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Tribal leaders welcome vice presidential candidate Tim Walz to Arizona

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Tribal leaders welcome vice presidential candidate Tim Walz to Arizona

Before Gila River Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis welcomed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to Arizona, he reminded the room full of tribal leaders and voting advocates that the key to advancing Indian Country is Native voting throughout Arizona to achieve, because that was the case Native voters in 2020 who helped Biden win the election by fewer than 11,000 votes.

“We know that every vote counts – and that every Indigenous voice makes a difference,” he said on October 9.

Lewis said Democrats were focused on the “blue wall” — Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — as the country's final phase of voting begins, but they would be wise to recognize what he called a five-member “tribal wall.” Swing states with large indigenous populations that could impact the election.

“Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada, North Carolina and Michigan all have significant tribal populations,” he said. “And by making our voices heard through voting, we can do in the rest of the country what we did here in Arizona in 2020: help elect the next President and Vice President of the United States.”

Indigenous people make up 6% of Arizona's total population and about 300,000 of the state's voting-age residents are Native.

Historically, native voters vote for Democrats, and when tribal nations come together they can give Democrats an advantage in close races.

“The tribal vote has never been more important,” Lewis said.

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On the day early voting began across Arizona, Walz made a campaign stop at the Gila River Indian Community's Sheraton Grand Hotel to encourage tribal leaders, advocates and the broader Indigenous community to vote. He also spoke about how a Harris-Walz administration would continue to support tribal nations and tribal sovereignty.

“When it comes to Indigenous rights, we are not going back to the way things were,” he said. “We are not returning to a time when communities were patronized rather than working hand in hand.”

Walz said it used to be the case that candidates visited tribal nations only during election time to seek the vote of Native people.

“Those days are over,” he said. “We work hand in hand.”

Walz's home state is home to eleven tribal nations, and his lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanaganis a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and the highest-ranking Indigenous woman ever elected to office in the United States.

“He understands the importance of the Native vote,” Lewis said of Walz, adding that “he respects tribal nations as equal partners (and) that there will be an unprecedented partnership in this next administration.”

Walz said Democrats want to earn the voice of Indigenous people and it will be a privilege to do that through implementing policies and building relationships.

“You earn it years before you ask for a vote,” he added.

Walz spoke to more than two dozen people and said they saw what Vice President Kamala Harris could do for tribal nations because the Biden-Harris administration has shown that it not only understands tribal sovereignty but also honors it by building meaningful relationships with indigenous communities.

“They understand what it means to the first people of this land,” he said.

Mary Kim Titla, executive director of the United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY), speaks with Tim Walz during his campaign stop in Arizona on October 9, 2024. Titla spoke with Walz about the importance of Indigenous youth. Photo by Shondiin Silversmith | Arizona Mirror

Walz said the Biden administration understands what tribal sovereignty means to Indigenous peoples and how these government-to-government relationships are structured.

“You have to be at the table – but often no one knows where the table is, and with Vice President Harris you know he's in the White House,” he said. “Our tribal nations are part of this conversation that makes our country great.”

Walz said tribal sovereignty and relationships depend on us strengthening our interactions and interactions with one another.

“You know what is right for your community, you know what is best for your community and you know what leadership looks like in your community,” he said, adding that working in partnership is important.

Welcoming Walz to Arizona, Lewis said his presence in the community so clearly demonstrates the priority he and Harris have placed on treaty relationships between governments and tribes across the country.

“Our federal and state partners are important (and it will certainly be important to have partners like you and Vice President Harris in the White House,” Lewis said. He noted that Walz's work as governor of Minnesota has proven that he is strongly committed to strengthening tribal sovereignty and maintaining the trust and treaty responsibilities of tribal nations.

“If you give the resources to the tribes, the tribes can create real innovation,” Lewis said, noting that the Gila River Indian Community's innovation is evident in its water conservation and green energy efforts that it brings to the community Many current climate changes bring problems.

“We know that we cannot and will not return for Indian Country,” Lewis said, adding that a return would mean a time of undermining tribal sovereignty, stealing water and land, and stealing Indigenous children, women and elders were not protected.

Mary Kim Titla, executive director of the United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY), attended Walz's event at the Sheraton and saw it as an opportunity to speak with Walz about Indigenous youth. UNITY is an organization that promotes personal development, citizenship and leadership among Indigenous youth.

Titla said the conversation with Walz was an excellent opportunity for her to share that mental health is one of the top three issues affecting Indigenous youth.

UNITY surveys Indigenous youth every year and Titla said mental health is one of the biggest concerns for Indigenous youth, which is why the new government needs to know and understand that more funding and access to quality health care is urgently needed.

“I wanted him to know that their voices matter,” Titla said.

Titla said she was pleased to hear from Walz that this was a priority for her administration.

Walz's visit to Indigenous communities is important, Title said, because it shows that “we are a priority.”

“It’s super important because our voices matter,” she said. “Indigenous people are the first peoples of this land. As Indigenous people, we really need to be a priority.”

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