Former President Donald Trump traveled to New Mexico last Thursday in a final attempt to rally voters in the state. He focused the rally on Hispanic voters, but there were also a number of Native Americans at the event.
During the rally former vice president for the Navajo Nation, Myron Lizer, who is Republican, said he wants to see areas with high populations of Native Americans grow economically.
鈥淲e want to make a Native America great,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e've never been there. I have to scoff at Build Back Better, because how can you build back better to a place you've never been? I鈥檓 talking about Indian country.鈥�
Build Back Better was part of President Joe Biden鈥檚 economic plan and was included in the American Rescue Plan and other legislation.
鈥淚 hearken to President Trump and his leadership to help bring Indian country into this 21st century. Amen, President Trump. We want to be invited to the American dream. Trump,鈥� he said.
Trump focused a lot of his speech on border security, saying, quote, 鈥渕illions of people鈥� come through New Mexico鈥檚 section of the southern border. about half a million encounters on New Mexico's border since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2021. Trump said those include criminals.
鈥淐ongratulations. You now have those gang members in your presence,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou have a lot of rough hombres, don't you?鈥�
Jen Thomasik is from the Quapaw tribe in Oklahoma. She attended the Trump rally while in town for an Indigenous business convention. She said that she resonated with Trump鈥檚 sentiments. Her own mother was T-boned by someone who entered the country illegally.
鈥淎nd it could have taken her life,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t scared the crap out of my kids, and he was never prosecuted. And you know that kind of thing when we can't prosecute people for the injustices that they do. So having that ability is something that's needed.鈥�
Statistics show that Native Americans typically vote Democratic, but at least after the 2022 midterms found Republicans gaining ground among Native voters.
鈥淚'm a mom, I'm an auntie, I'm a cousin, I'm a sister,鈥� said Thomasik. 鈥淚 don't like to tie myself to anything, you know, too strongly. I like to deal with things on a case by case basis."
Thomasik said that even though she鈥檚 a Republican she doesn鈥檛 place herself into a box and that she鈥檚 not a political person.
鈥淔or our people, you have to make that individual choice yourself. And it goes beyond a party. It goes on what your Creator is telling you, that gut feeling and what you feel is right, what you feel is wrong,鈥� she said.
Despite New Mexico having one of the largest Native American populations in the country, Trump did not acknowledge Native American voters in his speech. Instead he made derogatory remarks about Kamala Harris and referencenced Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren as Pocahontas.
鈥淜amala is a radical left Marxist rated even worse than crazy Bernie Sanders and Pocahontas herself,鈥� he said.
Republican Brandy Ross from the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma was offended by that.
鈥淲hen he mentioned Pocahontas, we both hid our faces, because it is embarrassing for comments like that, yeah, but I think those comments come from ignorance. It does, and that can be fixed,鈥� she said.
Ross also felt that a land acknowledgement should have been done before the event, which is standard practice in New Mexico and other parts of the world.
鈥淵ou fly into any city of Australia, and they acknowledge the lands and the peoples of those lands, when you land on any airline, super simple. Makes an amazing impact on minorities like us,鈥� she said.
But Valentina, who did not want to give her last name, said she feels closer to the political views of her elders. She鈥檚 Navajo from Farmington and said despite her parents being Democrats, she鈥檚 a Republican.
鈥淚 was brought up by my grandparents, and my grandparents are very conservative, so my ways are just always been toward Republicans,鈥� she said.
She said that Trump is a better candidate because under his presidency the economy was in better shape.
鈥淚nflation was down. Our borders weren't open. He was slowly getting us back back on our feet, and just when COVID happened, everything kind of just went wonky,鈥� she said.
But not everyone who is worried about the economy is voting for Trump. Tamara Allison is Navajo, originally from Farmington. She attended a Snag the Vote event several weeks ago in Albuquerque and said she鈥檚 concerned about things like food and rent prices.
鈥淎nd I just see a lot of people working, you know, minimum wage, two jobs, just to survive,鈥� she said.
Allison is voting for Kamala Harris based on the vice president鈥檚 background.
鈥淲hat she's done, she's comes from a middle, you know,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think middle class family herself, she understands. I don't think Trump has that background to really understand issues and what everyone faces, low income to middle income people, he's never been there.鈥�
Tyla Chopito is from Zuni Pueblo and was also at the event. She works for the All Pueblo Council of Governors and said she鈥檚 voting for Harris, not Trump.
鈥淚 feel like if we have this person coming in, everything might change and the Native voice will be swept under the rug,鈥� she said.
She appreciated Harris鈥� work with President Biden to protect Chaco Canyon.
鈥淚n hopes that we can continue to protect more cultural landscapes for our Pueblos and Natives,鈥� she said.
Santa Clara Pueblo voter Jason Garcia said there are issues in the Native American community that need to be addressed.
鈥淓ducation, tribal sovereignty, cultural resource protection, environmental protection, water rights, land rights associated with tribes,鈥� he said.
He added that it鈥檚 important that Native American voices are heard.
鈥淭o express our support for our leadership, whether it's national, tribal, city, county, whatever, I think it's important to us, you know, we have a voice in the democratic system, you know, to choose our leaders in that sense,鈥� he said.
Despite the tensions around this election, the humor within Native communities is still present. Garcia had another candidate in mind.
鈥淜anye. Write in,鈥� said Garcia.
Election Day is November 5th.
Support from the coverage comes from the Thornburg Foundation.
