Guide to The Fifty: Native American Voting Rights
Alaska, South Dakota and North Dakota
This set of posts focuses specifically on states with high proportions of Native American residents. While I often approach voting rights issues through a Black lens, Indigenous peoples also have a long history of voter disenfranchisement that persists to this day. Their experience with racism parallels the Black American experience as the forced relocation, social isolation and political exclusion of Indigenous peoples across America was perpetrated by the state. Remedies are necessary and the extensive documentation of past injustices against Native Americans can help provide us with a path forward.
Interested in supporting the cause? Consider donating to the Native American Rights Fund.
Alaska: Historical Disenfranchisement
While Alaska has the largest proportion of Indigenous residents of any state within the US, disenfranchisement of the Alaskan Native population continues to be a significant problem to this day.
South Dakota: Ongoing Disenfranchisement
Counties with majority Native American populations saw significantly lower turnout than White-majority counties, a signal of ongoing voter disenfranchisement.
North Dakota: Oil fields vs. Reservations
While the state’s recent oil boom has brought political fortunes to the Republican party, that boom has begun to bust, threatening the economic prospects of North Dakota voters.
