“The power of the Native American vote is as strong as it has been in 75 years,” said an intertribal council at a celebration celebrating Arizona Native Voting Day held at the Gila River Resort & Casino on Arizona’s Wild Horse Pass. Ms. Maria Dudgar, Executive Director of the Association, said. Chandler on July 14th.

Mr. Dudgar said the celebration was to shine a light on the Indigenous peoples who fought long and hard to win the right to vote, and that the celebration was and will be done by Indigenous peoples to defend their rights. He said it was to celebrate all the work he continues to do.

Arizona has the largest native voting population in the nation, with over 305,000 voters of age, according to the National Congress of American Indians. Indigenous people make up her 6% of Arizona’s total population.

Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Law Lewis said, “Since the last election, Arizona has been touted as the birthplace of vote-restriction laws.” Even after winning the right to vote in 1948, Indigenous voters still face obstacles to voting, from vote suppression to racism.

“It’s no coincidence that these laws target our tribal communities,” Lewis said. “Members of our community come together on Election Day. We attend because we know it matters who holds state office.”

Indigenous peoples of Arizona did not gain the right to vote until July 15, 1948, after the Arizona Supreme Court overturned a ban originally outlined in 1924.

In Arizona, Peter Porter and Rudolph Johnson, residents of the Gila River Indian community, filed a lawsuit in November 1924, claiming that Arizona Natives had the right to vote in state elections. The battle for the right to vote for indigenous peoples began when the

The attempt fell through when the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that indigenous peoples of Arizona’s tribal nations, despite being state residents, could not vote because they were considered under federal custody. finished.

For the next 24 years, Native Americans did not have the right to vote until Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation residents Frank Harrison and Harry Austin tried to vote in 1948.

Their goal was to vote for Arizona leaders who would support efforts to provide for seniors and families, but the Maricopa County Registrar turned them down.

They soon sued in hopes of overturning the 1924 Arizona Supreme Court ruling, and on July 15, 1948, the state superior court ruled in favor of Harrison and Austin.

“In a democracy, suffrage is the most basic civil right because its exercise is the primary means by which other rights are protected,” said Arizona Supreme Court Justice Levi Udall in the state. in a statement establishing the voting rights of indigenous peoples.

“To deny people the right to vote when they are legally entitled to do so is an act of violence against the principles of liberty and equality,” he said.

Dudgar said indigenous peoples fought long and hard to win the right to vote in 1948, but they still face many obstacles and barriers in exercising their rights today.

“By meeting annually to celebrate the Native Voting Rights event, it is our hope that we will continue to positively stimulate dialogue in Arizona towards improving access to the vote for all citizens. ” she said.

Indigenous leaders, advocates, community organizers, youth and community members came together to celebrate the efforts of all 22 tribal nations in Arizona for their efforts to protect and respect the right to vote for indigenous peoples.

Lewis said that when indigenous peoples gained the right to vote in 1948, they were considered citizens of the United States for only 24 years, but it would take another 20 years before they could access the Bill of Rights. It is important to recognize this, he said.

“The protection of our voting rights doesn’t end when we leave the borders of our sovereign state,” Lewis said. “Protecting our rights on the reservation is just as important as protecting our rights outside the reservation.”

For example, Lewis said the Gila River Indian community’s water rights were stolen 150 years ago.

“That historic theft happened when we couldn’t vote,” Lewis said. “When we didn’t have the basic civil rights to claim and vote for leaders who would defend our sovereignty and water rights.”

The battle for the right to vote came at a tumultuous time for the indigenous peoples, Lewis said. It was a time when tribal governments, lands and cultures were all in question.

“When we had to fight to defend our place in a country formed around us and on our land,” Lewis said. “In many ways we have come this far since then, but everyone knows we are still fighting.”

Lewis said it’s not too early to start organizing and educating Indigenous communities for the 2024 election season. He said the stronger the indigenous vote, the louder the indigenous voice.

Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community Tribal Council Member Micah Carlos said this unity is important because indigenous communities have fought hard for their basic civil rights. said.

“Sometimes it feels like we’re not making progress because we have to keep fighting,” Carlos said. That’s why “we celebrate to remind ourselves that there are victories.”

Indigenous votes have power, even though the work has not been completed and indigenous communities still have to fight, Carlos said.

“If our vote wasn’t strong, I don’t think they would have tried so hard to take it away,” she added.

The Young River People’s Council of the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community was also present at the celebration. Youth Counselor Sommer Lopez said that learning about Indigenous voting rights is important to them and that he is happy to invite them.

“It’s important for us to celebrate this day because it reminds people that it wasn’t that long ago,” Lopez said. “A lot of effort and sacrifice was put into this, so this is something we should remember.”

Lopez said he is doing a lot of work within the community to get more people to register to vote and to educate young people to be more aware and ready to vote.

When Lopez learned that Native Americans in Arizona only won the right to vote in 1948, she was shocked because she knew her non-Indigenous peers didn’t have a similar history. said he received it.

For indigenous people, Lopez said, it’s not even ancestry. It was only 75 years ago, so they look like their grandparents.