Let’s Celebrate Native Heritage Month with a Presidential Victory for Indian Country

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By Aaron Payment

November 01, 2024

Guest Opinion. LAS VEGAS —  As we enter the month of November and Native American Heritage month, I sit in the MGM Convention Center where the most recent National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Annual Convention was held this past week. When I was working on my first master’s in public administration, I had to teach my professors about tribal sovereignty. Since this time, I have trained over 30 years of annual Michigan Political Leadership Program fellows on Tribal Governance and Sovereignty as a public service over the years while directly representing my people as tribal councilor, vice chair, chair and back to tribal councilor for over 22 years.  

I have applied what I learned on Federal Indian Policy and I’d like to believe I have helped shape the direction we are moving to be truly respected as Tribal Nations.  I also served as an executive committee member for NCAI, including as first vice president.  I have testified over 30 times in Congress including on the budget for all of Indian Country for three budget cycles in the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. 

I am hoping and praying for a huge Native Vote turn out.  It is odd and many in the younger generations may not realize it has only been 100 years since we were deemed citizens even though we predate all races and waves of immigration to our lands.  While the 1924 Snyder Act recognized us as citizens, we were not guaranteed the right to vote until the 1965 Civil Rights act and to this day face discrimination at the polls. After a week at NCAI’s Annual convention, I have heard many testimonies of how our people who live in rural reservations without a street address face challenges at the polls.  

In my recent op-ed in Native News Online (Oct 26, 2024), I made parallels between two populist anti-Indian presidents.The similarities between Andrew Jackson (Indian Removal Era President) and Donald Trump are striking. Both spoke unfiltered and had clearly articulated platforms that were not supportive of Indian Country. I realize some will write off my warnings as hyperbole, but consider the waves of forward movement for Federal Indian Policy only to regress depending on the political winds. 

For example, while the 1928 Meriam Report — The Problem of Indian Administration summarized the wrongs of the past and prescribed a new way forward, but as late as the early 1970s, the Nixon Administration Department of Interior had secret plans to terminate tribes. I know this from conversations I was fortunate enough to have with John Mohawk (author of the Akwesasne Notes) who told me that he personally witnessed termination plans during the 1972 Department of Interior Building take over. These documents showed that several tribes faced termination.  

Recall the derogatory statements made by Trump about tribes on the East Coast when he tried to stop their federal recognition out of fear of casino competition. From day one as a candidate, Trump had an ax to grind against American Indians. Flash forward to his first days in office when he directed federal agencies to cut federal funding to Indian Country by 35%. Trump knows he lost the 2020 election in large part due to the Native votes in key battleground states. A citizenship test is currently being applied to voters in Arizona ~ presumably to disenfranchise Navajo, Hopi, and Pueblo voters. Fortunately, their Tribal Nations are mobilized to assist their citizens with securing documents to prove their citizenship. But, just imagine 100 years later, the Indigenous people of this land having to prove they belong and fighting for their rights as Americans.  

From my Federal Indian Policy perspective, if Trump is re-elected, Tribes face serious draconian cuts and I suspect land being taken out of trust for private speculative purposes per JD Vance’s comments during the vice presidential debate. I urge all American Indians to please exercise your solemn and sacred right as a US Citizen and vote. Don’t let your ancestors down by sitting back and not voting.  Honor them and prepare for future generations with your vote.  

Finally, please do not vote for someone who has shown his true anti-Indian self. Believe him the first time and don’t give him a second opportunity to terminate tribes. 

Dr. Aaron A Payment is an elected Tribal Council member for his tribe but submits this Opt Ed and Federal Indian Policy expert. The opinions expressed are his own.  He can be reached at [email protected].

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