Natives Could Decide Close 2022 Elections—Casting Critical Votes and Winning Local, State, and National Offices
OJ Semans, Rosebud Sioux organizer of the Nevada forum and co-director of the voting-rights group Four Directions. Photo by Justin Poole. A version of this article appeared in Yes! magazine in August 2022. For more on topics like this, see my book, American Apartheid: The Native American Struggle... . O ver the course of two days in June, a lively, engaged audience listened to federal and state candidates describe their positions and plans at a Native-run candidate forum at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, law school. These meetings are teaching moments, says OJ Semans, the Rosebud Sioux organizer of the forum and co-director of the voting-rights group Four Directions . “We’ll learn about the candidates, and they’ll learn about us.” Candidates from the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian parties answered questions posed by tribal leaders, by Native and non-Native attorneys, and by staffers from Native nonprofits, such as the National Congress of American Indians. Amber Torr