeking to know justice, not as a fable but as a living, active, practical force in all that concerns our welfare,” she wrote. “The Red man asks for a very simple thing—citizenship in the land that was once his own— America.” It would be another five years before Congress passed the American Indian Citizenship Act but even then, several states instituted ordinances and laws that infringed on Native peoples’ voting rights. Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Washington, for example, claimed that since those living on reservations did not pay state taxes, they could not vote. Such injustices persisted into the 1940s.

Since then, however, American Indians have exercised their rights as U.S. citizens with profound results. Organizations such as the Native American Rights Fund have represented American Indian plaintiffs, helping to secure tribal sovereignty, expand self-determination, and safeguard treaty rights. Take for instance Cobell v. Salazar, where Blackfeet tribal member Elouise Cobell brought a class action lawsuit against the Departments of Interior and Treasury for the mismanagement of trust funds, resulting in a $3.4 billion settlement with a multi-million dollar scholarship fund that has expanded access to higher education for Native students.

On the political front, Native voter turnout has proven decisive in several high-profile elections, including in 2012 when the Indian vote propelled to victory U.S. Senate candidates Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Jon Tester of Montana. “You might think, well, 2% of the population, that’s not going to make a whole big difference,” observed U.S. Congresswoman Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) of New Mexico. “[But] the Indian vote is going to make a difference for various congresspeople across the country, for House and Senate seats across the states, for county commissions.”

Indeed, over the past few decades, Native voter turnout has increased significantly, in large part due to population growth. Since 2000, self-identified American Indians increased by 35%, compared to 14% for the total U.S. population. And although American Indians make up a small portion of the electorate nationally, they are vitally important in many battleground states. In 2016, for example, the number of Native voters in Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Nevada was greater than President Trump’s margin of victory in each of those six states. In 2020, these states will determine who wins the presidency and perhaps control of Congress—and American Indians will cast decisive votes.

For many Native communities, tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) can play an integral role in expanding voter registration and motivating turnout. State and federal policies profoundly affect TCU students and educators and all of Indian Country, making the selection of those who represent us in elected office of critical importance. In the feature article, “On Citizenship and Democracy,” Megan Ahern and Heather Licht of Salish Kootenai College (SKC) queried students for their views on the forthcoming general election and the role that their tribal college can play in local and national politics. These student voices are those of the next generation and far from being apathetic, they are engaged, thoughtful, concerned. “I’ve always felt that as Indigenous people we are always being overlooked within the United States,” says Patricia De Leon. “We’ve been taught to sit and stay quiet, yet we are in dire need for change.”

De Leon’s classmate Brandon Moran adds, “We Natives have a lot at risk, and we should take voting seriously and work on getting the Native vote out,” observing, “There are enough eligible Native voters to be able to sway an election one way or another.”

Voting and political participation are the lifeblood of citizenship, whether at the national, state, or tribal level. But being an engaged and responsible citizen requires much more. In his original treatise, “The Good Citizen,” tribal college educator and former chief judge of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, Stephen Wall, explores the complex matrix of Native nationhood, Indigenous cultural values, and the role that tribal colleges can play as intellectual epicenters. “Perhaps one of the most important values applicable to tribal communities throughout the U.S. is the commitment to the community,” Professor Wall writes, concluding, “As we prepare to choose our leaders, we need to keep our core cultural values in mind.”

To be sure, America’s first citizens have made tremendous strides since the Society of American Indians took those first steps over a century ago. But there are still incredible inequities and injustices that weigh heavily on Indigenous communities. By encouraging discussion, debate, and active participation in our democracy, tribal colleges can and will further advance the development and well-being of Native nations.

Bradley Shreve, PhD, is editor of Tribal College Journal.

REFERENCES

Fleig, S., & King, l. (2019, August 17). 2020 Democrats Are Stepping up Their Courtship of Native American Voters. Here’s Why. Des Moines Register. Retrieved at https:// www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/ caucus/2019/08/17/native-american-vote-2020- increase-influence-turnout-oj-semans-swing-states-votingrights- trump-iowa/1857159001/

Hoxie, F.E. (Ed.). (2001). Talking Back to Civilization: Indian Voices from the Progressive Era. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Myong, E. (2019, September 11). Native American Voters Could Help Swing the 2020 Presidential Election. CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/11/native-american-voterscould- help-swing-the-2020-presidential-election.html