Building an active & informed Native American Electorate
March 2018
Greetings!

There is much to be excited about as March is already here! NAVA is back and busy. So make sure to pay attention to upcoming events, so you can learn how to get involved.
Upcoming Events

This Friday, March 2, at the Cities of Gold Casino and Conference Center will be a Voter Registration Agent Training & Certification. If you would like to help register Native American people - this training is for you. Please let us know if any one from Albuquerque is interested attending. We're leaving around 8am on Friday and we'll return right after the training is completed.


The 50 Years of the Indian Civil Rights Act Symposium at the Isleta Resort and Casino on March 8-9, 2018. This will be helpful to people who want to know more about how ICRA (Indian Civil Rights Act) continues to impact Native American communities. This symposium is free, but you must sign up.

A complementary event that will also be at the Isleta Resort and Casino on March 9 is the SW Voting Rights Hearing. This field hearing is being sponsored by the Native American Voting Rights Coalition which is led by the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). If you have ever had trouble voting, you should think about testifying at this hearing.
NM Working Family Party -Congressional District 1 Forum

Thanks to NM Working Families Party for hosting and recording their Congressional District 1 Candidate Forum. Many good questions about energy, women's rights and criminal justice reform were asked and we hope you will watch at the link below!

A Victory for the Native Vote- in Utah!
With newspaper titles like “ Judge is poised to ‘adjust gerrymandering with gerrymandering,’ giving Navajos an edge in southern Utah county ” and the subtitle saying “ Whites have controlled local government in San Juan County for a century with little native representation” it’s no wonder that Navajo people in Utah had to push forward a lawsuit in 2014 charging that Navajo people are not given the fair access to vote in elections. Apparently, the state of Utah reduced the number of polling locations when they moved to a vote-by mail system. However, they kept open an Early Vote site at the local county clerks’ office which is 84% Anglo; and on average it’s about a 2 hour drive for most Navajo people to access. It’s these sorts of barriers that have stifled the Navajo vote and resulted in the institutionalized power that favors the Anglo community in Utah’s San Juan County. The good news is that the US District Court Judge Shelby has continued to push the county to redraw the county districts as they were ruled unconstitutional and violated Navajo people’s rights.  The recent court settlement ensures that there are accessible voting sites available to Navajo voters and that there are appropriate translation services for those that might want or need it in which to make good decisions on how they cast their votes. This victory can be sustained if we have Navajo leaders to run for office. NAVA is excited that we’ve been asked to host a candidate training out at the Red Mesa Chapter House for any Navajo people that might be interested in running for office. 
Trump's IHS nominee withdraws from consideration

National news notifies us that another Trump nominee has to withdraw from consideration due to the nominee's "exaggerated experience" according to the Wall Street Journal. While we are bummed that it is a Native American that is being asked to withdraw his nomination, we are also sure that there are MANY more qualified Native people that could be considered.

Plans for 2018
NAVA is registering people to vote. We will be hosting “What is Power?” workshops, hosting Native Justice Roundtables and ensuring that our community has a chance to meet with local officials on issues that are important to Native American working families. 

You are invited to join our efforts throughout this year. Please sign up for our newsletters and we’ll be able to keep you in the loop with what we are doing.  
Sincerely,

Native American Voters Alliance