On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s congressional map, ruling that it relied too heavily on race in redrawing district lines—a decision that deals a major blow to the Voting Rights Act. Its impact reaches far beyond Louisiana, opening the door for states to more easily dilute the voting power of Native Americans and other communities of color. Here is how Indian Country reacted:
Rep. Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk Nation), Democrat – Kansas – 3rd Congressional District
Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), former U.S. Secretary of the Interior and New Mexico Gubernatorial Candidate
The Supreme Court’s decision today weakens the Voting Rights Act and puts our democracy at risk. This ruling makes it easier to silence voters.
Ahead of November’s elections, the Supreme Court is doing the bidding of Donald Trump and Republicans to undermine our elections and make it harder to vote against Trump’s unpopular extremist agenda. This is not the only way voting rights are being threatened, the SAVE Act is also moving through Congress.
I have always fought to make sure every American has the right to have their voice heard at the ballot box. And I will continue to protect that right as New Mexico’s next governor.
Native American Rights Fund and National Congress of American Indians
Today’s decision cruelly undercuts the Voting Rights Act, the foundational tool for Native voters and other voters of color to protect themselves from racial discrimination when voting, including in redistricting. This decision mocks our shared democratic principles and will have a direct impact on people’s lives. When a Tribal Nation or Native American community’s political voice is diluted, so is its ability to secure good schools, adequate infrastructure, health care access, environmental protections, and economic opportunity. Taking away voting protections, like what happened with today’s decision, makes it harder and at times impossible for Native voters to elect representatives who will respond to their needs.
Native American communities and other voters of color continue to face unique and unreasonable obstacles to voting and having their votes count. This ruling denies the reality that racial discrimination is prevalent and ongoing, but it does not change the fact it is. Indeed, the Native American Rights Fund has never lost on the merits of any redistricting lawsuit it has brought on behalf of Native people and Native Nations seeking to protect the civil rights of their citizens. In just the last five years NARF and our partners have successfully brought cases in Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and North Dakota. Across this nation, the Voting Rights Act once stood as an important deterrent to those who would undermine the fundamental rights of Native voters, but today’s decision will embolden racial discrimination against Native voters and other voters of color.
Every voter’s voice should count. Over the more-than-fifty years since our foundings, we at the Native American Rights Fund and the National Congress of American Indians have — over and over again — joined organizers and advocates across the country to repel attacks on voting rights. In fact, every major civil rights victory in our history has grown out of a moment such as this one. We will continue to fight for justice for Native voters and all voters because our country is stronger when our democratic values are honored and every vote is protected.
Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund – Judith LeBlanc (Caddo), Executive Director
The Supreme Court’s decision to gut the Voting Rights Act will deny Native peoples and other communities of color the equal right to representation at all levels of government. The majority of justices have just decimated the cornerstone of a multiracial democracy.
The Voting Rights Act was passed more than 60 years ago due to the power of a political movement that fought against the systematic and violent suppression of Black, Native, and Latino voters. Today’s ruling will have a ripple effect across the United States and Indian Country, as states seize this moment to redraw maps, restrict access, and lock Native and minority communities out of political power. The end result will be that Native peoples and communities of color will be stripped of their rights to elect representatives that reflect their values and lived experience.
The Supreme Court’s decision is another act of voter suppression. Across Indian Country, voter ID laws, mail-in ballot laws, and access to polling stations restrict Native peoples’ equal access to vote. But we are not powerless. Our people have been fighting against these systems for centuries. We have faith in the rising awareness of the need to protect all of our communities and continue to resist, adapt, and fight.
We will ensure our voices are heard by mobilizing and organizing with allies on the ground just as the Civil Rights movement did over 60 years ago. We will demand that elected officials act to protect our tattered democracy and uphold laws meant to promote a multiracial democracy. And importantly, we must exercise our rights and vote this November.
Arizona Native Vote – Jaynie Parrish (Navajo), Founder and Executive Director
We’re continuing to see the dismantling of our democracy right before our eyes.
Today’s ruling is heartbreaking and infuriating, and it should light a fire in every one of our community members. Let it serve as motivation to vote—and to bring your family, your whole clan, with you in the primary and general elections.
This ruling impacts all of us. NARF says this is a demolition of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The Brennan Center said the Supreme Court is destroying the VRA, and the ACLU said this is a devastating attack from the Court that dismantles protections for Black and Brown voters across the country.
No doubt it’s disappointing. It adds to the weight of the work, and we’ll see more challenges. This decision takes us back decades. It’s one more thing we have to fight.
I’m sharing with our team today that, yes, it’s easy to get discouraged—but we also come from a long line of fighters. We have to keep pushing forward, not only for this generation but for the generations ahead, just as our parents, grandparents, and ancestors did for us. It’s not going to be easy—it never is—and we will need everyone in this fight. I’m sharing these words with community members on a regular basis: “If you don’t know it already, your vote—your voice—is more powerful than you think.” I hope they take this to heart and connect to the issues they care about, especially this year in the midterm elections.
What is our team sharing with community members?
That if you are being harmed by cuts to SNAP benefits, health care, education, veterans’ services, housing, and more, this is a critical time to act and get involved.
We want every community member to check their voter registration status today and to help at least three other family members or friends. If their address, contact information, ID, or paperwork is not up to date, help them. If they need to be registered to vote, let’s get it done. The more we help each other, the more prepared we will be as a community.
Do everything you can to help yourself and others get ready for the primary and general elections.
Then we must get everyone out to vote. That is one powerful way we fight.
The lawyers will do their work in the courts. The politicians will do theirs. Organizers and activists have their roles too. Everyday people can do great things as well. We can get ready to vote, bring others with us, and help those who need it.
Also, let your elected leaders know how you are being impacted, and take this as an opportunity to learn and get involved. Don’t sit this one out.
Four Directions Native Vote – OJ Semans (Rosebud Sioux), Co-Executive DirectorThis ruling today is not unexpected. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais has made Voting Rights cases under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act “Dead Upon Arrival” in most instances by allowing districts to be drawn solely through partisan gerrymandering. This new obstacle to the electoral process will further dilute the voices of minority communities and Indian Country.
