As a voter registration effort aimed at Native Americans continues in Wisconsin, tribal members are talking about some of the issues they hope candidates will address this fall. And, about some of the ongoing barriers to voting.
A couple hundred Native people from around Wisconsin attended a tailgate party ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers game on Thursday. The nonpartisan group, Wisconsin Native Vote, sponsored the event, saying it wanted to do something fun to promote its ongoing get out the vote effort.
The Menominee Nation’s Smokey Town drum and singing group performed at the party.
The Smokey Town drum and singing group (center) prepares to perform at Thursday’s tailgate party.
Also on hand was Shannon Holsey, who is president of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indian and chair of the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council. Holsey said the tribes have had an interesting and complex relationship with the U.S. government, and she hopes candidates for federal office this fall will address some key issues.
“There are things —from being able to provide our citizens with affordable health care, access to good education, making sure we have stewarding of Mother Earth and making sure that those systematic barriers that exist with our federal government , we continue with tribal nations, as sovereigns, we continue to envelop those relationships and build those relationships,” Holsey told WUWM.
Shannon Holsey, president of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, speaks during the tailgate.
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