A bipartisan bill signed into law last year is now giving Native Americans residing in Arizona the option to update their state-issued identification, including a drivers license, to show off their tribal affiliation.
It went into effect in January, at a time when Indigenous peoples are being swept up in immigration raids near and far, including Peter Yazzie, a Navajo man recently detained by ICE agents in Peoria.
This new marker is akin to getting an organ donor or veteran insignia.
To do so, applicants need to prove that they’re enrolled in a federally recognized tribe by submitting a CIB — better known as a certificate of Indian blood — or other forms of verification, like an enhanced tribal card and affidavit of birth.
And so far, the Arizona Department of Transportation has gotten more than 1,600 requests for the designation.
The idea of streamlining legal documents came from Navajo Democratic state Rep. Myron Tsosie.
He believed it’d be easier for Arizonans to be identified “instead of having to dig out all your cards to show that you are Native American.” Tsosie told KJZZ that his sponsored bill, passed in May, had nothing to do with ICE.
“That wasn’t the intention,” added Tsosie, “but I’m hearing from constituents saying that 'I feel safer now with ICE being here,' especially like in the Valley, Tucson, Flagstaff and wherever in the state.”
Thomas Cody, executive director of the Navajo Nation’s Division for Child and Family Services, is encouraging his Diné urban relatives to seek out the designation.
“It’s unfortunate that we have to have an ID that we’re Native Americans. We shouldn’t but I’m glad the state of Arizona, Gov. [Katie] Hobbs is taking an extra step," Cody said.
His deputy director, Sonlatsa Jim, said the designation is much-needed — not just for Navajos living in the Grand Canyon State “because we are the largest Native American tribe, you’ll find a Navajo tribal member anywhere in the United States.”
That’s why Tsosie is working with neighboring Utah and New Mexico state lawmakers to adopt his legislation aiming to help cover more of Indian Country, including the rest of the tribe's sprawling 27,000-square-mile reservation.
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Patty Talahongva is an Arizona native and a longtime journalist; she’s also directed and produced documentaries, among other roles.
