Killer meets with VP and Interior Secretary in Washington

PINE RIDGE—Oglala Sioux Tribal (OST) President Kevin Killer attended a meeting in Washington DC chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. Killer addressed the concerns of OST about the marginalization of the Native American vote, drawing on his experience as a South Dakota State legislator to deliver a well written speech in a statesman like manner.

On July 27, 2021, a group of Native American leaders met with the Vice President and Secretary Haaland at the White House in the Vice President’s office. There were many contributing factors limiting the ability of tribal voters to exercise their franchise. Besides Killer, present at that meeting were Allie Young, of the Navajo Nation; Chairwoman Shelly Fyant, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Montana; President Julie Kitka, Alaska Federation of Natives; and Prairie Rose Seminole, Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of North Dakota.

“One of our Tribe’s highest priorities is to ensure that Oglala Lakota people can fully participate in the political process through voting,” Killer told the gathering. “But we continue to face obstacles to getting our ballots cast. Voting should be easy and encouraged, not difficult and discouraged. I would like to take this opportunity to present to you the landscape of barriers to voting that our people face on the Pine Ridge Reservation.”

The first barrier Killer addressed was the geographic barrier: “Our Reservation is extremely rural and remote, and our road system is substandard, and we have few polling locations. Many of our tribal citizen’s lack access to reliable transportation because they do not have cars or gas money. Even if they have cars, our road system on Pine Ridge is deplorable, with weather often making roads impassable.”

Killer than explained how South Dakota voter laws “exacerbate these problems. To register to vote in South Dakota, you must have a photo ID that includes a residential mailing address. Our tribal citizens often don’t have traditional residential mailing addresses and instead receive mail through P.O. Boxes due to the rural and remote nature of Pine Ridge. They also often rely on their tribal IDs as their primary form of identification. To cast an absentee ballot, we must either submit a photocopy of an acceptable photo ID card with our absentee ballot or have a public officer notarize the application. Businesses that offer photocopying and notary services are few and far between on Pine Ridge.”

Killer also asserted that South Dakota officials undermine the efforts of political candidates to “engage with our communities in a culturally appropriate manner. In 2010, Democratic Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin served chili and fry bread at her early voting rallies on reservations in South Dakota in an effort to show respect and align with the traditions of the Native communities she visited. Her campaign also offered to transport voters to polling locations. Republicans characterized these events as a ‘food-for-votes scheme,’ despite having provided food at their own campaign rallies in other parts of the State. The Republican Attorney General of South Dakota Mike Barnett sent a letter to both parties saying state and federal laws barred giving items of value in exchange for votes, which included ‘simply offering to provide a meal in exchange for showing up to vote.’”

Killer explained how Lakota traditionally hold important meeting over meals, where gifts are exchanged out of mutual respect: “This was not food in exchange for votes. Sharing meals is part of our culture. It is a sign of respect for us that Representative Herseth Sandlin brought food to our community and provided a meal to anyone who attended the event. That is our tradition and she was trying to honor it.”

Killer told the Vice President and Interior Secretary that the tribe needed campaigning guidelines that recognized and respected cultural traditions.

Killer next addressed how state agencies are suppressing the Native vote through policies resulting from the National Voter Registration Act. He described several incidents where the actions of the Department of Social Services and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) defended as policy, denied voters the right to vote over mere technicalities. In many cases the DMV did not bother to turn in voter registrations submitted by Natives.

Killer next spoke about the impact the Native vote can have on election outcomes: “Over half of the States have a sizeable Native population. When barriers to our participation are removed, we make a difference in local, state, and federal elections.”

Nineteen years ago, John Thune went to bed way ahead in his senate race against incumbent Tim Johnson. Thune was the GOP Golden Boy who had never tasted defeat. The only county left to tally was Shannon County on the Pine Ridge Reservation, and when Thune woke up next day, that county had gone overwhelmingly for Johnson, and Johnson held onto his senate seat by a 528-vote whisker. So, Killer’s assertion was far from hyperbole.

Killer then implored of his hosts: “We need your Administration to carry out the trust responsibility it owes to Native people and increase pressure on Congress to pass comprehensive voting rights legislation.”

Killer listed the following steps to achieve that:

• Pass the Native American Voting Rights Act (attach it to any voting bill that moves – the civil rights community is supportive. It will be introduced soon. In 2019 the bill was bipartisan (Rep. Cole supported) and we think it will be again; the federal government has authority under the federal trust responsibility to enact it; and it remedies issues unique to Native communities by mandating on reservation polling and registration)
• Involve DOJ in upcoming redistricting cases. There are still “at large” elections being used in Indian Country at the county level that are diluting Native American power.
• Every federal agency that interacts with tribes should be required to offer registration ( IHS, BIA, Department of Agriculture when distributing SNAP benefits).
• A point of contact at the USPS to start addressing the lack of residential addressing and lack of residential mail delivery which makes it very difficult to register to vote and vote by mail.

Killer closed his comments by inviting the Biden Administration to the Pine Ridge Reservation: “We would be honored to have you as our guest on our lands, and we would like to facilitate your learning about our issues by witnessing them firsthand.”

While previous Democratic Administrations have not achieved any actual accomplishments that benefit Indian Country any more than GOP administrations, the invitation by the Vice President and Interior Secretary was extraordinary and promising. The recent gubernatorial election between Governor Noem and Democrat Billie Sutton was close, and should Sutton choose to run against any GOP candidate in the next gubernatorial contest, any improvements that increase Native turnout at the polls could be the difference in a Sutton upset.

(Contact James Giago Davies at skindiesel@msn.com)

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