More than 180 years ago, as part of the Trail of Tears, the United States military drove thousands of Cherokee and Muscogee people off the land they had lived on for centuries and marched them to what is now Oklahoma. Today, the federal government doesn’t recognize Ms. McCormick’s tribe, or any other in the state.
But nearly 150,000 Native Americans still live in Georgia, by the Native voting rights group Four Directions’s estimate. They receive few government services and tend not to participate in nontribal elections, both because they facestructural barriers— like hard-to-reach polling places and lack of voter ID — and because of the mistrust built by brutality and broken promises. Of the estimated 100,000 who are of voting age, only about 15,000 are registered to vote.
Organizers and tribal leaders recognize that if even a few thousand more Native Americans were inspired and able to vote in Georgia, they could play a meaningful political role in a closely divided state wheretwo runoff electionson Jan. 5 will decide which party controls the Senate. Buoyed by remarkable Native American turnout in other states last month, advocates are trying to make that happen at breakneck speed.
Which leads me to this e-mail received today from actor and activist, Mark Ruffalo, on behalf of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee:
Rev. Raphael Warnock (D. GA) & Jon Ossoff (D. GA)
With early voting over in Georgia, it all comes down to turnout this Tuesday.
We're all immensely thankful for Stacey Abrams and the groups on the ground organizing everywhere, including deeply in the Black, Latinx, and Asian American communities.
I'm asking for your help with one final push with 14,000 voters you hear less about, but who delivered the margin of victory for Biden-Harris in states like Wisconsin and Arizona: Native Americans.
Native voters are very aware that a Democratic Senate could mean pandemic relief, action on climate change, and smoother confirmation of the first-ever Native American Interior Secretary, Congresswoman Deb Haaland.
Deb's nomination was a victory that Progressive Change Campaign Committee members, activist Julian Noisecat, myself, and so many others worked hard to achieve.
In November, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won Georgia by 12,000 votes. 14,000 Native American voters have power.
I also received this e-mail today from Democracy For America:
News broke yesterday that close to a dozen Republican Senators plan to vote against accepting the certified presidential election results when Congress meets this week.
Most of these same Republicans were elected in the same certified election results yet, of course, not one of them has called into question their own win.
Let’s be clear, this is a dangerous scheme by Republicans to undermine and undo ourdemocraticelections.
If these Republicans truly questioned the results, they'd question all the results, not cherry-pick only the results they don't like. After all, how can their elections be legitimate if the presidential one was not?
This is political grandstanding by cowardly politicians who are lookingforthe support of Trump and his base in their pursuit of power.
They will destroy ourdemocracyin pursuit of power if given the chance. We cannot let that happen.
Right now, there is a critical election happening in Georgia that will decide which party controls the Senate. A few hours of your time could make the difference between victory and defeat.
While this stunt will not change the fact that President-elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris will be sworn in on January 20th, it shows just how eager Republicans are to destroydemocracy.
We can show these cowards whatdemocracylooks like by winning Georgia and taking back control of the Senate this Tuesday.
Sam Sero
5 min read
