SANTA FE –Institute of American Indian Arts students are part of the potential one million Native American first-time voters that Indian leaders nationwide are seeking to register for the 2004 election. Results from a recent voting survey of IAIA students by the IAIA CHRONICLE mirror national studies that show most Native Americans do not participate in national and state elections.

The IAIA CHRONICLE surveyed 31 students, 70 percent of whom were 20-25 years old. Seventy percent of the students were not registered to vote. The majority of the respondents, 83 percent, did not know their state representative.

“For some reasons unknown, Native Americans are reluctant to participate in the political process,” said NM state Rep. Irvin Harrison, D-Gallup. He pointed out that the voter turnout is “very low” in the June primary election and is “low” in the November general election. “Older American Indians tend to vote more regularly than young people do,” he added.

Multiple Reasons Behind Low Native Voter Turnout

Poverty is one of the reasons that Native Americans have a low turnout at the polls, the Associated Press recently reported. Another reason is that American Indians voters usually do not view national elections as having much role in their lives. They are twice as likely to vote in their tribal elections.

Some Indian leaders have argued that voting for federal officeholders lends support to a government that has historically been oppressive, said Geoff Peterson, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Clair who has studied Indian voter trends. Indians vote slightly less often than African Americans, and slightly more than Hispanics, he told the AP.

The 30 percent of IAIA students who were registered to vote typically felt “one vote can count,” and that they voted in the hopes of making a difference.

The following are reasons students frequently gave for why they did not register to vote:
• their vote doesn’t count
• they had a loss of confidence in the voting process and lack of a good choice in candidates (forced to pick “the lesser of two evils”)
• didn’t want to register to vote
• voting was a waste of time for a competition that is rigged or is not important
• did not know how to register or were too lazy to register.

Little Faith In The Democratic System

“I have little faith in the democratic system. I love the country but dislike government,” one student responded. Those from other states who usually voted in their home states felt they missed out because they were not home to vote.

Answers frequently given by IAIA students as to why they thought Indian people didn’t vote fell in line with reasons experts cite for low Native turnout: Indians are not represented by the democratic system, and the U.S. system is different from tribal governing systems so that Indians are not informed of issues or with how the system works. One student felt poverty was a factor in voter participation.

Other students cited reasons that reflect skepticism:
• the Native vote doesn’t make a difference
• they experienced a loss of faith after the 2000 election and where President Bush has led the country
• there is no difference between the candidates.

The AP also reported that Indian leaders say Indians must recognize that the federal government controls Indian land and provides school, law enforcement and health services on the reservation.

The Native Vote Does Make A Difference

Recent elections show that the Native vote does make a difference. Gore, for instance, won in New Mexico by 366 votes. His win was attributed to Native voters. Native Americans in Washington state voted out Republican Sen. Slade Gorton who opposed tribal governance and mining, and he lost by 2,000 votes. Nine thousand Native Indians voted for the first time in that election.

Native leaders are concerned with promoting Native people to get out and vote. Harrison said, “This year, the Moving America Forward Campaign is targeting Native Americans and Hispanic voters, especially in New Mexico and Arizona, to get out and vote.”

“The National Congress of American Indians has consistently sponsored a booth at the Gathering of Nation’s Pow wow in Albuquerque, where Native American Indians can register to vote,” said IAIA student, dg nanouk okpik, an Inupiat and Inuit Alaskan Native. Alaska has the highest percentage rate of Native voters at 16.6 percent. The Alaskan natives have educated themselves about election processes and know that their votes count when it comes to getting people into offices that would benefit their people and their lands, said dg.

The National Indian Education Association also set up a voter registration booth at the Gathering of Nations powwow in April, she said.

To Vote Or Not To Vote

In the upcoming 2004 election, 39 percent of IAIA students surveyed plan to vote; 13 percent were undecided about voting, and 48 percent probably won’t vote.

Nationwide, CNN recently reported that 21 percent of college students said they probably would vote; 9 percent may or may not vote; 8 percent said they probably won’t vote.

IAIA database administrator, Ethan Bach, launched a Register to Vote campaign at the IAIA Community Gathering in April and was assisted by Native Circle staff member, Diane Reyna, and IAIA students, Joy Farley, Sharon Freemont, Natasha Martinez and a Chronicle reporter.

They distributed voter registration forms to IAIA community members and then mailed them in. Ten people registered and two had a change of address. Thirty-five others said they registered online through the link that Bach emailed to the IAIA community.

Copyright © IAIA CHRONICLE 2004