Indigenous voters showed up in force for the 2020 election, a marked increase from 2016. And get out the vote organizers expect to keep the momentum going by reminding Indigenous people that they can help sway an election and boosting the communities' top priorities.

Like the rest of the nation, Native Americans tend to care most about healthcare and the economy right now.

Though this election has put the power of Indigenous people in the spotlight, in the past their vote was undervalued.

"This was an untapped resource in the voting population," says Dee Sweet (of the Chippewa tribe), who worked with Wisconsin Native Vote to get Indigenous people to vote in the 2020 election. "Native people, when they believe in you, when they trust you, when they feel you are telling them the truth and you are going to work on their behalf, they will come out in droves."

Despite barriers to voting and a lack of support from the Republican and Democratic parties alike, Indigenous voters in the key battleground states of Arizona and Wisconsin made their voices heard.

Indigenous people often face structural barriers to voting like spotty or non-existent internet and a dearth of formal residential addresses (some use P.O. boxes or highway names), says Sweet. Both hurdles can make it difficult to vote, access information about election deadlines, and your voter registration and mail-in ballot status.

Sweet, Benally, and James Harvill will continue to register Indigenous voters without regard for who wins (all their work is nonpartisan). You can help too. All three suggested the below organizations (besides their own).

  • Four Directions registers Native American voters across Indigenous lands in the U.S. and also safeguards Indigenous voting protections in court. You can donate here to help get out the vote efforts, though donations won't be earmarked specifically to this work.
  • Western Native Voice, a nonpartisan social justice organization in Montana, registers Indigenous voters, mobilizes them to vote, provides training on issues like the history of Native American voting rights, and empowers voters. You can get involved with phone banking to encourage people to vote (including your own friends and family), writing letters to the editor, and helping with Western Native Voice's office work.
  • National Congress of American Indians' nonprofit and nonpartisan Native Vote initiative holds voter registration events, election protection initiatives, provides voter education information, and collects information on the impact of the Indigenous vote. You can become a Native Vote Coordinator, where you will promote voter participation and act as a contact between NCAI and Indigenous voters in your community. Additionally, you can donate to support the National Congress of American Indians' work broadly, which also supports Native Vote.

Read the full article about supporting Native American voting by Siobhan Neela-Stock at Mashable.