Proud to raise our voices and exercise our voting rights

COUP members, Marlene Poor Bear, Gene Roach, Natalie Stites Means and Gloria Eastman. (Photo by Kirk Dickerson)

RAPID CITY – September 17th marked National Voter Registration Day, and to celebrate this important occasion, the He Sapa Voters project, part of the Community Organizing for Unified Power (COUP) Council, held a press conference at 12:00 PM. The event took place at 103-A New York St.
The press conference was held to announce a new statewide effort to register and mobilize Native voters in South Dakota: Native Vote South Dakota, a non-partisan coalition composed of organizations, tribal and community leaders. This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act, which extended the American franchise to Native people in the US in 1924.
He Sapa Voters board member and Oglala Lakota grandmother Marlene Poor Bear states, “I don’t think my ancestors would want me to be quiet. I’m urging everyone to talk to your relatives and families, to get out the Native vote.”
Important dates include the start of early voting on September 20, the voter registration deadline on October 21 and Election Day on November 5, 2024. Coalition members located in Rapid City, Lower Brule, Crow Creek, Standing Rock, Eagle Butte, Mission, Oglala Lakota and Sioux Falls will be organizing events around these key dates to support voter registration and to get out the vote for this year’s election.
“This new coalition is a call to action: we demand democracy in our own homelands. COUP Council is proud to raise our voices and exercise our voting rights,” states COUP Council Executive Director Natalie Stites Means, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and a co-founder of He Sapa Voters.
To become a member, sign-up to volunteer and receive the latest news, events and updates at www.coupcouncil.org/hesapavoters and follow He Sapa Voters and COUP Council on social media. Members of the public are invited to check on their voter registration status, register to vote and visit with the Council on important Native voter issues following the press conference.
Contact: Natalie Stites Means, Executive Director, COUP Council, info@hesapavoters.org
(605) 519-8112 office (605) 858-4917 cell

The post Proud to raise our voices and exercise our voting rights first appeared on Native Sun News Today.

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