To the editor:
We need all of you!
For your loved ones who are incarcerated or you know someone who is, we’re their
voice. Please help and storm the gates of the State Capitol!
Rally is set for Feb. 19, 2016, from noon to 1 p.m. on the steps of the Capitol build-
ing. Would love to see 500 or more people come and support.
If you can’t come, you can call, write or email your senator, representative and
governor. Measure 11 time does not fit the crime. This law needs to be amended now.
For more info, contact:
Siletz News Letters Policy
Siletz News, a publication of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, is
published once a month. Our editorial policy encourages input from readers about
stories printed in Siletz News and other Tribal issues.
All letters must include the author’s signature, address, and phone number in
order to be considered for publication. Siletz News reserves the right to edit any
letter for clarity and length, and to refuse publication of any letter or any part of
a letter that may contain profane language, libelous statements, personal attacks
or unsubstantiated statements.
Not all letters are guaranteed publication upon submission. Published letters do
not necessarily reflect the opinions of Siletz News, Tribal employees, or Tribal Council.
Please type or write legibly. Letters longer than 450 words may be edited for
length as approved by Tribal Council Resolution #96-142.
If you and your family and friends can’t come, show your support by buying a
sweatshirt, T-shirt or tank top at Teespring.com/TimeDoesNotFitTheCrime.
Hope to see you all there!
Roxanne Williams, Tribal Member
Editor-in-Chief: Brenda Bremner
Editor: Diane Rodriquez
Increase in American Indian
and Alaska Native US Populations
Elected Representation
in US Government
2 Native US
Representatives
million
Actual
If representation in Congress
was proportional to the US
Native population, we would
have 2 Native Senators and 7
Native Members of the House.
2010
million
2000
1.9
Senate
5.2
House
Please note: The general manager
of the Siletz Tribe is the editor-in-chief
of Siletz News.
4.1
Patty Youngblood at pattyyo70@gmail.com
Barb Dickerson at barbspigpen@charter.net
Proportional
0 2
2 7
64 Native State Legislators
million
1990
Maine
Maryland
22 Native Legislators
3 Native Legislators
1 Native Legislator
New Mexico
South Dakota
Minnesota
9 Native Legislators
3 Native Legislators
1 Native Legislator
Montana
Washington
North Carolina
8 Native Legislators
2 Native Legislators
1 Native Legislator
Alaska
Illinois
North Dakota
5 Native Legislators
1 Native Legislator
1 Native Legislator
Arizona
Kansas
Wyoming
5 Native Legislators
1 Native Legislator
1 Native Legislator
Oklahoma
= 1 million
AIAN People
Source: US Census
Tribal Government
Sovereignty
Energy
Indian Child
Welfare
Gaming
Education
Environmental
Impact Issues
Water
Federal Budget
& Spending
e ma l
e
F
Key Issues that Bring Native
People to the Ballot Box
17 Senators
31%
69%
Ma l e
47 Representatives
National Congress of American Indians
Embassy of Tribal Nations
1516 P Street NW | Washington, DC 20005
www.NCAI.org | www.NativeVote.org
with the Highest
Populations of
Voting-Age Natives
50,000
3 %
134,000
WA
3
Senator Tim Johnson
(D-SD) was re-elected by
500 votes in 2002, with
the final votes counted
coming from the Pine
Ridge Reservation.
27,000
49,000
5 %
8 %
7 %
OR
3 %
SD
WY
76,000
Senator Lisa Murkowski
(R-AK) credits her victory
in the 2010 election to the
significant power of the
Alaska Native vote. With
over 100,000 write-in
votes, she was only the
2 nd successful US Senate
write-in candidate.
Voting Population
66%
Registered
Of American Indians and
Alaska Natives eligible to vote,
only 66% are registered,
compared to 74% of
eligible non-Hispanic
Whites.
ND
MT
%
With endorsements from
12 tribes, Senator Maria
Cantwell (D-WA) was
narrowly elected in
2000, creating a 50-50
tie in the US Senate.
The power of the
Native Vote has been
significant in state
races and important
national races.
Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)
won the 2012 election by a 1%
margin. Heitkamp noted that her
only road to Washington, DC
was through Indian Country.
In 2006, Senator John Tester
(D-MT) won his election by 3,562
votes, over 17,000 voters cast
ballots on Indian reservations.
Top 10 States
Fast Facts
1,000,000
11
5 % 10 %
88,000
OK
AZ
NM
17 %
Not Registered
%
Map Key
Eligible AIAN
Voters in 2010
232,000
AK
%
149,000
AIAN
population as %
of state’s total
population
(18 and over)
34% of the total Native
population over 18 — or
1,000,000 eligible voters —
is not registered to vote.
Ballot measure to
expand the number of
legislative districts fails.
Nine American Indians serve in the
Montana Legislature, reflecting proportion
of American Indian state population.
Alaska Redistricting Board merges
two Southeast Districts, diminishing
rural Native voter impact.
2012
State population triples between 1959-2009,
though no change in the number of state
representatives or legislative districts.
Montana creates six
American Indian-
majority districts.
2006
Tribes’ influence leads to the
appointment of a tribal member as
Chair of Redistricting Commission.
2003
Montana tribes challenge
1990 redistricting and file
case in federal court.
2011
ALASKA: Erosion
of Native Districts
1959-
2009
a Base of Power
2010
1990
MONTANA: Building
1999
Lower Turnout
Election loss of long-serving
Alaska Native State Senator Albert
Kookesh due to redistricting.
The turnout rate of American
Indian and Alaska Native
registered voters is 5 to 14
percentage points lower than
the rate of many other
racial and ethnic groups.
Source: Demos, 2012.
20
•
Siletz News
•
February 2016