Cultural ties vital to Native civic engagement

Grantees overcome deliberate barriers

Civic engagement groups working in Native communities weave the connections between Tribal governments, voter engagement coalitions, elders and young Native leaders, and Native artists that strengthen cultural ties while elevating their power in U.S. elections.

2024 marked 100 years since Native Americans were legally granted U.S. citizenship, and today they are organizing to overcome the deliberate barriers that discourage their full participation in U.S. democracy. Many Native voters must travel long distances to polling locations and have limited access to quality information about the issues at stake in each election. They must also overcome unique voter ID and proof-of-address challenges in places with significant, chronic underinvestment.

Tribal voter ID guide educates communities

Heartland supports grantees that are taking these barriers head on with culturally resonant outreach. In the Midwest, Miigwech and Wisconsin Native Vote collaborated with Tribal governments to provide proof of address through mail pieces, and ensured Tribal IDs were accepted as voter ID. Their SkoVOTEden campaigns featured billboards, mail, and digital ads created by Native artists, along with cultural events. Miigwech provided voter education alongside copper pounding, cattail mat, and ribbon workshops and created a Tribal voter ID guide. Wisconsin Native Vote also hosted basketball tournaments with civic engagement-themed community murals.

Wingbeat 88 in Arizona bases its nonpartisan voter engagement in the kinship and ancestral clan system at the foundation of social relationships in Diné/Navajo communities. Their organizing builds power and agency — addressing the high rates of gendered violence through advocacy and healing groups, alongside civic engagement efforts. In 2024, Wingbeat 88 scaled up their organizing, talking with 167,500 voters, and registering 11,500 through its Tsidi Project.

Heartland grantees’ deep relationships in Tribal communities are essential for progress towards full Native representation, civic participation, and agency in decisions that impact Native community resources.

Photo at top: Wingbeat 88 organizers meet voters where they are, with canvassers reaching rural community members across Apache, Navajo, Coconino, and Yavapai counties.