Despite Progress, Many Remain in the Dark About Native American Issues

Markwayne Mullin has made history as the first Cherokee Tribal citizen to win the election to the U.S. Senate in nearly two decades. The last Native American elected to the Senate was in 1993. Even after invigorating results for a growing number of women and people of color in the midterm elections, Native Americans are still profoundly underrepresented in public office.

“It truly is a shame,” said Diana Owen, a political science professor at Georgetown University who focuses on media messages in American elections. Owen believes the Indigenous people had great success in the 2020 election, helping the Democratic Party flip the state of Arizona. “It should not be this way,” Owen said.

The lack of Native American leaders in Congress has made it difficult for Indigenous people to share their voices nationwide. The African American Research Collaborative 2022 Midterm Voter Election Poll survey revealed that “Native Americans were less likely to be contacted by a candidate, party, or civic organization than other communities of color.” Due to this lower level of outreach, many Native American voters believe that neither party is committed to solving their problems and making them a priority. This should be a wake-up call for both parties to recognize the left-out group of people and help them to become a pillar of strength in their political powers.

Native Americans also struggle to fundraise in their tribal communities. Xavier Barraza described how he and his team were fundraising for the first two Native American women in Congress in 2018. They often struggled to meet their goals. He believes these challenges stem from the limited financial resources in some tribes and the small overall Indigenous population.

“Raising a lot of funds for people who are running for Congress is hard because it is a limited amount of money... So, a lot of our donations even today are small, like $5 or $4,” he said. A public Navajo Nation figure and activist, Seraphine Warren, has turned to selling T-shirts on social media and setting up a GoFundMe to fund investigations of missing and murdered Indigenous relatives.

The lack of assistance from Congress compelled Warren to walk from Arizona to Washington, D.C. to demand a nationwide assessment of missing Indigenous people investigations and allocate funding for a task force. Warren is frustrated and disappointed her problems were not addressed appropriately after stepping foot in Washington.

"Because no matter who we vote for, it's just ... still ... we are still just stuck," she said.

As a senior associate attorney and a member of the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians, Baraza has been working most to educate the government on how to assist Indian tribes best as they fight back against multi-generational oppression and strive for self-sufficiency. The lack of Native American voices in the government not only hinders the economic well-being of Indian tribes but also means there is not enough news coverage to raise awareness in public. The Pew Research Center identified 134 reporters who cover tribal governments for 44 media outlets. Only 37 work for digital outlets, and one works for a television station. Multiple radio stations reported they don’t have a specific reporter to cover Indigenous issues.

“That’s the policy, right? Indians are not supposed to exist,” said Bidtah Becker, Navajo Nation Division of Natural Resources director. Becker has been collaborating between Navajo Nation and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), despite her negotiation of the Navajo Generating Station being shut down. “It’s the most reported story in Arizona. Not one of these reporters even knows who I am or that I exist,” Becker said. “Like, how can they report on the story when they don’t even know who the lead negotiator for the Navajo Nation is?”

The turning point for the Native Americans to shift to a brighter future was the nomination of Secretary Deb Haaland as the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary in 2019. Shortly after the severe impact on Indigenous people from the pandemic, the Bureau of Indian Education released the Coronavirus Relief Fund to address immediate needs, improve support, and develop mid-to-long-term infrastructure capacity in Indian tribal communities. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau, there are 9.7 million Native Americans, and a quarter of Native Americans live on reservations or other trust lands. The study by Princeton University researchers stated that people living on reservations seem especially vulnerable to the virus due to high poverty rates.

“Lo and behold Covid hits, and people are like No! You should exist,” Becker said.

“I definitely want to commend the Biden administration for all of the work that they’ve done for Indian country. I mean, everything,” said Michel Lenihan, As the communication manager at Oregon Native American Chamber. Lenihan also witnessed the raising of media attention at the White House Tribal Nations Summit at the beginning of December. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the first in-person summit on tribal affairs in six years. They pledged commitment to bolster new tribal consultation policies and direct funding to several tribes to combat climate change. Several tribal leaders and experts spoke on important issues for Native Americans, including Isabel Coronado, a research scholar in the Litmus program at NYU’s Marron Institute and a citizen of the Muscogee Nation.

When discussing breaking the generation cycle, Coronado thinks the most important thing for Native Americans and new generations is to find mentorship and inspire people to look up to them. “My mom had to fight to get me through school, and so it was my mom battering herself that helped me break that cycle,” Coronado said.