Photo by Ojibwes for Responsible Government.
Votes, Anti Fascism and Banana Republics by Winona LaDuke
“Who’s the Banana Republic now?”
That’s the question the Colombian daily newspaper Publimetro chided on the front page with a photo of a man in a U.S. flag print mask. As Donald Trump lost both the popular vote and the electoral college vote, that would mean a transition to a new president. Well in a working democracy.”
Instead, as the New York Times reports, “What we have seen in the last week from the president more closely resembles the tactics of the kind of authoritarian leaders we follow,” Michael Abramowitz, the president of Freedom House, which tracks democracy, told The Times.
“I never would have imagined seeing something like this in America.” Indeed, as AP reported, “ Kenyan cartoonist Patrick Gathara tweeted that Trump “has barricaded himself inside the presidential palace vowing not to leave unless he is declared the winner,” with a mediator “currently trying to coax him out with promises of fast food.”’
Anti Fascism
While Trump talks about targeting the Antifa, as if that’s an extreme terrorist group, Antifa means “Anti fascist”, and Trump’s policies, rule of fear, mass incarceration, racism, and intimidation more closely represented the tactics of other authoritarian and fascist leaders like Mussolini, than elected leaders of legitimate democracies. In the end, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris received over 80 million votes, more than any other American President in history.
Taking a long view as Indigenous peoples, who have experience with democracy, and representative government, it’s easy to see that America is in a political crisis, which puts the country in the league of corrupt democracies worldwide. There’s a few examples, on a worldwide scale. Ruling parties in Zimbabwe reversed true election results in 2002, Iran did the same in 2009, Venezuela is a mess, and well the recent Bolivian elections and removal of democratically elected Evo Morales tell a more recent story of corruption , foreign influence and corruption. America seems to be no different. Politicians should not steal elections, nor should foreign governments or corporations determine election results.
In the meantime, something else is happening. That’s to say, despite voter suppression, armed white terrorists attempting to thwart voters, endless lines and for some of us, very remote polling places, this election changed our world. It turns out that Native voters helped put President Elect Biden and Kamala Harris into office, providing the votes in key states of Arizona, Wisconsin and Michigan (Pennsylvania and Georgia).
Our native votes, although not large, are strategic. And, it is beginning to show. The question is how will that show up in Minnesota over the next two election cycles.
Get out the Vote work on Red Lake, Leech Lake and White Earth reservations stirred up some new voters, thousands of them. Red Lake Nation started their drive on October 4, training a get out the vote team who would travel by car, foot or bicycle. There was an expectation to register two voters an hour, and Personal Protective Equipment was provided. A friendly competition meant more voters.
According to Doreen Wells, who supervised the drive, 40-50 canvassers went out, and registered people, most from l8-45, driving beyond the reservation , into the treaty territories of Thief River Falls, Bemidji and beyond. Then there was the bus to Bemidjigamag, the first bus left the Red Lake Nation, with l2 Red Lakers from 25-72, who were first time voters in a non tribal election.
That’s how the vote was rocked.
Leech Lake had series of virtual get out the vote events, and White Earth tribal members went door to door, and then drove people to the polls before and on election day.
Here’s how it works.
Take the village of Pine Point, 320 tribal members live in that village, between housing projects and private homes. Those tribal members constitute of the Pine Point Township population, but the polling place is nowhere near the village- in fact, it’s in the middle of a snow bank in the Ponsford Prairie, in the heart of Trump country.
Despite that, voters turned out, driving to town, casting absentee ballots and boarding the White Earth Council of Elders bus to take a ride to the polls.
Tipping the Voted
Wisconsin, a closely watched state in the election, went for Joe Biden by fewer than 21,000 votes in the initial county. When the votes came in from the Bad River, Red Cliff, Menominee and other reservations, things changed. Native people represent about 90,000 tribal members, and Menominee County, Menominee County, which overlaps the Menominee Tribe’s reservation, voted for Biden 82%, compared to the state as a whole at 49.4%.
Meanwhile the Navajo Nation and Tohono O’odham Nation, which spans Pima, Maricopa and Pinal counties, most precincts were above 90% for Biden, according to a statewide map pulled together by ABC15 Arizona. With good reason.
The Navajo Nation has sued the Trump administration for botching the COVID Relief Program, costing Navajo lives. At one point in May, the Navajo Nation had the highest ratio of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., surpassing New York City. The Navajo Nation has joined other tribal nations in a lawsuit over the dispersal of the funds. Recent exit polls showing how Indigenous voters favored Biden overall in Arizona also showed the pandemic response to be the most important issue on their minds.
Tribal voters have long been discounted, and perhaps none so prominently as at the recent CNN Election night reporting which categorized voters into White, Black, Hispanic, Latino and, “Something Else.” This is how that “Something Else,” counts. In Minnesota, Biden won, but in the Deep North, Trump ruled.
Overall Clearwater County voted 71% in favor of Donald Trump, while Rice Lake, in La Prairie Township voted 72.5% for Joe Biden.
Similarly, Representative Steve Greene , although a tribal member, received little approval from tribal voters, where in Rice Lake 67% voted for Democrat Dave Suby and only 31.9% for Steve Green.
In Mahnomen County, Twin Lakes (Naytahwaush) voted 75% for Biden, while non Naïve voters narrowly secured a Mahnomen County victory for Trump of 49% versus 48%.
In Pine Point, Native voters secured 55% of the vote for Biden, while most non Native voters turned out for Trump. Red Lake, was a more unified vote, not surprisingly, as non Indian residency clearly colors the politics of White Earth. Remember, however that the average age for a White Earth tribal resident is roughly half that of a Non Native resident of the reservation.
Times will change.
Minnesota elected more Native people this year than in any previous election- from City Council and County Commissioners in Bemidji (Audrey Thayer and Tim Sumner), Lyz Jakkola (Cloquet City Council) to new additions to the State Senate- Mary Kunesh- Podein and representative Heather Keeler join others, and a rising number of Native elected politicians nationally.
Native people were given the right to vote in this country, when we were l% of the population.
That’s an irony of representation for the first people. Now’s the time when that l% has not only increased in numbers, but it’s flexing some power.