Over 200 Native Leaders Endorse Joe Biden for President

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By Native News Online Staff

October 16, 2020

PHILADELPHIA — Over 200 American Indian leaders and influencers have endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden, the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nominee. The endorsements were announced on Thursday, Oct. 15, with 19 days until the Nov. 3 election.

The endorsement comes a week after the Biden for President campaign released the Biden-Harris Plan for Tribal Nations. 

The joint endorsement reads:

“I’M SUPPORTING JOE BIDEN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2020! I am proud to give my support for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.  As Indian Country continues to face enormous challenges to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their nations, we need  a leader who is willing to take bold action and make the investments that are needed to keep our tribal citizens safe. Throughout his tenure in the political arena, Joe Biden has demonstrated time and time again that he is a leader who understands Indian Country, and is willing to fight for the resources our tribal nations need in order to be successful. We need Joe Biden, a leader who truly understands what Tribal sovereignty is and knows how to support Tribal nations in their nation building efforts. I am proud to do everything I can to ensure that Joe Biden is elected this November and am thrilled to work with his administration to ensure Indian Country has a seat at the table of decision making in every matter that affects our people for generations to come.”             

- Signed by the following

Elected Officials:  

• Robert Miguel, Chairman, Ak-Chin Indian Community
• Mike Williams, Chair, Akiak Native Community
• Bryan Newland, President, Bay Mills Indian Community
• Rhonda Pitka, First Chief, Beaver Village Council
• Seth Elsen, Council member, Brothertown Indian Nation
• Barbara Blake, Director Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes
• Harold Frazier, Chairman, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe 
• Jefferson Keel, Lt. Gov, Chickasaw Nation
• Dennis Patch, Chairman, Colorado River Indian Tribes
• Michael Hunter, Chairman, Coyote Band
• Alex Smith, Board Member, Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes
• Floyd G. Azure, Chairman, Fort Peck Tribes
• Stephen Lewis, Governor, Gila River
• Bob Peters, Chairman, Gun Lake Tribe
• Jodie Palmer, Vice Chairman, Gun Lake Tribe
• Tommie Williamson, Treasurer, Gun Lake Tribe
• Jeff Martin, Secretary, Gun Lake Tribe
• Ben Brenner, Council Member, Gun Lake Tribe
• Nicole Overbeck, Council Member, Gun Lake Tribe
• Timothy Nuvangyaoma, Chairman, Hopi
• Clark Tenakhongva, Vice Chair, Hopi
• Christie Modlin, Tribal Secretary, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma 
• W. Ron Allen, Chairman, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe
• Erica Pinto, Chairwoman, Jamul Indian Village
• Warren Swartz, Tribal President, Keweenaw Bay
• Wendy Schlater, Vice Chairwoman, La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians 
• Michelle Beaudin, Secretary/Treasurer, Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe
• Faron Jackson, Chairman, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
• Frances Charles, Chairwoman, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
• Lawrence Solomon, Chairman, Lummi Nation 
• Henry Cagey, Councilman, Lummi Nation 
• Freddie Lane, Councilman, Lummi Nation 
• Margie Mejia, Chairwoman, Lytton Rancheria of California 
• Mark Fox, Chairman, Mandan Hidatsa Arikara 
• Rodney Butler, Chairman, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation 
• Cedric Cromwell, President, Mashpee Wampanoag
• Patrick Suarez, Councilman, Meherrin Nation
• Gabe Aguilar, President, Mescalaro Apache Tribe
• Richard Silliboy, Vice Chief, Mi'kmaq
• Melanie Benjamin, Chair, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
• Lynn Malerba, Chief, Mohegan
• John Daniels Jr, Treasurer, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe
• Jonathan Nez, President, Navajo Nation
• E. Ken Choke, Chairman, Nisqually Tribe
• Willie Frank III, 7th Council, Nisqually Tribe
• Lee Spoonhunter, Chairman, Northern Arapaho Tribe
• James Cross, Council Representative, Oglala Lakota 
• Julian R.President, President, Oglala Lakota Nation
• Brandon Yellowtail Stevens, Vice Chair, Oneida Wisconsin
• Mark Macarro, Chairman, Pechanga
• Alex Wesaw, Council Member, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi 
• Brandan Rapp, Council Member, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi 
• Gary Morseau, Council Member, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi 
• Shelley Buck, President, Prairie Island Indian Community
• Bill Sterud, Chairman, Puyallup Tribe of Indians
• Annette Bryan, Tribal Council member, Puyallup Tribe of Indians
• David Bean, Tribal Council Member, Puyallup Tribe of Indians
• Anna Bean, Tribal Council Member, Puyallup Tribe of Indians
• Fawn Sharp, President, Quinault Indian Nation
• Darrell G. Seki, Sr., Chairman, Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians
• Michael Conners, Chief, Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe 
• Thomas Wooten, Chairman, Samish Indian Nation
• Terry Rambler, Chairman, San Carlos Apache
• Kenneth Kahn, Chairman, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
• Norma Jean, Chairwoman Sauk-Suiattle Tribe 
• Aaron A. Payment, Chairman, Sault St. Marie of Chippewa
• Ricky Armstrong, President, Seneca Nation 
• Devon Boyer, Chairman, Shoshone-Bannock of Fort Hall
• Delbert Hopkins, Chairman, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate
• Guy Miller, Chairman, Skokomish Tribe
• Carol Evans, Chairwoman, Spokane Tribe of Indians 
• Shannon Holsey, President, Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians
• Leonard Forsman, Chairman Suquamish Tribe 
• Robin Sigo, Treasure, Suquamish Tribe 
• Nigel Lawrance, Secretary, Suquamish Tribe 
• Sammy Mabe, Councilman, Suquamish Tribe 
• Luther Mills, Jr., Councilman, Suquamish Tribe 
• Rich Purser, Councilman, Suquamish Tribe 
• Leon John, Senator, Swinomish
• Edward Thomas, President, Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska
• Ned Norris, Chairman, Tohono O'odham
• Teri Gobin, Chairwoman, Tulalip Tribes
• Misty Napeahi, Treasurer, Tulalip Tribes 
• Melvin Sheldon Jr., Board of Director, Tulalip Tribes 
• Marshall Pierite, Chairman, Tunica-Biloxi Tribe
• Jamie Azure, Chairman, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa
• Amber Torres, Chairwoman, Walker River Paiute Tribe
• Delano Saluskin, Chairman, Yakama Nation
• Jason Cooke, Vice Chairman, Yankton Sioux
• Deb Haaland, U.S. Rep. 1st District NM, Laguna Pueblo 
• Sharice Davids, U.S. Rep. 3rd District KS, Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin 
• Peggy Flanagan, Lt Governor Minnesota, White Earth Band of Ojibwe
• Ruth Buffalo, Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation North Dakota State House Representative District 27

Prominent Tribal Community Leader Endorsements: 

• Anathea Chino, Co-Founder & Executive Director Acoma Pueblo
• Nathan Bergerbest, Tribal Citizen Alaska Native Community
• Rose Stasco, Tribal Citizen Alaska Native Tlingit Indian
• Heather Whitemanrunshim, Citizen, Apsaalooke (Crow) Nation
• Nancy Walls, Tribal Citizen Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
• Mary Ann Andreas, Chair, CA Dem Party, Native American Caucus, Band of Mission Indians
• Leroy Bingham, Tribal Planner Blackfeet
• Robert Black, Former Director Bureau of Indian Affairs
• Judith LeBlanc, Tribal Citizen Caddo of Oklahoma 
• Gwen Carr, Matriarch Cayuga Nation of New York 
• Keith Harper, Former U.S. Ambassador, DNC Native Caucus Treasure, Cherokee Nation 
• Mary Smith, Former Chief Ex., Indian Health Service Cherokee Nation
• LaRenda Morgan, Tribal Citizen Cheyenne Arapaho 
• Leon Farve, Tribal Citizen Chickasaw 
• Dawn Houle, President/CEO Chippewa Cree
• Debra Vinson, Ex. Board Member California Democratic Party, Choctaw
• Chris Roberts, Councilmember City of Shoreline, Choctaw Nation of OK
• Karina Walters, Professor Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
• Kalyn Free, National Committeewoman Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma 
• Teresa Wall, Choctaw/Pima
• Paulette Jordan, DNC Native Caucus Vice Chair, Coeur d’Alene Tribe
• Yvette Joseph, MSW 6th Leg. District State Committee Person Colville Confederated Tribes
• LaDonna Harris, Founder & President Americans for Indian Opportunity Comanche
• Laura Harris, Executive Director Americans for Indian Opportunity Comanche
• Kathryn Tijerina, Board Member Comanche Nation
• Alice Kassanavoid, Commissioner Chair Comanche Nation (Gaming Commission) 
• Ellen Swaney, Tribal Citizen Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation
• Anna Whiting Sorrell Public Health Advocate Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
• Debra Call, Former Knik Tribal President Dena'ina Knik Tribal Council
• Debbie Nez-Manuel, DNC Committee Woman Diné - Navajo
• Roxanne Fallon, Tribal Citizen Paiute Shoshone Tribe
• Manilan Houle, Tribal Citizen Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
• Natalie ONeal, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Nevada Native Caucus Treasurer Ft Peck Assiniboine of Montana
• Jacqueline Thomay, Tribal Citizen Gila River
• Cindy Haida, Tribal Citizen Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska
• Priscilla Hensley, Tribal Citizen Iñupiaq/Native village of Kotzebue 
• Janice Jones, Schroeder Community Member Lumbee
• Rose Lowry-Townsend, Lumbee 
• Julie Johnson, Chair Native American Caucus, WA State Democrats Lummi
• Joseph McGimpsey, WA. St. 24th L.D. State Committeeman Makah
• James Baker, Community Member Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nation
• Patrick Suarez, Citizen Meherrin Nation 
• Pamala Silas, Community Member Menominee
• Sarah Young Bear-Brown, Vice Chair Native Americans Caucus for Iowa Democratic Party, Meskwaki Nation 
• Prairie Rose Seminole, Program Manager MHA Nation 
• Colin Cash, Co-founder Sober Squad, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
• Sandi Brewster-Walker, Executive Director & Government Affairs Officer Montaukett Indian Nation (Long Island NY)
• Lauren King, Attorney and Tribal Court Judge Muscogee (Creek) Nation
• Richard Archambault Muscogee (Creek) Nation
• Cynthia Sanders, Professor and Farmer Muscogee Creek Nation
• Richard Archambault, Community Member Muskogee (Creek) & Standing Rock Sioux
• Sylvia Lange, Elder Native Village of Eyak
• Chuck Degnan, Secretary Native Village of Unalakleet 
• Ethel Branch, Founder of Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund Navajo
• Kraynal Alfred, Community Member Navajo
• Miranda Hoskie, Entrepreneur Navajo
• Charles Galbraith, Tribal Citizen Navajo Nation
• Joe Salazar, Community Member Ndee (Jicarilla Apache)
• Carrie Brown, Tribal Citizen Nenana Native Village
• Loretta Bullard, Retired Former President of Kawerak Inc. Nome Eskimo Community
• Bunny Hatcher, Community Member Northern Cheyenne
• Crystal Cavalier, President, NCDP Native American Caucus Occaneechi Band of Saponi Nation
• Mercedes Krause Clark, County Nevada Native American Caucus Oglala Lakota
• Kevin Killer, State Senator Oglala Lakota 
• Katie Fire, Thunder Activist, and Granddaughter to first female president of the Oglala Lakota Sioux, Cecilia Firethunder Oglala Lakota Sioux 
• Brian Garcia, VP Tempe Union HS Board Pascua Yaqui Tribe
• Lucille Echohawk, Metro Denver Indian Community Leader Pawnee
• Raina Thiele, Tribal Citizen Pedro Bay Village 
• Teresa Melendez, Vice Chair, Nevada Statewide Native American Caucus Pokagon Band Potawatomi
• Jennifer Wolf, Tribal Citizen Ponca, Ojibwe, Santee
• Tracy Stanhoff, Business Leader & Former Tribal Chair Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
• Michelle (Macuar) Sparck, President, ArXotica Qissunamiut
• Hunter Boldt, Executive Director Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians
• Aaron Wittnebel, State Council Member Red Lake Nation
• Brian Melendez, Chair of the Nevada Statewide Native American Caucus Reno-Sparks Indian Colony
• Larry Cordier, Tribal Organizer Rosebud Sioux
• Christina Blackcloud, IA House District 72 Candidate Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa
• Alvin Warren, Former Secretary of Indian Affairs, NM, Santa Clara Pueblo
• Dave Warren, Community Member Santa Clara Pueblo (tewa)
• Melinda Stade, Community Member Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community 
• Jeanette Wolfley, Special Counsel Shoshone-Bannock Tribes 
• Charlene Teters, Professor Emeritus, Institute of American Indian Arts Spokane Nation
• Mary Kunesh-Podein, State Representative Standing Rock Lakota 
• Brian Cloodsby, Former Chairman, Swinomish Tribe 
• “ska je tah lo” Lona Wilbur, Past WSD DNC / VC 10th LD Democrats / Elder Swinomish
• Ellany Kayce, Board Chair Nakani Native Program Tlingit Nation
• Joanne Romero, Tribal Citizen Tohono O'odham
• Diane Doctor, Tribal Citizen Tonawanda Seneca
• Deborah Parker, Former Vice Chair Tulalip Tribes
• Rion Ramirez, DNC Native Caucus Chair Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians
• Anita Fineday Former Tribal Chief Judge White Earth Nation
• Jennifer Jermaine State Representative AZ LD18  White Earth Ojibwe
• Keely Purscell, Tribal Activist Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.   
• Kouslaa Kessler-Mata, Chair and Professor, Politics, University of San Francisco, yak tityu tityu Chumash
• Mariana Harvey, Tribal Citizen Yakama Nation
• Patricia Whitefoot, Educator/Advocate Yakama Nation
• Matt Tomaskin, WA State Native Caucus Co-Chair Yakama Nation
• Dawn Beauty, Tribal Citizen Yavapai-Apache 
• Susan Masten, Former & President National Congress of American Indians, Yurok Tribe

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