Campaign shares stories of why Native votes matter and how
to register
DENVER, May 20, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Native Americans are more impacted by the law than
any other group in the United
States. Native students in higher education, or seeking a
higher education, in particular are impacted by federal and state
laws impacting funding for education, such as Pell Grants, student
loans, and federal funding for tribal colleges and universities
(TCUs), 70% of which comes from federal sources. To ensure Native
students, community members, and their allies are represented and
heard at all levels of government, the American Indian College Fund (College Fund) is
launching its "Make Native Voice Heard—Vote!" campaign to encourage
Native people to register and vote on Tuesday, November 5.
In addition to ensuring Native voices are heard with regard to
higher education, voting also gives Indigenous communities
representation within laws and policies that guide Native nations,
including housing, health care, early childhood education, energy
programs, and reservation infrastructure. Other critical issues
such as the high rate of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women,
environmental protections, and economic development in the balance,
Native voices need to be heard at every level of government.
One hundred years ago on June 2,
the U.S. government unilaterally extended U.S. citizenship to
Native Americans with the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act. As
dual citizens of their Tribal Nations and the United States, members of federally
recognized tribes have the right to register and participate in
both non-Tribal (federal, state, and local) elections and Tribal
elections to decide who should represent them.
Cheryl Crazy Bull, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, said, "Native people
were often deterred from exercising that right, and continually
litigated for that right to be honored. Only in 1958, 38 years
after the Indian Citizenship Act, did Native voters participate in
elections in all 50 states. By voting in tribal, local, state, and
national elections, Native people exercise their legal right to
vote and honor the ancestors that fought for it, while ensuring we
have a say in our futures as Native people and sovereign
Nations."
To make Native voices heard and exercise the right to vote,
every Native citizen must register to do so in their state of
permanent residence. The College Fund's Make Native Voices Heard
web page shares information on how to register to vote in every
state at https://collegefund.org/vote/register/.
As part of the campaign, the College Fund will also share
information about how to make a voting plan and ways voting impacts
Native communities in big ways. Native students, tribal college
presidents, faculty, and staff and others are also invited to share
their reasons for voting and voting plan in blogs and videos at
https://collegefund.org/vote/. It is also offering $500 awards to TCU students who are leading voter
education events.
For more information on how to submit a blog or video, grants
for voter education events, and to follow the campaign, visit
https://collegefund.org/vote/ or follow the College Fund on
Facebook at American Indian College
Fund and Native Pathways.
The campaign will run from now through early November.
About the American Indian College
Fund— The American Indian College
Fund has been the nation's largest charity supporting Native higher
education for 34 years. The College Fund believes "Education is the
answer" and provided $17.4 million in
scholarships and other direct student support to American Indian
students in 2022-23. Since its founding in 1989 the College Fund
has provided more than $319 million
in scholarships, programs, community, and tribal college support.
The College Fund also supports a variety of academic and support
programs at the nation's 35 accredited tribal colleges and
universities, which are located on or near Indian reservations,
ensuring students have the tools to graduate and succeed in their
careers. The College Fund consistently receives top ratings from
independent charity evaluators and is one of the nation's top 100
charities named to the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving
Alliance. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit
www.collegefund.org.
Journalists—The American Indian College Fund does not use the
acronym AICF. On second reference, please use the College
Fund.
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SOURCE American Indian College
Fund