Omar Bennett
Native Americans in the United States have had a complex and unique history in their ability to vote and participate in elections. While the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 granted citizenship to Native Americans, it did not automatically confer the right to vote. This was due to the US Constitution leaving voting regulations in elections up to individual states, which often resulted in complex rules and restrictions that limited Native American participation. Despite legal barriers, Native Americans have fought for their voting rights, and their representation has increased over time, with a notable impact in the 2020 US presidential election. However, obstacles and low voter turnout among Native Americans persist, highlighting the ongoing need to protect and ensure fair access to the ballot for Native voters.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the Amendment | The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, also called the Snyder Act |
| Year of the Amendment | 1924 |
| Effect of the Amendment | Granted citizenship to Native Americans |
| Right to Vote | Did not automatically grant the right to vote |
| Voting Rights Act | Passed in 1965 to ensure suffrage for all Native Americans |
| Amendments to the Voting Rights Act | Passed in 1975 to distribute election materials in minority languages |
| Recent Efforts | Political campaigns to increase voter turnout, especially in the 2020 U.S. presidential election |
| Current Situation | Native voters still face obstacles, including geographic isolation, lack of transportation, and limited polling sites |
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What You'll Learn
The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924
Before the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, also known as the Snyder Act, Native Americans were not considered eligible for US citizenship. The Act granted citizenship to all non-citizen Indians born within the United States, which accounted for about 125,000 of the 300,000 Indigenous people in the country at the time. However, it is important to note that this Act did not automatically confer the right to vote to Native Americans.
Prior to 1924, Native Americans were governed by Article One of the US Constitution, which classified them as "Indians not taxed" and deemed them ineligible for citizenship. The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 further shaped US policy towards Native Americans by redistributing tribal lands and aiming to assimilate them into mainstream American life. Despite the Indian Citizenship Act granting citizenship, states still had the power to decide who could vote, and many continued to deny Native Americans the right to vote using various justifications.
The text of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 states:
> Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all non-citizen Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States be, and they are hereby, declared to be citizens of the United States: Provided That the granting of such citizenship shall not in any manner impair or otherwise affect the right of any Indian to tribal or other property.
This Act was opposed by some Native American groups, such as the Onondaga Nation, who believed it was "treason" as citizenship was being forced upon them without their consent. Despite the Act, Native Americans continued to face obstacles to voting, including literacy tests, intimidation, poll taxes, and various forms of discrimination. It was not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that exclusionary practices denying the right to vote based on citizenship were finally outlawed.
In summary, the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 was a significant step towards recognizing the rights of Native Americans, but it did not guarantee their right to vote, and further legislative efforts were necessary to protect their voting rights fully.
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Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 granted Native Americans born in the US citizenship, but it did not automatically guarantee them the right to vote. The Fifteenth Amendment stated that a citizen's right to vote could not be denied based on race, yet many states employed various reasons to prevent Native Americans from voting.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a landmark piece of legislation that aimed to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment and address the long-standing issue of racial discrimination in voting, particularly in the South. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, during the height of the civil rights movement. The Act was a response to the widespread discrimination and violence faced by African Americans when attempting to register or vote, including literacy tests, poll taxes, and intimidation tactics.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 had a significant and immediate impact. It outlawed discriminatory voting practices, such as literacy tests and poll taxes, and provided for the appointment of federal examiners to register qualified citizens to vote in covered jurisdictions. By the end of 1965, a quarter of a million new Black voters had been registered, with notable increases in African American voter registration across the South by the end of 1966.
The Act has been amended multiple times to expand its protections, including in 1970, 1975, and 1982. Additionally, Section 5 required preclearance from the District Court or the Attorney General for any new voting practices in covered jurisdictions. Section 2, modelled after the Fifteenth Amendment, prohibited the denial of the right to vote based on race or colour. The Act also directed the Attorney General to challenge the use of poll taxes in state and local elections, leading to a Supreme Court ruling that deemed Virginia's poll tax unconstitutional.
While the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a significant step forward, Native voters continue to face obstacles and disparities in voting access. These challenges include geographic isolation, inadequate transportation, limited polling sites, and a lack of language assistance. As a result, Congress has introduced legislation such as the Frank Harrison, Elizabeth Peratrovich, and Miguel Trujillo Native American Voting Rights Act to address these issues and protect the voting rights of Native Americans.
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Barriers to voting
The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, also known as the Snyder Act, granted Native Americans born in the US full citizenship. However, this did not automatically guarantee them the right to vote. Native Americans have faced numerous obstacles and barriers to voting over the years, and despite legislative efforts to address these issues, challenges remain.
Historical Context:
Native Americans have a long history of self-governance and practised it long before the formation of the United States government. However, they faced significant struggles and had to fight for their voting rights as citizens of both tribal nations and the United States. Even after the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, Native Americans were often prevented from participating in elections due to various state-level restrictions and discriminatory mechanisms.
Literacy Tests and Intimidation:
Native Americans have historically faced literacy tests, intimidation tactics, and poll taxes as barriers to voting. These obstacles were similar to those faced by African Americans during the same period.
Geographic and Transportation Challenges:
Geographic isolation and long travel distances to registration and polling sites pose significant challenges for Native American voters, especially those living in rural areas or on tribal lands. For example, members of the Fort Peck tribe in Montana had to travel 30 to 60 miles to vote after being denied a satellite election office.
Mailing Address and Postal Issues:
Non-traditional mailing addresses and difficulties with mail delivery disproportionately affect Native Americans, particularly those living on tribal lands. This impacts their ability to receive voting information, register to vote, and participate in mail-in voting.
Limited Access to Technology:
Lack of broadband access and limited internet connectivity create barriers to accessing voting information and registration processes, further hindering Native American participation in elections.
Voter Identification Requirements:
Strict voter ID laws and the refusal to accept tribal identification cards as valid forms of identification present additional obstacles for Native American voters. This has been an issue in multiple states, including Wisconsin, where tribal IDs are legally accepted but have been denied for voting purposes.
Language Barriers:
The scarcity of voting information and assistance in Native languages makes it difficult for some Native Americans to fully understand their voting rights and the voting process, thus suppressing their participation.
Socioeconomic Factors:
Socioeconomic disparities and racial discrimination against Native Americans have restricted their economic progress and political influence. This has contributed to lower voter turnout and made it more challenging for Native Americans to overcome voting barriers.
Legislative Action:
Congress introduced the Native American Voting Rights Act of 2019 to address these barriers and improve access to voting for Native Americans. This legislation aims to remove obstacles and ensure equal access to the ballot for Native American and Alaska Native voters.
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History of Native Americans in US elections
Native Americans have faced a long and ongoing struggle for voting rights in the United States. Despite being the original inhabitants of the land, Native Americans were explicitly denied citizenship when the US Constitution was ratified in 1788 and were considered "subjects". This was further reinforced in 1870 when the Senate Judiciary Committee concluded that the 14th Amendment, which granted citizenship to Black Americans, did not apply to Native Americans.
It was not until the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, also known as the Snyder Act, that Native Americans born in the US were granted full citizenship. However, this did not automatically confer the right to vote. Native Americans continued to face complex and purposefully restrictive rules and regulations for voting in state and federal elections. Requirements such as literacy tests, intimidation, poll taxes, and address criteria were used to limit Native American participation.
The 15th Amendment, which stated that a citizen's right to vote could not be denied based on race, was often circumvented by states that found other reasons to deny Native citizens the vote, such as residing on a reservation, tribal enrollment, or taxation issues. It was not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that these exclusionary practices were finally outlawed at the federal level.
Despite these legislative victories, Native Americans still face numerous obstacles to voting. Geographic isolation, non-traditional mailing addresses, limited transportation, and a lack of polling and registration sites create challenges for Native voters. Additionally, the violent history between the US and Native Americans has resulted in a greater sense of trust towards tribal governments, leading to lower voter turnout in national elections.
Efforts to protect Native voting rights are ongoing, with the introduction of acts such as the Native American Voting Rights Act, which aims to improve access to voter registration, polling places, and the acceptance of tribal IDs. Native Americans are now playing an increasingly integral part in US elections, with their turnout attributed to significant outcomes, such as the flipping of Arizona to the Democratic Party in the 2020 presidential election.
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Legal barriers to voting rights
The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, also known as the Snyder Act, granted Native Americans born in the US full citizenship rights. However, this Act did not automatically confer the right to vote. The Fifteenth Amendment states that a citizen's right to vote cannot be denied based on race, but states found other reasons to disenfranchise Native Americans, such as residing on reservations, tribal enrollment, taxation, and "incompetency".
The US Constitution leaves the process of voting in local, state, and national elections to individual states, which created a complex set of rules and regulations that often limited Native American participation in elections. Some states argued that Native Americans living on reservations were not qualified to vote because they didn't pay state taxes or were considered "wards of the federal government". Additionally, many Native Americans were subject to the same mechanisms that prevented African Americans from voting, such as literacy tests, intimidation, and poll taxes.
It wasn't until 1948 that the Arizona Supreme Court recognized the legal right of Native Americans to vote. In the same year, a federal panel in New Mexico ruled that denying the right to vote to "Indians not taxed" violated the 14th and 15th Amendments. Utah became the last state to remove laws denying Native Americans the right to vote in 1957.
Even after these legal victories, Native Americans continued to face barriers to voting, including geographic isolation, non-traditional mailing addresses, limited transportation, and a lack of polling and registration sites on tribal lands. These challenges persist today, and Congress has been urged to pass legislation to protect Native voting rights, such as the Frank Harrison, Elizabeth Peratrovich, and Miguel Trujillo Native American Voting Rights Act.
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Frequently asked questions
Native Americans gained the right to vote in 1948, though some sources state that the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 granted them this right.
The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, also known as the Snyder Act, granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the US. However, it did not automatically enforce the right to vote, and many states continued to deny suffrage to Native Americans.
Yes, the Fifteenth Amendment states that a citizen's right to vote cannot be denied based on race. Additionally, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed exclusionary practices that denied citizens the right to vote. Amendments passed in 1975 to this Act pushed for the distribution of election materials in minority languages, including Native American languages.
