As an attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, Allison Neswood's upbringing inspired her to pursue law specializing in Native rights.
"I became a lawyer because I grew up seeing a lot of hardship in my family and in my community," she said. "I read a lot of books about the history from a Native perspective, and I was really angry. I felt like we were struggling a lot, and we didn't deserve it."
She took this anger and put that energy toward fighting against a voting law in 2022 — House Bill 2492 — requiring voters to provide proof of their location of residence. This measure largely affected Native communities.
"We took that to court, and we were able to get a good ruling from the trial court that ultimately was not appealed," Neswood said. "It's not clearly anti-Native American, but when you understand those larger barriers, you see how they're working in tandem to make it really hard for communities who ... have been excluded or pushed aside."
Organizations, such as Arizona Native Vote and NARF, advocate to ensure that the Native community receives comprehensive voter education, as well as help fill gaps to increase voter turnout.
Gabriella Cázares-Kelly, the first Native American and member of Tohono O’odham Nation to serve as Pima County Recorder in Arizona, said that on many reservations, residents lack traditional mailing addresses, which makes registering to vote or receiving mail-in ballots difficult.
"Growing up, (I) did not have a standard address," Cázares-Kelly said. "The best we could do was give directions, and that was really easy for me to understand."
Cázares-Kelly said she became an academic advisor at a tribal community college to assist in registering students to vote, where she came across difficulties for students who had non-standard addresses.
Jenna Rios, a senior studying public service and public policy, grew up in the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.
While growing up, Rios was told her voice didn’t matter in politics and that no matter what she did, the government would continue to "take and take."
"Hearing that all the time growing up is definitely unmotivating," Rios said. "But I think our youth is definitely starting to realize that we have the power to change that."
Rios said that she wasn’t exposed to information about voting in federal elections until she got to campus, which she said was a "culture shock" and difficult to make sense of.
"(Finding) direction with that information is an obstacle in itself," Rios said.
Rios said the University should host events where Native American students are taught more in-depth about the voting process, such as how to register or how to get an absentee ballot.
"We always hear 'it's important to vote,'" Rios said. "But nobody is helping these students really act on that and take action."
Rios said when educators and political speakers on campus are also Native, it is much easier for students to believe and trust them.
“It's not specifically the rhetoric, it's who the rhetoric is coming from,” Rios said. "Having more indigenous voices out there to advocate for these issues could definitely bring out more native voters.”
With increased Native voter turnout in recent years, advocates remain hopeful that efforts will increase voter participation in the 2024 elections and beyond.
George Hardeen, public relations director for the Navajo Nation, said that more Native people are tuned into current events and political news through increased technological access.
"(There is) a lot of political news, and Navajos are tuned in," he said. "Even Navajo grandmas, who don't speak English, have cell phones these days. If their kids and grandkids show them how to access news, they can get it."
Hardeen referenced KNDN and KTNN as radio stations that older generations in the Navajo Nation community engage with when consuming news.
NARF also has network of Indigenous advocates working to assist any individuals who may have questions or concerns up until the polls close on Nov. 5.
"We are on hand on election day to take calls," said Neswood. "(We) help them triage issues for people, so as many people as possible get through the voting process and cast their ballot."
Edited by George Headley, Sophia Ramirez, Tiya Talwar and Alexis Heichman.
Reach the reporters at ehprest1@asu.edu and emuslim@asu.edu and follow @ellis_reports and @emra_m1 on X.
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Emra is a junior studying political science with a minor in Spanish. This is her first semester with The State Press. She has also worked at the League of Women Voters of Arizona, USG-WV, Honors College Council at Barrett and the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict.
Ellis is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication. This is her first semester with The State Press. She has also worked at Arizona PBS and Blaze Radio.
