Artwork displayed as part of the Phoenix Indian Center’s town hall about voting on Indigenous Peoples Day at the Arizona Center in downtown Phoenix on Oct. 14, 2024. Photo by Shondiin Silversmith | Arizona Mirror
With only two weeks until the election, voting advocates, candidates, parties and community organizers are making last-ditch efforts to rally people to vote across Arizona.
Some will go canvassing in neighborhoods, set up phone chains, or organize rallies to inspire people to vote and educate them about what’s on the ballot.
But for those whose goal is turning out Indigenous voters living in Arizona’s urban centers face unique challenges, in large part because there are no identifiable neighborhoods that only Indigenous people populate.
“Most other groups in cities have neighborhoods that they live in, and urban natives tend to literally be all over the city,” said Janeen Comenote, the executive director of the National Urban Indian Family Coalition , an organization that advocates for Indigenous families living in urban areas through partnerships with local Indigenous organizations.