Ottawa County Tribes unite to boost Native voter turnout
MIAMI, Okla. — Representatives from the nine different Ottawa County tribes participate in an event to get more Native Americans to vote.
"When everybody votes, everybody wins," said Ben Barnes, Shawnee Tribe Chief.
The "Warrior Up to Vote Tour" kicked off in Miami before making stops throughout the state of Oklahoma over the next several weeks.
"In 1996, Oklahoma was 26th in the nation in voter turnout. And today we're 50th... so, native country has an opportunity to really be a large... to make a difference in this election," said Barnes.
"That's a right that many have fought for, for us to have that right to vote. Here in our state, county, I don't care if it's a school board election, especially when we're looking at the leadership of the United States," said Margo Gray, United Indian Nations of Oklahoma Executive Director.
Ottawa County's nine tribes are joining the "United Indian Nations of Oklahoma" to encourage all 38 member-tribes in the state to become active voters.
The hope is the right people will be elected to respect and uphold tribal sovereignty.
"The more we can help educate people and understand exactly what that truly means, whether it's in terms of land, energy, food... these are all components of sovereignty that we all need to work toward getting people into office, that understand that, so that they can put forward Native American interests," said Wena Supernaw, Quapaw Nation Business Committee Chair.
"When we have city, county, and state representatives that don't even understand the tribes that are in their corner... in their corner of the state," said Barnes.
Participants say health care and education are also important issues for tribal members.
They say the state is next-to-last in education, despite gaming money from tribes going directly to education.
"The only way we're ever going to be able to make an impact on local, state, and federal elections is if we not only get people registered to vote, but also to show up to vote," said Supernaw.
They hope that sentiment spreads across the country.
"For tribal nations, like myself, we have citizens in all 50 states, so it's important that we vote because we represent a broad cross section of America," said Barnes.
