Montana's largest Indigenous rights group is hosting a series of events around the state to empower Native voters as the election draws closer. The next event begins today in Fort Belknap.

The events in the Snag Dat Vote Tour are about more than just registering and encouraging all Indigenous people to vote.

Western Native Voice Communications Director Tracie Garfield said there's a special focus on educating young people.

"They're brand new voters, so this might be the first time they're voting," said Garfield. "But I believe that if we can get them to vote in this election, the likelihood of them voting in more elections is pretty high."

In addition to the Fort Belknap event that starts today, she said Western Native Voice is holding outreach events in Crow Agency, Lame Deer, Polson, and Poplar through early October.

Garfield said educating Indigenous people about the importance of their voices in elections is a critical part of the democratic process, especially in Indian country.

"Not just this election, but in the city, state, local county elections," said Garfield. "We want to make sure voting becomes a family tradition - because Native people haven't been voting that long, and making it a family tradition is something that we would really like to see."

Western Native Voice also launched an online voter guide, called Ballot Builder, to help educate voters about the candidates and issues before they head to the polls.

Voter turnout from tribal communities in Wisconsin has increased in recent years, with historic numbers for the state Supreme Court election this month.

The Menominee reservation turnout increased by more than 80% from the spring 2023 election and both the Red Cliff and Bad River Bands of Lake Superior Chippewa saw turnout jump more than 60%, according to Wisconsin Conservation Voices, which works with tribal communities through its Wisconsin Native Vote program.

Maria Haskins, native regional tribal organizer for the group, said listening sessions, roundtables and regional dinners have been crucial in building relationships and getting people to the polls.

"With people seeing their peers being more active in the polls and becoming more informed about a lot of these issues, is what is really motivating them to go out and cast their ballot," Haskins observed. "Because I think that people are realizing their vote is their voice."

Haskins noted communities shared concerns at the events about issues like the opioid epidemic, which is severely affecting tribal communities, while drawing the connections of voting to their goal of tribal sovereignty.

The Menominee community has seen some of the most dramatic jumps in voter turnout. In 2023, community voting increased by 75% and has seen a 220% increase since 2019. Haskins believes the influx reflects the increase tribes are also seeing in representation, with more Native Americans running for office.

"I think that it's a huge movement," Haskins emphasized. "It's just something saying, 'Our people deserve to have a voice in what is happening, and we deserve to have the ability to be involved.'"

At a time when the country is seeing the rapid-fire dismantling of DEI initiatives and priorities, Haskins thinks it has never been more important to stay connected and involved.

"I'm super thankful for every community that we work in and I just can't express the importance enough of being in community and leaning on community right now," Haskins added. "I think that it's really important for all of us to have those connections and continue moving forward."


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The Jackson-based group Native American Jump Start has been providing grants to Native students, interns and young workers for decades and this year, has added an ambassador program.

Nine ambassadors across the country will help spread the word on Native American Jump Start opportunities, up to 100 microgrants per year to help, among others, students at any level of higher education.

Wicahpi Chaddlesone-Yankton, grant and operations coordinator for the group, said they want to highlight more student voices and half of ambassadors in the first cohort are current students.

"We wanted to have our ambassadors work with their Native student centers or organizations on their campus and just help bring NAJS's voice into a bigger light," Chaddlesone-Yankton explained.

The group is funded by private donations and therefore will be directly affected by cuts from the Trump administration. Meanwhile, the Native American Rights fund in March sued the U.S. Interior Department and the Office of Indian Affairs over the federal administration's cuts to the Bureau of Indian Education.

O'Shay Birdinground comes from the Great Apsaalooke Nation and will graduate this spring from the University of Montana. He first used Jump Start funding to attend a conference. Now as an ambassador, Birdinground encouraged "future Indigenous leaders" to take advantage of educational opportunities.

"There are a lot of opportunities out there for education and leadership development," Birdinground emphasized. "I wouldn't hesitate to jump on any one of those opportunities that is provided to you."

The application period for Native American Jump Start's education grant funding for this fall opens April 1.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

Indigenous people have made great contributions to the state of Wisconsin yet the alarming rates of violence against them remains a public health crisis.

A new study showed intimate partner violence disproportionately impacts Indigenous women more than any other ethnic or racial group in the U.S. The murder rate for Native American women and girls is up to 10 times higher than the national average, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, yet they account for less than 1% of the population.

Desiree Tody, outreach program coordinator at the Center Against Sexual and Domestic Abuse and a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, said violence against Native women is underreported and unaddressed.

"There's jurisdictional issues that come into play as to how things are investigated, how things are tried, and there's always racism," Tody observed. "There's less attention paid to the individuals that some of these things happen to."

The Wisconsin Department of Justice created a task force to combat violence against Native women across the state after legislation which would have addressed the issues failed to pass. There are currently no upcoming task force meetings listed on the newly updated DOJ website.

Poor tracking and data collection are among the many issues contributing to the epidemic among Indigenous women. During a multistate march last month, Tody read a list of names of Indigenous people from Minnesota who had died from domestic violence. No such list currently exists for Wisconsin and Tody noted she is working to change it.

She emphasized the great need to address the systems in place, which continue to fail Native people.

"I have three daughters that I want them to grow up as strong Native women and I want them to grow up safely as strong Native women," Tody explained. "This is their futures on the line. This is their ability to walk down a street safely."

Research shows Indigenous women also face significant barriers when seeking help after experiencing domestic violence. A survivor of domestic violence herself, Tody works with the Center Against Sexual and Domestic Abuse to provide resources for those affected in Bayfield and Ashland counties. Gov. Tony Evers has proposed a $20 million funding increase for domestic abuse services in his current executive budget.


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