SUPAI, Ariz. \u2014 Rep. Ruben Gallego arrived at the bottom of the Grand Canyon barefoot, shoes in hand, after crossing a stream during a 2,000-foot descent.<\/p>\n
The 44-year-old Marine Corps veteran, five-term Democratic congressman and U.S. Senate candidate had started the eight-mile hike in darkness. Now, under the midday sun, he was approaching a Havasupai village that is only accessible by foot, mule, horse or helicopter.<\/p>\n
Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized tribes, and Gallego, who is acutely aware that Native voters helped deliver this closely divided state to President Joe Biden in 2020, is trying to visit all of them in the final stretch of a race that could determine control of the Senate.<\/p>\n
The Havasupai were 20th on Gallego\u2019s list. When he reached Supai village on the morning of Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day, trailed by 15 reporters, aides and tribal liaisons, he was embraced by Felicia Siyuja, a tribal council member, who made clear she was happy to see that he had opted to skip the chopper ride.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou walked in our people\u2019s shoes when you hiked down,\u201d another tribal council member, Juanita Wescogame, later told Gallego.<\/p>\n
Perhaps no swing-state politician in America has made more of an effort to reach out to tribal communities than Gallego, who faces former local TV host Kari Lake, a Republican ally of Donald Trump, in November\u2019s election.<\/p>\n
His trek demonstrates how critical both major parties now believe the votes of people in Arizona\u2019s tribal communities, who make up 4.5 percent of the state\u2019s population, could be in a close race. The parties have invested time and money in trying to win their votes, with the Republican National Committee sending GOP staffers to meet with Navajo representatives weekly, among other outreach efforts.<\/p>\n
In his seven-hour visit to Supai, Gallego danced with tribal members, ate their fry bread tacos, toured recent flooding damage and listened to their concerns about the impact of uranium mining on their land and people.<\/p>\n
Gallego\u2019s tour of the tribes began more than a year and a half ago, when he made the Navajo Nation one of his campaign\u2019s first stops. In an interview Monday, Gallego said tribal voters \u201calways do feel that Democrats only show up for the last two weeks, and I wanted to make sure that we were here from Day 1.\u201d<\/p>\n
Native Americans have long felt overlooked in electoral politics and disillusioned with both parties. In Supai, far from the vote-rich Phoenix area, the feeling can be even more pronounced.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want them to know that there\u2019s actually people living in the bottom of the Grand Canyon,\u201d Armando Marshall, vice chairman of the Havasupai Tribe, said when asked for his message to the outside world.<\/p>\n
Attention undoubtedly increased after the 2020 election, when Biden won Arizona by just 10,457 votes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re talking about [that margin] being the difference between victory and not, you can\u2019t afford not to hike down to Supai,\u201d said Clara Pratte, who was the Biden campaign\u2019s tribal engagements director.<\/p>\n
Gallego arrived in Supai, on a reservation that is home to about 200 people, according to the 2020 census, weeks after flash flooding devastated the community. It caused the evacuation of scores of hikers, among the thousands who flock to the area annually to see the idyllic waterfalls from which the Havasupai Tribe \u2014 \u201cpeople of the blue-green waters\u201d \u2014 gets its name. Hikers can wait years to land a coveted permit to hike to the falls.<\/p>\n
On the trail, there were few obvious signs of the flooding, and Gallego was struck by how quickly workers were able to make the route passable again for the tourists who power the village economy.<\/p>\n
Tribal leaders were far more concerned about a longer-running issue: the uranium mining that they say threatens the spring-fed creek winding through their village.<\/p>\n
When Gallego entered the village, he was greeted by a large red sign with a radioactive waste logo, reading, \u201cNO! URANIUM MINING.\u201d He later joined hands with tribal members in a circle and danced to a uranium mining protest song.<\/p>\n
The community has long opposed the Pinyon Plain Mine, outside Grand Canyon National Park, and although Biden moved last year to protect the area from additional mining, they remain focused on the existing mine and the risk of water contamination.<\/p>\n
Addressing Gallego and his group at the center of Supai, Siyuja rattled off all the things that the water allows the tribe to grow \u2014 cherries, grapes, apricot, corn. Visitors, she said, have told her they could find all the salad ingredients they would ever need in the village.<\/p>\n
Wescogame pleaded with Gallego to \u201cfind a loophole\u201d to stop the mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe uranium mining does need to be halted,\u201d Gallego said during a speech at the center of the village. \u201cIt is much too dangerous for the Havasupai people.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the tribal leaders recognized Gallego for aligning with them against the mine \u2014 \u201cso far,\u201d one specified \u2014 they offered support for his Senate bid.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not a Democrat. I\u2019m not a Republican. I\u2019m independent, but I do vote, and you have my support,\u201d Marshall told Gallego inside the council chambers.<\/p>\n
Marshall, in an interview earlier, lamented that Lake was \u201cmore Trump-style\u201d and more focused on the border in her campaign.<\/p>\n
Lake\u2019s campaign says it considers the Native vote \u201cof critical importance.\u201d Mike Woestehoff, chair of Native Americans for Kari, said in a statement that the campaign is working to show tribal communities \u201cthey have real options, and we won\u2019t take their vote for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lake has made several trips to reservations in her campaign and organized at least two roundtables on Native issues. After an August visit to the Navajo Nation, Lake gained the endorsement of the tribe\u2019s former vice president, Myron Lizer.<\/p>\n
Lizer is a Republican, though he said Lake had to earn his support. She made her case to Lizer and his wife over a 30-minute phone call, during which Lizer admonished her for missing a major Navajo parade when she was running for governor in 2022. He said he would only endorse her if she came to the nation \u2014 and she did, attending a rodeo in June.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen us voting Democratic for five decades, and nothing\u2019s changed in Indian country,\u201d said Lizer, who is also starring in radio ads for the Arizona GOP. \u201cI want to give Republican leadership another opportunity to enhance life here.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the presidential race, Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019s campaign has hired 22 organizers for tribal outreach in this state alone, with plans to add nine more before the election, according to the campaign. Among its top surrogates to tribal voters is Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota\u2019s lieutenant governor, who is the highest-ranking Native woman to hold executive office in the country.<\/p>\n
Minnesota\u2019s governor and Harris\u2019s running mate, Tim Walz, visited the Phoenix area this month to meet with tribal leaders, predicting that a \u201cNative wall\u201d in Arizona and other states would deliver victory for her this fall.<\/p>\n
The Democratic National Committee says it is spending more than ever this election targeting Native voters. It marked Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day by announcing a six-figure ad campaign aimed at tribal communities in Arizona and three other states. The Harris campaign also on Monday announced TV and radio ads \u201cin and around\u201d the Navajo Nation.<\/p>\n
In their messaging, Democrats are emphasizing their broad commitment to tribal sovereignty, while Republicans are looking to tap into concerns about the economy.<\/p>\n
Republican staffers meet with Navajo voters on a weekly basis, according to an RNC spokesperson. The RNC, working with Donald Trump\u2019s campaign, has sent staff and volunteers to events on reservations such as flea markets and rodeos.<\/p>\n
Trump himself has made personal appeals to Native voters, giving a shout-out to Tanya Lewis, chairwoman of the Yavapai-Apache Nation, during a rally Sunday in Prescott Valley, Ariz. Lewis helped show Gallego around when he visited her reservation in the spring.<\/p>\n
Bernadine Jones, chairwoman of the Havasupai Tribe, told reporters she has heard \u201cnothing at all\u201d from Trump or Lake and did not personally know any tribal members supporting them.<\/p>\n
While the Native vote tends to lean Democratic, some communities have long been skeptical of both parties. Jaynie Parrish, the founder of Arizona Native Vote, said she did not register to vote until her late 20s, thinking politics was just \u201ca place for greedy White men.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden\u2019s 2020 margin in Arizona was a turning point, Parrish said, but so was what he did next: pick Rep. Deb Haaland (D) of New Mexico to lead the Interior Department, making her the first Native American Cabinet secretary in American history.<\/p>\n
Parrish now cites the 2020 numbers to tell reluctant voters: \u201cLook at them: Your vote mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s definitely a vying now,\u201d Parrish added.<\/p>\n
Pratte, the former Biden campaign tribal outreach director, said that as the election nears, in addition to consistently showing up, candidates need to be mindful that tribal members tend to be \u201cday-of voters.\u201d Among other things, she noted, they value the communal experience of in-person voting.<\/p>\n
Gallego\u2019s visit was somber at times, such as when the tribal leaders shared their frustrations with government. But he also happily obliged when they showed off the natural beauty of the reservation. The congressman was among the first in his group to reach the base of Havasu Falls, peeling off his shirt and jumping into the misty waters.<\/p>\n
Drying off afterward, Gallego quipped to reporters, \u201cMy next town hall is going to be so disappointing when you cover it.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the way out Monday, Gallego and his crew opted for a helicopter ride, sparing themselves the uphill climb.<\/p>\n
Karin Brulliard contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
SUPAI, Ariz. \u2014 Rep. Ruben Gallego arrived at the bottom of the Grand Canyon barefoot, shoes in hand, after crossing a stream during a 2,000-foot descent. The 44-year-old Marine Corps veteran, five-term Democratic congressman and U.S. Senate candidate had started the eight-mile hike in darkness. Now, under the midday sun, he was approaching a Havasupai […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":11371,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}