In what many are calling a historic moment, President Joe Biden on Friday apologized to the Gila River Indian Reservation near Phoenix for the forced removal indigenous children in their home. In an effort to “kill the Indian, save the man,” these children – some as young as 3 years old – were stripped of their language and culture, subjected to torture and sexual abuse, and nearly more than 1,000 of them were murdered over a period of 150 years. years in 523 different schools across the United States. This cultural genocide caused unimaginable generational trauma that resonates today. This is the first time that an American president admitted wrongdoing to perpetuate generations of systemic violence through residential schools.

Exactly a century ago, Congress passed the Snyder Act granting American citizenship and right to vote to all Native Americans born in the United States. Although voting remains a challenge due to lack of access to transportation and gasoline, rejection of tribal ID cards at polling places, and structural barriers like neglected roads and homes without proper mailing addresses , Indigenous voters have the power to vote. shape this election.

It is not simply theoretical. The United States is home to 574 federally recognized tribes and nearly 6.8 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. About 4.7 million people are over 18 and eligible to vote. South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson (D) won in 2002 with just 500 voters from the Pine Ridge Reservation. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) attributed her 2010 write-in victory to support from Alaska Native voters. North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D) attributed her 2012 victory by a 1 percent margin to Native voters. Montana Sen. John Tester (D-MT) won his 2006 and 2012 races thanks in large part to the Native vote.

“Native American voters tend to favor Democrats,” said Gabriel R. Sanchez, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Associated Press. “But they are more likely to vote Republican than Latinos or African Americans. They are often motivated by problems that directly impact their communities, such as land rights and environmental protection. Native American voters receive less attention than other groups in the dominant political parties. But this election is different.

Earlier this month, the Harris-Walz campaign launched radio and television ads targeting the Navajo Nation, the largest reservation in the United States and the size of West Virginia, to highlight the projects from Vice President Kamala Harris for Indian Country. The campaign invested $370 million in advertising on reservations through Tribal TV and radio to secure the Native vote.

Biden’s apology, although decades overdue, addresses the first of eight recommendations made by the federal Indian residential schools inquiry report, Volume II. The 105-page document released by the Department of the Interior in June was written by Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Bryan Newland (Bay Mills Indian Community) under the direction of Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) , of first Native American cabinet secretary in the history of the United States.

Barack Obama signed a apology resolution in 2010, although it received little press because it was passed as part of a much larger defense spending bill.

NDN Collectivean Indigenous-led advocacy group, replied to Biden’s apology with five specific requests: pass the United States Truth and Healing Commission Bill, immediate clemency for Leonard Peltierinvestment in indigenous people language revitalizationcanceling Wounded Knee medals of honorand reform people in difficulty Tuba City Boarding School.

In previous election cycles, such demands might have been dismissed as unrealistic. But today, the 2024 election calculations have created a perfect storm of political necessity and moral imperative.

Christine Diindiisi McCleave (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe Nation), CEO of National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalitiondescribed the apology as political approach a few weeks before the presidential election.

Harris is currently lagging behind Former President Donald Trump in polls in states with large Native American populations like Arizona, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah. All states where there is a Tribal presence.

“I don’t mind being a political pawn,” McCleave said during a Instagram Live. “Native Americans are no strangers to this. What I hope comes out of this apology is that it is adopted by the Truth and Healing Commission and that Native people use their political power in Arizona and elect Kamala Harris. It’s a political ploy, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.”

The timing of this apology – weeks before a crucial election – offers both opportunity and leverage. While presidential apologies often ring hollow, this one comes at a time when Indigenous votes could decide key races.

The parallel with Clinton’s apology at Tuskegee in 1997 is revealing. This unethical experiment led to unnecessary suffering and death of black men and their families in Alabama. So what really changed after Clinton’s very well-worded apology? Health disparities still exist for Black people in America: Black women are three times more likely than white women to die from causes related to pregnancy. The Black infant mortality rate is double the rate for white infants. Black people are more likely to die of cancer and heart disease than white people and are at greater risk of developing diabetes. As the saying goes: “Apologies without change are just manipulation.”

Biden’s apology could inspire more Native Americans to vote — not just for a president who won’t back down decades of progress on tribal sovereignty, fundingand the environment — but these are key local initiatives that could mean real change for Indian Country, according to McCleave.

Native advocacy groups organize voter registration drives and coordinate with tribal leaders. They work to translate national power into local power, focusing on national and municipal elections where indigenous votes have an even greater impact. After election day, their objective will be to maintain pressure on elected officials so that the promises made in October are not forgotten by November.

At this point in history, the bar has been set for many of our expectations of our next president. However, the coming weeks represent a rare convergence of moral imperative and political necessity. Indigenous organizers have spent decades building coalitions and making clear demands for justice. As electoral calculus suddenly aligns with these long-standing calls for change, there is unprecedented potential to turn symbolic gestures into concrete actions.

The real test lies not in Biden’s words, but rather in whether his administration — and his potential successor — will finally deliver on the demands that Indigenous leaders and organizations have been making for generations.

Amy Stretten (Chikahominy) is a journalist, commentator and creator of the cultural fashion platform The Chief of Style. Her intersectional identities are closely tied to her work. She recently completed a fellowship with the Native American Media Alliance’s Native American Unscripted Workshop and is currently a Constellations Fellow with The Center of Cultural Power. She has been a guest on dozens of television shows and podcasts and her work has been featured in various mainstream and Indigenous media and books, including a queer fashion book. DapperQ Style: Genderless Fashion from HarperCollins. You can find her on Instagram at @ChiefofStyle.