2024 marks the 100-year commemoration of the U.S. government granting citizenship to Indigenous Americans. The Indian Citizenship Act naturalized hundreds of thousands, all but giving them the right to vote.
Full enfranchisement would take decades of activism and perseverance, and the reality of casting ballots would vary from paper to practice for decades to come.
One hundred years later, a local educator, an organizer, and a politician reflect on the many steps towards suffrage.
A brief history of Indigenous voting rights in Minnesota
For hundreds of years, the United States government used promises of naturalization and enfranchisement to take land from Indigenous peoples and further urge assimilation.
In 1788, the ratification of the U.S. Constitution made it clear: Indigenous people were not American citizens and would not enjoy the right to vote.
Unlike many other states, Minnesota had built into its Constitution a provision that would allow select Indigenous people to vote, given they demonstrate a willingness to submit to the government.