The Harris campaign is touting a list of endorsements from more than 70 tribal leaders across Indian Country; roughly a fourth of them are from Arizona.
So far, at least 17 elected officials from nearly half of the state’s 22 federally recognized tribes have personally backed the Harris-Walz ticket, both publicly and privately to the campaign, but not on behalf of their governments.
These include representatives from the Navajo Nation, Tohono O’odham Nation, Colorado River Indian Tribes, Gila River Indian Community, Kaibab Paiute Tribe, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Ak-Chin Indian Community, Pueblo of Zuni, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and San Carlos Apache Tribe.
But the latter is the sole exception in Arizona.
In a rare show of support, the San Carlos Apache Tribal Council officially endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after unanimously passing a resolution back in August.
Less than 5% of all 574 federally recognized tribes — like San Carlos and the All Pueblo Council of Governors, made up of 20 pueblos in New Mexico and Texas — expressly support the Democratic presidential nominee through their governments.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who has been personally campaigning for the last several months all around Arizona from Phoenix to Window Rock, said all of these endorsements — both formal and informal — are signs of the Biden administration’s commitment to tribes.
“And quite frankly, I’m not surprised,” Haaland told KJZZ News. “I think it’s indicative of the work that they have both done, Vice President Harris alongside President Biden and, of course, Gov. Walz in his state of Minnesota, where he has gone above and beyond for Indian Country with Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.”
If Harris and Walz win, Flanagan would become the nation’s first Native American governor. She's a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. Haaland called her “a dear friend of many years.”
“She’s capable, she is intelligent, she’s amazing, and I’d be very proud to see her advance in that way,” she added. “That will only happen if we ensure that we’re working extremely hard and getting the Harris-Walz ticket across the finish line.”
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign didn’t respond to requests from KJZZ News about whether the Republican presidential nominee has received any tribal endorsements ahead of Election Day.
Harris endorsements from Arizona tribal leaders:
- Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren
- Navajo Nation Vice President Richelle Montoya
- San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler
- San Carlos Apache Tribe Vice Chairman Tao Etpison
- Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Verlon Jose
- Tohono O’odham Nation Vice Chairwoman Carla Johnson
- Colorado River Indian Tribes Vice Chairman Dwight Lomayesva
- Ak-Chin Indian Community Robert Miguel
- Kaibab Paiute Tribe Chairman Roland Maldonado
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Find everything you need to know about elections in Arizona and Maricopa County from KJZZ's politics team. -
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