In July, Western Native Voice launched the Natives on the Votepath tour throughout Montana’s Native American communities to register voters for this year’s upcoming election. The crew is going door-to-door for a month, starting in Fort Peck, and traveling through reservation and urban neighborhoods to encourage people to register and inform citizens about ballot initiatives.
“Now is the time to build on the resilience of our ancestors and take control of our future and one way to do that is by taking control of choosing our leaders,” Western Native Voice field manager Alissa Snow said.
The votes of Native American people have proven to be very important to candidates in recent voting years with Congressional candidate Denise Juneau, Governor Steve Bullock and Senator Jon Tester largely crediting their success to the Native American voters in previous elections.
Native Americans have only been able to vote since 1965 with their voting numbers being low historically. In addition, candidates have had a tendency to overlook Indian communities when campaigning nationwide.
“Our communities are in crisis. We’re hurting. We’re losing our loved ones at alarming rates to drugs, alcohol and disease, so voting isn’t at the front of everyone’s mind. They don’t see the connection between voting and long-term solutions to today’s problems,” Snow said.
The group spent three days on the Fort Peck reservation in northeast Montana, registering voters door-to-door, at local businesses, and at the tribal council. They also took time at the tribal jail to provide information about Medicaid to the prisoners.
“We’re here to remind them that they have the power to create change—change that will improve the lives of their families for generations to come. Voting is just one way to realize that power,” Snow said.
Tour schedule
| Natives on the Votepath 2016 Tour
Voter Registration Drives 10:00 a.m.- 7:00 p.m. |
|
| July 22-23 | Fort Peck |
| July 25 | Billings |
| July 29 | Great Falls |
| July 27 | Fort Belknap |
| July 28 | Rocky Boy |
| July 29 | Great Falls |
| July 30-31 | Browning |
| August 2-3 | Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes |
| August 4 | Missoula |
| August 9 | Crow |
| August 10 | Northern Cheyenne |