Harris-Walz campaign hits the ground running in Arizona

Daniel Herrera Carbajal
Wed, October 9, 2024
ICT

GILA RIVER INDIAN COMMUNITY — In a meeting with more than a dozen tribal leaders in the battleground state of Arizona, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz vowed that a Kamala Harris administration would keep a seat at the table for tribal nations in Washington, D.C.

In a unifying message that touched on the importance of the Native vote, he said the Harris-Walz campaign would build on the gains made by tribal nations over the last four years.

“We are not going back to the way it was,” Walz said, hitting a common theme in the Democratic campaign against former Republican President Donald Trump and his vice presidential nominee, JD Vance.

“I feel it across the Indian Country that people know this is an opportunity to keep this momentum going forward,” he said. “This is an opportunity that many of us have waited lifetimes for, to finally see that we're seeing sovereignty as absolute truth.”

As early in-person voting began Wednesday, Oct. 9, in Arizona, Walz touched on the importance of the so-called “Native Wall” of voters who could help swing the tight race in a state where President Joe Biden beat Trump by a margin of just about 10,500 votes in the 2020 election.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz met with a group of tribal leaders on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, at the Gila River Indian Community near Phoenix, Arizona. He told the group a "Native Wall" of votes could help determine the election. (Photo by Daniel Herrera Carbajal/ICT)

Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis joined Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Verlon Jose and Navajo Nation Vice President Richelle Montoya in greeting Walz, who is currently the governor of Minnesota. Walz then shook hands and spoke with the other tribal leaders and their guests.

Lewis said the “Native Wall” in key battleground states such as Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada, North Carolina and Michigan could determine the outcome of the election.

“They could be the margin in a lot of these razor-thin races here, up and down the ballot, including the presidency as well,” Lewis said.

Walz also touted the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration in working with tribal nations, including the reestablishment of the White House Council on Native American Issues and what he called “the largest investments in tribes that we’ve seen in American history.”

“We work hand-in-hand in that vote that we want to earn,” said Walz, who is currently the governor of Minnesota. “You earn that by policies you put in place.”


Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz talks with Mary Kim Titla, executive director of United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc., at Walz's meeting with tribal leaders on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, at the Gila River Indian Community, as Gila River Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis, left, looks on. (Photo by Daniel Herrera Carbajal/ICT)More

The gathering Wednesday came amid campaign swings by both the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates through Arizona. Walz continued on from the Gila River community to Tucson, where later Wednesday he and Vance held dueling campaign events.

Vice President Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, is scheduled to hold a rally in Phoenix Thursday, while Trump is set to hold a rally Sunday in the Republican stronghold of Prescott Valley, about 90 miles north of Phoenix.

Campaign officials said the Arizona campaign will be among the most expansive tribal organizing efforts, with events scheduled throughout the state.

Walz reminded tribal leaders Wednesday of the work that has been done across Indian Country by the Biden-Harris administration.

Many of the projects funded over the last four years are already coming to fruition, including the Casa Blanca solar panel project by the Gila River Indian Community, which aims to battle water loss and boost tribal sovereignty by producing its own power.

Walz shifted to his home state of Minnesota, saying he and Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, White Earth Band of Ojibwe, have worked closely with tribal communities. Flanagan would become the nation’s first female Native governor if the Harris-Walz ticket wins election to the White House.

Flanagan and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, have been campaigning in Arizona for the Harris-Walz campaign.

Walz emphasized the importance of having Native voices at the table and establishing connections with tribal nations.

“If the children of our tribal nations are doing well, everyone's doing well,” Walz said.

Many of the tribal nations represented at the meeting are small nations that often have had little-to-no say in political and economic matters in Indian Country.

Roland Maldonado, chairman of the Kaibab Paiute Tribe, a small nation in northern Arizona, spoke with Walz about rural communities and the indifference historically shown to them.

“It was encouraging, continuing to build on the government-to-government relations, and really understanding the needs of rural communities. and understanding and accepting things that are, you know, historically missing,” Maldonado said. “And he understands the negative impact of that missing component of our history as a country and as individual Native communities.”

Ervin Jackson, president of the Nal-NiSHii Federation of Labor, issued a statement saying the Walz meeting with tribal leaders “once again highlighted the stark contrast” between the presidential tickets.

“Throughout their careers and on the campaign trail, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz have demonstrated deep respect for Indigenous peoples, championing our rights, our sovereignty and our cultural heritage,” said Jackson, who is Áshįįhí (Salt People) born for the Tódích’íi’nii (Bitter Water Clan).

“Trump’s presidency brought land loss, worsened health disparities, and challenges to our sovereignty,” he said in the statement. “Another term under Trump would be devastating.”

Jackson said the union would be reaching out to Indigenous members to spread the word about the Harris-Walz campaign.

The Nal-NiSHii Federation is the only AFL-CIO federated body in the U.S. representing Indigenous families in the Navajo Nation region, including miners, power plant workers and construction workers.

This article contains material from The Associated Press.


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