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Read Our Report ADVANCE NATIVEPOLITICAL LEADERSHIP ADVANCE NATIVE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP ADDRESSING THE STRENGTHS, STRUCTURAL BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO GETTING NATIVE AMERICANS INTO ELECTED LEADERSHIP CHRISSIE CASTRO ANATHEA CHINO LAURA HARRIS OCTOBER 2016 CONTENTS Acknowledgements 4 Introduction 7 Contextualizing Native American Political Participation 9 Methodology 10 Understanding the National Landscape 10 What’s Worked 11 National Barriers to Electing Native American Elected Officials 19 Recommendations to Create a Native American Candidate Pathway 26 Candidate Pathway Project 30 A Deeper Dive on Select Geographies 31 New Mexico 33 California 43 About the Authors 52 Notes 53 ADVANCE NATIVE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP ADVANCE NATIVE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS McCool, Daniel Ruark-Thompson, Courtney (Cherokee) Professor, University of Utah Chief of Staff, The Management Center We would like to thank all of the leaders McCoy, John (Tulalip) Roybal Caballero, Patricia (Piro Manso Tiwa) that contributed their knowledge, voice and Haaland, Debra (Laguna Pueblo) Washington State Senator, District 38 New Mexico State Representative District 13 wisdom to this report. State Chair, New Mexico Democratic Party McLean, Marci (Amskapii Piikani, Salazar, Martha Andrade, Ron (Luiseno) Harris, Laura (Comanche) Blackfeet) Senior Policy Specialist, National Caucus of Executive Director, Los Angeles City/ Executive Director, Americans for Indian Executive Director, Western Native Voice Native American State Legislatures County Native American Indian Commission Opportunity Mendoza, Bill (Oglala-Sicangu Lakota) Garbani Sanchez, Corrina (Luiseño) Barudin, Ann (Kewa) Harris, LaDonna (Comanche) Executive Director, White House Initiative Councilmember, Pechanga Band of Luiseno Board Member, Native American Voter’s President, Americans for Indian Opportunity on American Indian and Alaska Native Alliance Jackson, Sharon (Navajo) Education Sandy, Joan Marie (Zuni/Choctaw) Alumnus, Emerge New Mexico Alumus, Emerge New Mexico Begaye, Catherine (Navajo) Newton, Luke Alumnus, Emerge New Mexico Jimenez, Alexis (Pawnee/Comanche) Senior Program Officer, Common Counsel Totten, Gloria Alumnus, Emerge New Mexico Odio, Carlos Former President, Progressive Majority and Blain, Ludovic Managing Director, Florida Alliance and Founder and President, Public Leadership Director, Progressive Era Project Johnson, Julie Saw’Leit’Sa (Lummi) Chair, Florida for All Institute Chair, Washington State Democratic Party Byrd, Jessica Native Caucus Oretga, Jr., Rudy (Fernandeño Tataviam) Trahant, Mark (Shoshone-Bannock Tribes) Owner & Principal Strategist, Three Point Chairman, Los Angeles City/County Native Journalist, Trahantreports.com and Professor, Strategies Jordan, Paulette (Coeur d’Alene) American; Tribal President, Fernandeño University of North Dakota Idaho House of Representatives, District 5A Tataviam Band of Mission Indians Chino, Anathea (Acoma Pueblo) Warren, Alvin (Santa Clara Pueblo) Strategic Initiatives Director, UltraViolet and Killer, Kevin (Oglala Sioux) Parker, Deborah (Tulalip) Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, President, Anathea Chino LLC South Dakota State Representative and Democratic National Convention’s Platform and former Lieutenant Governor, Santa Treasurer, National Conference of State Committee Member, and former Vice- Clara Pueblo Ellis, Kimberly Legislators Native Caucus chairperson, Tulalip Tribe Executive Director, Emerge California Weahkee, Laurie (Diné, Cochiti and Zuni Koob, Julianna Phillips, Steve Pueblo) Fairbanks, Leroy (Ojibwe) Founder, Emerge New Mexico Author, Brown is the New White Executive Director, Native American Voter Leech Lake Tribal Council’s District III Alliance Representative Little, Charlotte (San Felipe/Taos Pueblos) Poston, L. Stephine (Sandia Pueblo) Board President, Emerge New Mexico Founder and President, Poston and Zamarin, Kim Flanagan, Peggy (Ojibwe) Associates, LLC Founding Board Member & Former Minnesota State Representative District Louis, Georgene (Pueblo of Acoma) Treasurer, Emerge New Mexico 46A New Mexico State Representative, District Proudfit, Joely (Luiseño) 26 Department Chair and Professor of *Additional contributors preferred to not be Free, Kalyn (Choctaw) American Indian Studies and Director of the named. Attorney, Political Consultant, and President Martinez Ortega, Julie California Indian Culture and Sovereignty and Founder, INDN’s List 2005-2011 Senior Advisor, PowerPAC+ Center, San Marcos This report was made possible by the Women Donors Network Reflective Democracy Gomez Daly, Michael McAfee, Rhiannon Roberts, Chris (Choctaw) Campaign, http://wholeads.us. Political Director, PowerPAC Los Angeles Executive Director, Engage San Diego Mayor, City of Shoreline, Washington Office 4 5 ADVANCE NATIVE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP ADVANCE NATIVE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP INTRODUCTION Native Americans make up less than 2 percent of the total U.S. population yet have been credited with heavily influencing outcomes of a number of local, state and national elections. This is despite the fact that the 567 federally recognized and 460 unrecognized tribes have unique nation-to-nation relationships with the federal government and histories of political participation that is much different from other racial and ethnic groups. Complex historical and contemporary factors, affect the level and depth of engagement of Native Americans in the political system, contributing to drastic underrepresentation as elected leaders at every level of government. A study conducted by the Women Donors Network of more than 41,000 elected officials from county to federal levels found that 90 percent of elected officials are white, while only .03 percent of elected officials are Native American.i 6 7 ADVANCE NATIVE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP ADVANCE NATIVE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP Between 2000 and 2010, the American Indian/Alaska Native population in CONTEXTUALIZING NATIVE AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTICIPATION the United States increased to 5.2 million citizens from 4 million – an increase of 30 percent.ii Native American tribes have unique nation-to-nation relationships with the federal government that are based on the U.S. Constitution and international treaty law. Before Population increases over the next several decades are expected to accelerate and the founding of the United States, European countries made hundreds of international reflect the demographic projections of the changing electorate.iii The projected majority- treaties with Native American tribes that promised resources, such as health and education, minority population shift that will occur in the next fifty years will create a new American in perpetuity – often in exchange for land and peace provisions. The United States assumed majority. Investment in increasing Native American representation in elected offices is a those treaties once it was founded and made dozens of its own. Through these treaties, critical endeavor for securing a reflective democracy for all Americans – one in which the Native Americans are recognized as members of sovereign nations, not simply members country benefits from the leadership and talents of Native peoples and is responsive to of an ethnic minority. Native tribes are also very diverse. Each sovereign tribal nation has a the assets and issues of Native citizens.iv Yet to secure that future, an understanding of the long history of sophisticated forms of governance, education, social structures, language and current landscape, including strengths and challenges, is required. culture. Through a series of key informant interviews with Native American leaders throughout The foundation of American democracy was heavily influenced by the the country, this brief seeks to provide an initial exploration of: 1) the strengths associated governance systems of the Iroquois Confederacy, which demonstrated the with recruiting and supporting qualified Native Americans to take on positions of elected possibility of a confederation of states. There was no such European alliance leadership; 2) the structural barriers experienced by Native Americans in getting elected to of nations at the time. office; and 3) recommendations on how to overcome barriers to electing Native leaders to office. At the founding of the United States, relations with tribes were managed by the Department of War, and Native peoples were seen as citizens of foreign nations. As European immigrants arrived, ELECTIONS WHERE THE NATIVE VOTE MADE A DIFFERENCE there was a push for westward expansion. U.S. federal Indian policies were enacted to remove tribal nations from their lands and abrogate treaty agreements. Alaska Native voters helped to replace a governor hostile to Native sovereignty and issues and elect allies in Gov. Bill Walker and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, a Tlingit leader, Throughout this time, Native peoples also suffered devastating population declines due ARIZONA AND in 2014.v to disease and genocide, which decreased the population from an estimated 30 million NEW MEXICO – before contact with Europeans in 1491 to a mere 250,000 in 1890. With population levels STATES WITH Ann Kirkpatrick heavily campaigned on Navajo and Apache reservations, which she at their lowest, 20th century policies sought to further eradicate Native culture through SIZEABLE NATIVE credits for helping her to win her 2013 run for a congressional seat representing forced assimilation in boarding schools, displacement through urban relocation programs, POPULATIONS – Arizona’s first district, the congressional seat with
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