Community News

Indigenous-Led Radical Registration Telethon To Bring The Frontlines To The Polls

Groundbreaking Online Voter Registration Campaign, At Radicalizethevote.org, Will Build Centralized Indigenous Voter Registration List To Get Out The Vote In Record Numbers During Covid-19

Turtle Island (August 1, 2020) – This November the U.S. and Tribal Nations face one of the most important Presidential elections in recent history. However, COVID-19 has presented a massive challenge to traditional GOTV efforts and so Seeding Sovereignty has created an online campaign to Radicalize the Vote in order to inspire Indigenous and frontlines folks to register and vote. At the center of this campaign is a website that hosts the portal at radicalizethevote.org where we have Indigenized the process of voting to build a centralized Indigenous voter registration list. This is a coalition effort and we are elated to announce that our first Indigenous partner organization is the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). At this time, we encourage other organizations and Tribal Nations across the country to join this campaign to inspire their relatives and communities to get out the vote!

“This is Indian Country’s opportunity to be seen and be heard,” says Lycia Maddocks, NCAI Vice President of External Affairs. “The decisions we make today will set the standard for how Native people are represented going forward. We must express the diversity, strength and resilience that we have and ensure that we take the lead on creating what the future looks like for the next Seven Generations. The power that we can be expressed through the Native Vote.”

To promote this unique Indigenous voter registration portal, we have organized a 12-hour online Indigenous Radical Registration Telethon scheduled for August 29th with an amazing line-up of Indigenous leaders, artists and culture bearers who will virtually attend the event to speak, sing and dance. The telethon will be broadcast through radicalizethevote.org and moderated remotely by Indigenous hosts across the nation. A social media toolkit and educational resources are also available on the website to help all coalition members promote the event in their states and communities.

An integral part of the telethon is our nation-wide digital youth street team that will promote the event in social media groups, pages, tribal message boards and peer to peer digital tools. Our digital youth street team will be led by our SHIFT Youth Interns, Carleigh Lameman (Navajo) and Keely Driscoll (Meskwaki and Winnebago) who are coordinating efforts to text, email and send social media reminders to encourage folks to mail in their ballot after registering.

Though our portal is set up for nationwide registration, our focus is on seven states where Indigenous people have the ability to shift the vote this year. Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Utah are states that, together, encompass over one million Indigenous voters and where their vote can flip the state either way. The states of New Mexico, Alaska, Oklahoma, and South Dakota are also important as their population shares are more than 10% Native American/Alaska Native. Lastly, we are encouraging Indigenous folks to vote in district four of Iowa where Sioux City is located and where the Indigenous population can make a difference at the polls.

“Radicalize the Vote is a response to a political system that has never worked for Indian Country and why we must Indigenize Congress and implement better systems; Systems for true sovereignty, systems for reconciliation and systems for an Indigenous-led regenerative economy that go way beyond the Green New Deal.” – Sikowis, SHIFT Director, Seeding Sovereignty, Plains Cree/Saulteaux

Radicalize the Vote has the ability to make historic change and we invite all Indigenous and ally organizations and Tribal Nations to help with this effort. The idea to Radicalize the Vote comes from the power at the frontlines where Indigenous Peoples have long stood to protect their lands, their bodies, and their sovereignty. This culture of resistance is a major aspect of the Indigenous lived experience and a huge motivator to incite political engagement. Beyond merely influencing the 2020 election, Indigenous voter turnout has the potential to shift political engagement in the country for years to come.

This effort is proudly organized by Seeding Sovereignty’s SHIFT team. SHIFT stands for Seeding the Hill with Indigenous FreeThinkers and is Seeding Sovereignty’s political engagement program focused on empowering Indigenous voices, values and leadership; Particularly womxn, youth, LGBTQIA+, and Two Spirit-folx during this critical 2020 presidential election and beyond. We rally behind Indigenous-led environmental and climate justice movements as the fight for land sovereignty is at the center of every issue we face. Protection and land stewardship is a longstanding force that incites grassroots action and political engagement, which catalyzes real, lasting change.

Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization in the country. NCAI advocates on behalf of tribal governments and communities, promoting strong tribal-federal government-to-government policies, and promoting a better understanding among the general public regarding American Indian and Alaska Native governments, people and rights. For more information, visit www.ncai.org.

For more information go to: radicalizethevote.org