Democrats court Native American voters at their convention in Chicago

CHICAGO — Party leaders courted Native American delegates at the Democratic National Convention, touting their record on tribal sovereignty as activists noted that Native voter turnout in swing states is what helped President Biden win during the last cycle.

“There's something in Minnesota that we take very seriously about tribal sovereignty,” Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, told the party’s cheering party’s Native American Caucus on Monday. “And it’s not when it’s convenient sovereignty. It's every single day about every single decision that needs to be taken.”

It has been a long journey for Native Americans, who only won the legal right to vote in federal elections about 100 years ago. At the DNC this week, the party’s Native Caucus held its meeting at the flagship political gathering with about 122 delegates who self-identified as Native Americans.

Walz has gained national recognition among Native voters for having once been a teacher on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. If Harris and Walz are elected, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, would ascend to the governorship. She would be the first Indigenous woman to become governor.

In his remarks, Walz touted state-level policies including an executive order that mandated documented tribal consultation ahead of government decisions and the state’s redesign of its flag.

“What Indian Country doesn't need is a whole bunch of gatekeepers holding the money and telling you, ‘You can’t get it,’” Walz said. “This is a group that understands a little about hard work, understands a little about perseverance, understands a little about community, understands a little bit about preparing for the