Native American Issues Archive

Did you know that before the 2006 elections, no state required a voter to present a photo ID? A bill or bank statement was enough to prove one’s identity. Since then, thirty states have enacted some form of voter ID law (including states where you can provide a non-photo ID like a voter registration card). Twelve states now require a photo ID, and some of those require that the photo IDs come from government or accredited authorities. Opponents of voter ID laws assert that many minorities, seniors, veterans, young people, and poor people are likely to be unable to vote in the next election because these ID requirements place an unnecessary burden on those groups.

On the day Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s memorial was dedicated in Washington, DC, a far-less famous hero died in Montana. She too--against impossible odds--had secured a measure of justice for her people. As her lawyer Keith Harper (Cherokee) said: “With any moment of progressive social change, there is always an iconic figure who will define that movement—the person who refused to get to the back of the bus. For Indian people, for this important cause, for this indelible change, that person was Elouise Cobell.” The cause was holding the federal government accountable for trust land and resource assets it controls and getting back billions of Indian people’s own money.

Yesterday morning, I joined a small group of people in front of the U.S. Capitol building for a prayer circle to protect Native American sacred sites. It was one of 21 prayer circles in 15 states over the course of a few days. Many tribes were represented in the handful of us that came together in DC, including Akwesasne Mohawk, Cheyenne, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), Omaha, and members from the Pueblo, Sioux, and Navajo nations. Each person shared which sacred site he or she was praying for, and what meaning the site had for its people.