Native Vote: Every vote counts. Photo by Native Vote
Lets Get Out and Vote!
A note from the editor's desk
By Brandon Ecoffey
Lakota Country Times Editor
lakotacountrytimes.com During every election cycle there is an effort to raise awareness about the importance of the Native vote. Occasionally our people respond but many of the barriers that put in place to prevent us from voting prove to be too much. This year Republicans find themselves on shaky ground as a vast majority of minorities and women are appalled by the republican nominee Donald Trump. While in Indian Country our attention has been focused on stopping the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The urgency of the GOP to reach out to Indian Country over Indian Health Service is a sign that there is a real fear that Republicans could find themselves as the minority in both houses of Congress. It is commendable that republican law makers have begun to raise awareness to the federal government's failure to fully meet its treaty and trust obligations but administrative fixes without adequate funding is a joke. If you want to fix IHS bring in a real proven leader to run it and give them the funds to be successful. Anything short of that is just politics as usual. In this election year it is important that we show up in large numbers at the polls. The momentum that has been created by our people camping in Cannon Ball must be carried on through this election. We have shown the world that our people are a powerful political force through our opposition to DAPL. These elections are an opportunity for our people to further our influence on lawmakers across the country. If we truly had allies in Congress they would have understood the reasons why so many of our people have traveled to that sacred place in North Dakota and then they would have joined us in our efforts to stop construction.
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Election Day is set to take place on November 8, 2016, but you can vote early at your court house or by requesting a ballot by mail. As noted in an email sent out by Gay Kingman, Four Directions and the Great Plains Tribal Chairman's Association have worked diligently to bring satellite voting to several reservation communities and it is up to our people to utilize these sites. As of today we are only 33 days away from our tribal, state, and national elections and it is time that our people begin encouraging our family members to cast a vote. Each year we watch as anti-Indian candidates are ushered into office by about half of American society. Not everyone votes and that is reflective in the types of policies that come out of Washington. Let's hope our people get out and vote. (Brandon Ecoffey is the editor of The Lakota Country Times and is an award winning journalist who was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He can be reached at editor@lakotacountrytimes.com) Find the award-winning Lakota Country Times on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter and download the new Lakota Country Times app today.
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