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- By Levi Rickert
Opinion. Last Wednesday, we observed the 60th anniversary of when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law on Aug. 6, 1965.
This federal law made several discriminatory practices illegal to protect the voting rights of racial and language minorities, particularly African Americans and Native Americans, who previously faced barriers to voting such as literacy tests and poll taxes.
While Native Americans had technically gained U.S. citizenship (and thus the right to vote) in 1924 through the Indian Citizenship Act, many Native Americans could not vote because of barriers imposed by state and local governments.
When the Voting Rights Act was enacted, it faced tremendous resistance from white Southern Democrats — the so-called “Dixiecrats” — who for decades had put those barriers in place.
Sixty years later, efforts continue to silence the votes of Native Americans, African Americans and Hispanics.
Consider what’s happening in Texas where Gov. Greg Abbott has called a special session of the Texas Legislature. The regular session ended on June 2, 2025 and, at the behest of President Donald Trump, Abbott called lawmakers back to redraw the state’s congressional districts before the 2026 midterm elections.
The proposed draft maps split Black and Hispanic communities across multiple districts, preventing them from forming a majority and electing candidates of their choice. In other areas, minority voters are packed into a few districts, reducing their influence elsewhere.
The proposed maps split Black and Hispanic communities across multiple districts, preventing them from forming a majority and electing candidates of their choice. In other areas, minority voters are packed into a few districts, reducing their influence elsewhere.
The maps also ignore the reality that Texas' population growth has come from increases in Black and Hispanic populations in the state. The redistricting plan would create five new majority white congressional districts, instead of reflecting the actual growth of the state.
The redistricting plan has been endorsed by President Donald Trump who fears the loss of Republican control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections. Abbott and other Texas Republican leaders are working hard to make it happen.
This prompted Texas Democratic state representatives to flee the state to stop the Texas Legislature from having a quorum to move the legislation forward. Abbott has ordered the arrest of the Democratic lawmakers, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is attempting to remove the Democratic lawmakers from their positions.
Americans must face the reality that what is happening in Texas is a blatant attempt to limit the ability of minority residents of the state to have true representation.
This gerrymandering — manipulating district boundaries for political advantage — diminishes democracy.
On Wednesday, the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) released a statement that sounded the alarm, stating that the Act’s passage was monumental and promised a future where the right to vote would be equally protected for all.
“But today, 60 years later, Native American voters are still fighting to access that promise. Across the country, Native communities continue to face voter suppression, racial discrimination, systemic barriers to the ballot box, and, now, a new and alarming threat to their ability to defend their rights at all,” the statement reads.
For decades, NARF has led lawsuits to advance the ability for Native Americans to exercise their rights to vote.
NARF’s statement cites a current case: Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Michael Howe. In that case, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, the Spirit Lake Tribe, and individual Native voters brought a Section 2 challenge under the Voting Rights Act against North Dakota’s legislative map, arguing that it diluted Native voting strength by splitting tribal communities across multiple districts—thereby depriving them of a fair opportunity to elect their preferred representatives.
The federal district court sided with the plaintiffs, finding that North Dakota’s legislative map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and ordering the state to redraw districts to fairly represent Native voters.
But the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals then issued a stunning ruling: private individuals and groups — like the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, the Spirit Lake Tribe, and individual Native voters — do not have the right to sue under Section 2. According to the court, only the U.S. Department of Justice may enforce those protections.
The problem today is that the U.S. Department of Justice is part of an administration that opposes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs, commonly referred to as DEI. That thinking is part of what’s driving the Texas redistricting that will diminish the voting power of those opposed to Trump’s policies.
Voting should be considered a right and sacred to all Americans.
During the 2020 Democratic National Convention, then-Congresswoman Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), one of the first Native American women elected to serve in the U.S. Congress, stressed the importance of the Native vote.
“Voting is sacred. My people know that. We were not universally granted the right to vote until 1962,” Haaland said.
She is right. Native Americans should have a voice in elections, as we are dual citizens — of this country and our tribal nations.
The Trump administration’s attempt to disenfranchise minority voters in Texas is a blatant effort to circumvent the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — sixty years later.
For millions of African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics, it’s time to fight back against this injustice.
Thayék gde nwéndëmen - We are all related.
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