[sense of place]
THE YEAR OF THE
NATIVE VOTER? NOT YET. By Mark Trahant
I had 2016’s headline already written: The Year of the Native Voter. There were, after all, a record-breaking number of American Indians and Alaska Natives running for public office across the country, as well as several state programs designed to increase turnout. These efforts built on decades of promise, a step-by-step effort to increase ballot access, recruit strong candidates, and create enthusiasm for the election process in Indian Country. As it turned out, 2016 was just another building year. The long-term goal of making sure Native Americans have fair representation in federal, state, and county governments remains distant. Consider Congress: Native Americans make up about 2 percent of the country’s population (concentrated in a few states), yet the representation in Congress is 0.37 percent, about one-third of 1 percent or two members. At one point this summer, there were nine candidates for Congress, including several who had experience and the ability to raise serious money in their quest. After election day, the only two who won were those reelected from Oklahoma. No change. 26
