Native Vote 2026 Archives » Native America Calling

A grassroots campaign in Hawai’i, built from the ashes of the deadly fire in Lahaina, sent a first-time Native Hawaiian candidate to the state legislature. The Green Party’s Pāʻele Kiakona unseated the incumbent Republican in what his supporters say is a commitment to protect āina from predatory developers. It’s one of dozens of state elections that collectively add to Native representation around the country.

At the same time voters in several states approved ballot measures to require photo IDs in order to vote, even for mail-in voters. Such measures have proven to be a hurdle for some Native voters.

We’ll look at the influence of some of the election decisions beyond the national races.

GUESTS

Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi (Kanaka Maoli), freelance journalist

Amelia Schafer (Brothertown Indian Nation descendant), north central correspondent for ICT

Nika Bartoo-Smith (Osage and Oneida Nations descent), joint reporter with ICT and Underscore Native News

Margaret Carmel, politics editor for the Anchorage Daily News

Samantha Blencke, senior staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund

Break 1 Music: Ke Aloha I Ka Pu’uwai / He ‘Ili ‘Ula Au a He Hawai’I (song) Mark Keali’i Ho’omalu (artist) Call It What You Like (album)

Break 2 Music: Put Your Feathers On (song) Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree (artist) Get Your Feathers Ready (Album)

In rejecting the direction President Donald Trump took the country in the past two years, voters also sent a record number of Native Americans to elected office. Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), who made history as the first Native American cabinet secretary, makes history a second time as the first Native woman elected governor. Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Band of Ojibwe) is the first Native woman in the U.S. Senate. Claire Valdez (Ysleta del sur Pueblo) breezed to her seat in New York. She joins fellow Native U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk), D-Kansas, Tom Cole (Chickasaw), R-Oklahoma, and Josh Brecheen (Choctaw), R-Oklahoma, in the U.S. House. In races too close to call, both Mary Peltola (Yup’ik) in Alaska and Jonathan Nez (Navajo) in Arizona have slim leads in their attempts to flip their respective Republican incumbents. In addition, the balance of power in Congress has shifted, offering a check on initiatives coming from the executive branch. We’ll find out what the electoral wins and losses mean for going forward and get a look at what remains in the balance.

GUESTS

Ruth Buffalo (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation), former North Dakota State Representative from Fargo, North Dakota and the first Native American woman elected to the North Dakota Legislature

Allen Wright (Choctaw), president and founder of the Hustings Group

Joaqlin Estus (Tlingit), longtime journalist and former ICT correspondent

Jeanette DeDios (Jicarilla Apache and Diné), KUNM Radio reporter

Hannah Bissett (Knik Tribe), deputy finance manager and fundraising specialist at Ship Creek Group

Break 1 Music: Victory Song (song) All Lead Singers Home Of The Champions (artist) Home Of The Champions (album)

Break 2 Music: Put Your Feathers On (song) Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree (artist) Get Your Feathers Ready (Album)

While Native American voters generally stick with Democrats, any actual data on what is driving their decisions for the midterm elections is scarce. We’ll talk with first-time voters as well as veteran get-out-the-vote organizers to hear what is on the minds of voters this Election Day, which President Donald Trump calls “the most important midterm … in our lifetime.” Gasoline and grocery prices make headlines daily, but are historically low poverty rates an issue that voters think about? Are they worried about looming changes to health care access? We’ll ask about what’s important to those headed to the polls.

GUESTS

Muñeca Danforth (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin), Miss Indigenous Wisconsin

Tayler Higgins (Seldovia Village tribal member and Cook Inlet Region Corporation shareholder), youth advocate

Jordan James Harvill (Cherokee and Choctaw), national program director for Advance Native Political Leadership

Mary Kim Titla (San Carlos Apache), executive director of United National Indian Tribal Youth

Break 1 Music: Show the People (song) Bear Creek (artist) On The Move – Powwow Songs Recorded Live at Apache Gold

Break 2 Music: Put Your Feathers On (song) Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree (artist) Get Your Feathers Ready (Album)

Win or lose, Native American women are making a major showing in state and national races on Election Day. There is a very good chance Native women will fill a state governor’s seat and be represented in the U.S. Senate for the first time in history. The gains in representation come as a record number of Native candidates are on local, state, and national ballots around the country. As the nation prepares to vote, we’ll discuss the direction of political winds for Native candidates and issues.

GUESTS

Rebecca Nagle (Cherokee), author and journalist

Michael Stopp (Cherokee and Muscogee), Oklahoma GOP analyst and president and CEO of Seven Star Holdings

James Brooks, state reporter at Alaska Beacon

Break 1 Music: Intertribal (song) Cree Confederation (artist) Pakosiyimitan (album)

Break 2 Music: Put Your Feathers On (song) Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree (artist) Get Your Feathers Ready (Album)

The first woman to hold the Navajo Nation Council Speaker post is now vying to become the tribe’s first female president. Navajo voters will decide November 3 whether Crystalyne Curley or her opponent, attorney Jason Jones, will lead the country’s largest tribe for the next four years. The two candidates edged out current President Buu Nygren in the primary election. The Navajo election is one of major tribal elections going on at the same time as the national midterm elections. We’ll hear about the Navajo race and others that could set new directions for some tribes in the coming years.

We’ll also reflect on the legacy of legendary labor leader and civil rights advocate Dolores Huerta, who died at age 96.

GUESTS

Geri Hongeva (Diné), master of ceremonies of the 2026 Presidential Forum on the Navajo Economy and owner of Native Moto Tours

Lisa Marie Byrd (Diné), president of the Upper Fruitland Navajo Nation Chapter house

Twyla Baker (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara), president of Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College

Charlene DeCicco, owner, producer and host of Community Spotlight TV

Chuy Martinez, cultural activist and member of the New Mexico Sí Se Puede Committee

Break 1 Music: Leadership Song [Naaí’áanii Biyiin] (song) Radmilla Cody (artist) K’é Hasin (album)

Break 2 Music: I Saw the Witch Cry (song) Anasazi (artist) I Saw the Witch Cry (album)

The Trump administration’s intervention in the U.S. Senate race in Alaska indicates the high stakes — and the scrutiny that comes with them — in the November 3 election. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, is one of two candidates hoping to make history as the first Native woman to be elected to the Senate. The Department of Justice is trying to block election results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses by a narrow margin. Voting rights advocates in Alaska and elsewhere are urging people go to the polls early to help offset any complications or challenges to election results. And Native voter organizations are deploying hundreds of observers to polling locations across the country in anticipation of potential interruptions that include worries about voting machine seizure and immigration raids.

We’ll also get an update on severe flooding on and around the Navajo Nation and other tribal land in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. Heavy rains displaced hundreds of residents, damaged homes, and washed out critical infrastructure.

GUESTS

Michelle Sparck (Qissunamiut Tribe of Chevak), director of Get Out the Native Vote

Samantha Blencke, senior staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund

OJ Semans Sr. (Rosebud Sioux), co-executive director of Four Directions Native Vote

Lisa Byrd (Diné), president of the Upper Fruitland Navajo Nation Chapter house

Break 1 Music:  Get Up Stand Up (song) Bailey Wiley, Che Fu, King Kapisi, Laughton Kora, Maisey Rika & Tiki Taane (artist)

Break 2 Music: I Saw the Witch Cry (song) Anasazi (artist) I Saw the Witch Cry (album)

A new report by the Native American Rights Fund finds rejections increased for both ballots and voter registration forms sent by mail from places with high Native populations from 2020 to 2024. NARF’s analysis also documents generations of efforts to suppress or hinder Native voters. The report comes as both Congress and the courts are turning back several President Donald Trump’s most significant attempts to alter how people vote or how their votes should be counted. But Native voting advocates remain vigilant for ways the federal government may seek to interfere with the midterm elections in November.

GUESTS

Dr. Megan Gall, principal at Blockwell Consulting

Jaynie Parrish (Diné), executive director of Arizona Native Vote

Michelle Sparck (Qissunamiut Tribe of Chevak), director of Get Out The Native Vote

Calvin Hedrick (Mountain Maidu), director of policy, training and tribal relations for the California Native Vote Project

Break 1 Music: Buc Wild Intertribal (song) Buc Wild (artist) Oneida Powwow: 40th Anniversary (album)

Break 2 Music: Everywhere On Earth I Roam (song) Courtney Yellow Fat (artist) The Lost Songs of Sitting Bull (album)

Voters will soon find out whether the bid by Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Ojibwe/D-MN) to become the first Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate clears the primary election hurdle in a hotly-contested race. It is one of the many races with Native candidates that are coming into clearer focus after a summer of primaries. Native women are particularly well represented in national and statewide races and some progressive Democratic wins might offer clues about what’s on voters’ minds. We’ll look at some key national, state, and tribal races as the midterm election draws closer.

GUESTS

Kevin Killer (Oglala Lakota), co-founder of Advance Native Political Leadership and former president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe

Jourdan Bennett-Begaye (Diné), digital news director of ICT

Amelia Schafer (Brothertown Indian Nation descendant), north central bureau correspondent for ICT

Break 1 Music: Nakoda Healing Song (song) YB Nakota (artist)

Break 2 Music: Wolastoq Song by Saqatay (song) Mawi Sakolikapuwicik Singers (artist)

Voting rights advocates say a bill to overhaul elections could disenfranchise millions of Americans, especially Native American and other minority voters.  Among other things, the SAVE Act requires all voters to prove their U.S. citizenship, either with a passport or a birth certificate. Numerous studies show Native Americans are less likely to have a valid passport or other documents readily available that prove their place of birth than other groups. It would have major implications for mail-in ballots. The bill passed the House. President Donald Trump added new pressure on members of his own party in the Senate, saying he will not sign any other legislation until the SAVE Act clears Congress. We’ll find out the details of the legislation and look ahead to how this and other measures might complicate the Midterm Elections.

Allison Renville (Photo: video screen capture)

We’ll also hear from Allison Renville (Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota) about her decision to suspend her campaign for governor of South Dakota. Renville was running as an independent voice in the state that also elected Kristi Noem as governor. She cites the enormous cost of running a major campaign as a deterrent to welcoming diverse political voices.

GUESTS

Jacqueline De León (Isleta Pueblo), senior staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund

Lenny Fineday (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe), general counsel for the National Congress of American Indians

Jaynie Parrish (Diné), executive director and founder of Arizona Native Vote

Allison Renville (Sisseton and Hunkpapa Lakota and Omaha and Haudenosaunee), activist and political strategist

Break 1 Music: A War Chief I Have Been (song) Courtney Yellow Fat (artist) The Lost Songs of Sitting Bull (album)

Break 2 Music: Place I Call Home (song) Native Roots (artist) A Place I Call Home (album)