Tribal leaders welcome vice presidential candidate Tim Walz to Arizona

Before Gila River Gov. Stephen Roe
Lewis welcomed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to Arizona, he reminded the room
full of tribal leaders and voting advocates that the key for Indian
Country to move forward is to turn out the Native vote across Arizona,
because it was Native voters in 2020 that helped Biden win the election
by less than 11,000 votes.

“We know that every vote matters — and that every Native vote makes a difference,” he said on Oct. 9. 

Lewis said that, as the country
enters the final phase of the election, Democrats have been focused on
the “blue wall” — Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — but they would
be smart to recognize what he said is a “tribal wall” of five swing
states with large Indigenous populations that could impact the
election. 

“Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada, North
Carolina and Michigan all have substantial tribal populations,” he said.
“And if we make our voices heard by voting, we can do in the rest of
the country what we did here in Arizona in 2020: help elect the next
president and vice president of the United States.”

Indigenous people make up 6% of Arizona’s overall population and about 300,000 of the state’s voting age residents are Natives.

Historically, Native voters vote for
Democrats, and when tribal nations come together, they can give
Democrats an edge in close races.

“The tribal vote has never been more important,” Lewis said.

The day that early voting kicked off
across Arizona, Walz made a campaign stop at the Gila River Indian
Community’s Sheraton Grand Hotel to encourage tribal leaders, advocates
and the broader Indigenous community to get out the vote. He also spoke
about how a Harris-Walz administration would continue to support tribal
nations and tribal sovereignty.

“When it comes to Indigenous rights,
we’re not going back to the way it was,” he said. “We’re not going back
to a time when there was patronizing towards the communities rather than
working hand in hand.”

Walz said it used to be that candidates would only visit tribal nations during election time to get the Native vote. 

“Those days are over,” he said. “We work hand in hand.”

Walz’s home state is home to 11 tribal nations, and his lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan,
is a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and the highest-ranking
Indigenous woman ever elected to office in the United States.

“He gets the importance of the Native
vote,” Lewis said of Walz, adding that “he respects tribal nations as
equal partners (and) there is going to be an unprecedented partnership
in this next administration.”

Walz said Democrats want to earn the
Native vote, and it’s a privilege to do so through the policies being
implemented and the relationships built. 

“You earn it years before you’re asking for a vote,” he added.

Walz addressed a room of over two
dozen people and said that they’ve seen what Vice President Kamala
Harris can do for tribal nations because the Biden-Harris administration
has shown that it not only understands tribal sovereignty, but also
honors it by building meaningful relationships with Indigenous
communities. 

“They understand what it means for the first people of this land,” he said.

Walz said the Biden administration
understands what tribal sovereignty means for Indigenous people and how
those government-to-government relationships are formed. 

“You need to be at the table — but
many times, no one knows where the table is, and with Vice President
Harris, you know it is in the White House,” he said. “Our tribal nations
are a part of this discussion that makes our country great.”

Walz said that tribal sovereignty and relations depend on strengthening our interactions and treatment of one another. 

“You know what’s right for your
community, you know what’s best for your community, and you know what
leadership in your community looks like,” he said, adding that working
together as partners is important.

Lewis welcomed Walz to Arizona,
saying that his presence within the community speaks so loudly about the
priority he and Harris have placed on the government-to-government
treaty relationship with tribes across the country.

“Our federal and state partners
matter (and) having partners like you and Vice President Harris in the
White House will definitely matter,” Lewis said. He noted how Walz’s
work as governor of Minnesota has proved that he is strongly committed
to strengthening tribal sovereignty and upholding tribal nations’ trust
and treaty responsibility.

“When you provide tribes with the
resources, tribes can bring true innovation,” Lewis said, noting that
the Gila River Indian Community’s innovation can be seen in its water
conservation and green energy efforts, which put it at the forefront of
many ongoing climate change issues.  

“We know for Indian Country, we can’t
go back, and we won’t go back,” Lewis said, adding that going back
would mean a time when tribal sovereignty was eroded, water and land
were stolen, and Indigenous children, women and elders were not
protected.

United National Indian Tribal Youth
(UNITY) Executive Director Mary Kim Titla attended Walz’s event at the
Sheraton and saw it as an opportunity to talk to Walz about Indigenous
youth. UNITY is an organization that promotes personal development, citizenship and leadership among Indigenous youth.

Titla said being able to talk to Walz
was an excellent opportunity for her to share how mental health is one
of the top three issues that impact Indigenous youth.

UNITY surveys Indigenous youth every
year, and Titla said that mental health is one of the top concerns for
Indigenous youth, which is why the incoming administration needs to know
and understand that more funding and access to quality health care is
an urgent need.

“I wanted him to know that their voices matter,” Titla said.

Titla said she was happy to hear from Walz that it is a priority for their administration. 

Having Walz visit with Indigenous communities is important, Title said, because it shows that “we are a priority.” 

“It’s super important because our
voices matter,” she said. “Native people are the first peoples of this
land. As indigenous people, we really need to be prioritized.”