Recently Native Organizers Alliance (NOA) held two Natives Vote Fellows trainings in Chicago and Detroit where we trained 112 Fellows across Indian Country on how to get out the vote in their communities. 

For the upcoming elections, we’re working with 20 Native organizations in 10 states, and 11 Tribal Nations in 6 states for the Natives Vote campaign to get people registered to vote and do voter education and awareness. Our goal is to have 200 moccasins on the ground in 12 key states.

During the two-day trainings, NOA Fellows took a deep dive into the history timeline of voting rights in Native and Tribal communities and the ongoing fight to increase voter accessibility. They shared their hopes and dreams for the Natives Vote campaign and engaged in GOTV scenario roleplaying to help prepare for their on-the-ground work.

Native American Rights Fund joined us virtually to present their voter turnout case study of Arizona and a debrief on voter disinformation.

Our Fellows also had virtual conversations with Gabriella Cazares-Kelly, Pima Country Recorder, and Montana State Senator Donavan Hawk to hear how Native representation in election work and at various levels of government have been beneficial to get out the vote. 

IllumiNative was on site to give a Narrative Messaging and Communications tutorial, showcasing the widespread impact of narrative sovereignty and amplifying Native voices. IllumiNative also trained the Fellows on how to mobilize the Native vote with text and phone banking.

The time we spent together was filled with energy, community, engagement, expertise, and good medicine!