‘Our Voices Restored’ in Bemidji Encourages Native Americans to Vote

The Indian Citizenship Act was originally passed in 1924, which granted citizenship and the right to vote to Native Americans, but states still continued to restrict their access to vote. Since then, however, a number of acts have been passed to solidify the right to vote for Native Americans. The Our Voices Restored event held at the Sanford Center in Bemidji over the weekend was a way to get more Indigenous voices heard ahead of the upcoming election.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act. Historically, Native voters have had to overcome literacy tests, intimidation, and poll taxes when voting. Today, however, it is much easier for Native voices to be heard in the land of politics, and the Our Voices Restored event aims to celebrate that right to vote, including the recent expansion of voting rights to formerly incarcerated Minnesotans.

“We’re here today to be able to provide education and outreach and information to our community so that we can better understand the interconnectedness of the systems and why it’s important for us as a community to show up and vote, because our votes do matter,” said Audrianna Goodwin, Tiwahe Initiative Specialist for Red Lake Nation.

“We named it Our Voices Restored because voices have been restored: 55,000 people across Minnesota with the new voting law change gave them their voice back,” explained Thomas Sorenson, Community Outreach Coordinator with the Regional Native Public Defense Corporation. “And so them having their voice back, we wanted to celebrate that.”

The event provided ways to register to vote for those who weren’t already registered ahead of the upcoming election. There were also multiple breakout sessions throughout the day to inform attendees about the needs of the community, and what it means to vote.

“Today is about providing that information to our community so that they, again, can see the interconnectedness of the issues that we experience and can understand and recognize the importance of engaging in the democracy,” stated Goodwin. “The democracy may not be perfect, but it is a way for us to be able to allow our voices to be heard within these spaces.”

The event featured a number of guest speakers as well as many attendees throughout the day. Organizers were very proud with the number of people who showed up, not only because this event is the first of its kind and they hope to hold it annually, but because more community members are wanting to be involved.

“I think it’s testament to what the community wants, and the community wants to see a shift because we do recognize that we’ve been just weighed down for so long,” Goodwin added. “When we have people show up, it means something.”

“I think we’re understanding that our vote matters,” said Audrey Thayer, Bemidji City Councilor At Large. “I think we’re understanding that the importance of being heard and seen and gathering. We’re celebrating and saying, ‘We’re getting somewhere,’ and more people can be engaged in a public system.”

The Our Voices Restored event was put together by the Regional Native Public Defense Corporation, a Native-led non-profit law firm located in Cass Lake.