MINNEAPOLIS — For the first time, people across Minnesota are celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day as a state-recognized holiday, and in south Minneapolis, some groups took the day to focus on voter registration.
The Native American Community Development Institute's Make Voting a Tradition program was one of several groups with a booth in the American Indian OIC parking lot Monday afternoon. Though, manager Darek DeLille says their culturally specific work to increase multi-generational voter turnout is year-round.
"This is our version of National Voter Registration Day," DeLille said. "Some of the Native people, there's a distrust for the government - and rightfully so in many cases - and in my work I want to be able to repair that and help to heal that … because as you can see, we do have children out here and these children, it's very important for them to be able to see us."
During the program, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon presented Make Voting a Tradition with a national award for outstanding community voter outreach efforts.
"There have been a number of historic barriers," Simon told KARE 11. "It took until 1924 for the federal government to even recognize American Indians or Native Americans as citizens … In more recent years, there have been all sorts of discriminatory practices nationwide. In Minnesota, we've been much better than most places in the country but some of the barriers we still see. Like the location of polling places, for example, particularly on Native American reservation land are not always in the best place to maximize turnout … We're working with the legislature on making sure that the path, the physical path to voting, is as easy as it can possibly be."
His office doesn't track voter turnout based on race or ethnicity, instead relying on community groups to share information. Simon says their reports indicate a spike in recent years. Coordinator Jolene Jones says Make Voting a Tradition registered around 2,000 Native people this year alone, doubling last year's count.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe also stopped by the event.
"This is not about one election or one cycle," she said. "We are building Native power."
Speakers also highlighted new state laws, like how people with felony convictions are now allowed to vote, as well as new laws calling for automatic registration and the law allowing high school students to preregister. Additionally, they explained how Minneapolis' rank choice voting system works.
Simon also emphasized key election dates, like Minnesota's Municipal Election Day on Nov. 7, and this Wednesday, the state will mark 100 days from the start of voting for president.
"Jan. 19, you can start voting for our presidential primary in Minnesota," he said. "That is just around the corner."
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist: