TITLE: A Call to Action by Tribal Government and Tribal Community Leaders to Promote Native Vote in 2016 and Beyond
WHEREAS, we, the members of the National Congress of American Indians of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United States, to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the health, safety and welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and
WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was established in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and
WHEREAS, in 2004 NCAI established the nonpartisan Native Vote to encourage American Indians and Alaska Native people to exercise their right to vote, and developed a campaign to work closely with regional organizations, tribal governments, urban Indian centers, and other partners to create a strong and permanent infrastructure for election training; and
WHEREAS, Native Vote training highlights critical components including Native voter registration and mobilization, election protection policies, candidate education and awareness, and Native vote data collection; and
WHEREAS, American Indians and Alaska Natives have proven to be a voter bloc that can impact the outcome of elections, and with the population of American Indians and Alaska Natives under the age of 25 making up approximately 39-42% of the whole it is imperative to educate, register and mobilize tribal communities through Native Vote; and
WHEREAS the involvement of tribal leaders and community organizers is crucial to ensure every tribal community has a Native Vote coordinator, and that those coordinators build out the Native Vote network to carry out the important work of Native Vote in this critical election year, and in the years to come.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Congress of American Indians supports the work of the NCAI Native Vote campaign and encourages all tribes to be active in Native Vote, particularly by identifying a tribal community Native Vote coordinator to work with the Native and non-Native campaign partners for the 2016 elections and beyond; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the policy of NCAI until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution.
CERTIFICATION
The foregoing resolution was adopted by the General Assembly at the 2016 Midyear Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Spokane Convention Center, June 27 to June 30, 2016, with a quorum present.