Shondiin Silversmith Indian Country Today Arizona tribal leaders, advocates, community members and organizations are celebrating the 75th anniversary this month of Indigenous people in Arizona earning the right to vote.
People are also reading… “Arizona has been described as ground zero for restrictive voting laws since the last election,” said Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis. Even after gaining the right to vote in 1948, Native voters still face obstacles to casting their ballot, from voter suppression to racial discrimination.
That attempt failed when the Arizona Supreme Court determined that, although Indigenous people of tribal nations in Arizona were state residents, they could not vote because they were considered under federal guardianship. “In a democracy, suffrage is the most basic civil right since its exercise is the chief means whereby other rights may be safeguarded,” Arizona Supreme Court Justice Levi Udall wrote in the opinion that established Indigenous people’s right to vote in the state.
Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS Feed | Omny Studio 'We have come so far'Several tribal leaders, advocates, community organizers, youth and community members gathered to honor the efforts of all 22 tribal nations in Arizona to protect and honor the Native right to vote.
“That historic theft occurred at a time when we couldn’t vote,” Lewis said. “When we didn’t have those basic civil rights to be able to advocate and to vote for leaders that would protect our sovereignty and our water rights.” Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Tribal Council Member Mikah Carlos said it’s important for Indigenous communities to unite like this because they have been fighting hard to obtain their basic civil rights.
Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: latimes - 🏆 11. / 82 Read more »
Source: FoxNews - 🏆 9. / 87 Read more »