Vice Presidential Candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made a campaign stop in Arizona on Oct. 9, 2024, to speak to tribal leaders, advocates, and community members about the importance of the 2024 Election and what to expect from a potential Harris-Walz administration. Photo by Shondiin Silversmith | Arizona Mirror
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.
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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.
United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) Executive Director Mary Kim Titla talks with Tim Walz during his campaign stop in Arizona on Oct. 9, 2024. Titla spoke with Walz about the importance of Indigenous youth. Photo by Shondiin Silversmith | Arizona Mirror
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.”
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