By Courtney Columbus and Erin Vogel-Fox

During the past 180 years-plus, Native Americans have gone from being forced out of their homes to becoming accepted as citizens and granted the right to vote.

Even after all the persecution and progress, the struggle continues for Native American voting rights. History reveals itself to be repeating somewhat, as a 2013 Supreme Court decision removed protections against discriminatory practices in states with a track record of such prejudices.

Timeline

1830: President signs the Indian Removal Act

The U.S. government's order forced Native Americans to the west. (National Archives)
The U.S. government’s order forced Native Americans to the west. (National Archives)

The act requires tribes to move to unsettled lands west of the Mississippi River. Many resist, and nearly 4,000 Cherokees are killed during the migration — leading to the name Trail of Tears.

1879: Officer founds boarding school

Boys in uniform after arriving at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. (National Archives)
Boys in uniform after arriving at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. (National Archives)

U.S. Army officer Richard Henry Pratt founded the first off-reservation boarding school, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The U.S. government funded the school, and other schools cropped up across the nation. Pratt said Native American students needed to be assimilated: “Kill the Indian in him and save the man.”

1890: Naturalization Act provides pathway to citizenship

Members of the Arapaho tribe perform a ghost dance circa 1900. (National Archives)
Members of the Arapaho tribe perform a ghost dance circa 1900. (National Archives)

Enacted in 1890, the Indian Naturalization Act allows Native Americans to apply for citizenship.

Dec. 29, 1890: Hundreds killed at Wounded Knee

The victims are buried in a mass grave across the road from where the massacre occurred. (Jeremiah M. Murphy/Flickr)
The victims are buried in a mass grave across the road from where the massacre occurred. (Jeremiah M. Murphy/Flickr)

The massacre site where more than 250 Native Americans died is near homes on the Pine Ridge reservation.

June 2, 1924: President gives Native Americans right to vote

Although Coolidge signed the act in 1924, many Native Americans couldn't vote until decades later. (Library of Congress)
Although Coolidge signed the act in 1924, many Native Americans couldn’t vote until decades later. (Library of Congress)

President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizenship Act, giving Native Americans the right to vote.

1941 to 1945: 44,000 Native Americans serve in World War II

Navajos Cpl. Henry Bake Jr. and Pfc. George H. Kirk worked as code talkers during World War II. (National Archives)
Navajos Cpl. Henry Bake Jr. and Pfc. George H. Kirk worked as code talkers during World War II. (National Archives)

Ninety-nine percent of all eligible Native Americans had registered for the draft as of 1942. Many Native American women also served as nurses.

1948: County rejects voter registration applications

Mural of a Native American on the side of a trading post that sold goods from tribes on the Navajo Nation near Gallup, New Mexico. (Mike Lakusiak/News21)
Mural of a Native American on the side of a trading post that sold goods from tribes on the Navajo Nation near Gallup, New Mexico. (Mike Lakusiak/News21)

Before 1948, Native Americans in New Mexico had been denied the right to vote because the state constitution included the phrase “Indians not taxed may not vote.” The court rules in favor of plaintiff Miguel Trujillo, a veteran, and orders the Valencia County registrar to accept his voter registration application, according to court records.

1962: Native Americans gain voting rights in all states

A flag near the Tsé Lichii Chapter House, part of the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. (Marianna Hauglie/News21)
A flag near the Tsé Lichii Chapter House, part of the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. (Marianna Hauglie/News21)

New Mexico is the last state to change its laws and give all Native Americans the right to vote, according to the Library of Congress.

1975: Voting Rights Act amended

Shannon County, South Dakota, now renamed to Oglala Lakota County, was covered under Section 5 until 2013. (Mike Lakusiak/News21)
Shannon County, South Dakota, now renamed to Oglala Lakota County, was covered under Section 5 until 2013. (Mike Lakusiak/News21)

This amendment gives more protection to groups that are language minorities, including Native Americans. The amendment specifically cites Arizona, Alaska and two South Dakota counties for discriminating against Native Americans.

Aug. 11, 1978: Religious freedom act takes effect

Drummers play traditional songs at the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate wacipi (powwow). The American Indian Religious Freedom Act gives Native Americans the right to practice their traditional ceremonies and have access to their sacred grounds.

Nov. 8, 1978: Act curbs forced separation of families

Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate tribal member Dustina Gill said this memorial, built at the former site of an orphanage, represents the Native American children who suffered there. (Mike Lakusiak/News21)
Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate tribal member Dustina Gill said this memorial, built at the former site of an orphanage, represents the Native American children who suffered there. (Mike Lakusiak/News21)

The Indian Child Welfare Act takes effect, giving Native Americans increased control over their children. According to the law, “an alarmingly high percentage of Indian families are broken up by the removal, often unwarranted, of their children from them by nontribal public and private agencies.”

1980: Native Americans allowed to run for county offices

Scarves decorate the fence surrounding the mass grave in Shannon County, now Oglala Lakota County, where victims of the Wounded Knee Massacre are buried. (Courtney Columbus/News21)
Scarves decorate the fence surrounding the mass grave in Shannon County, now Oglala Lakota County, where victims of the Wounded Knee Massacre are buried. (Courtney Columbus/News21)

Residents of Shannon, Todd and Washabaugh counties in South Dakota, which all have “overwhelmingly” Native American populations – are allowed to hold county office, according to the Brooks v. Gant lawsuit.

1984: County rejects voter registration applications

Fall River County, South Dakota, runs the elections on the neighboring Pine Ridge reservation. (Mike Lakusiak/News 21)
Fall River County, South Dakota, runs the elections on the neighboring Pine Ridge reservation. (Mike Lakusiak/News 21)

Joe American Horse turns in his voter registration application to the Fall River County auditor before the deadline, but the auditor refuses to accept it. He and others file a lawsuit. The day before the election, the court orders the county to allow American Horse and others named in the suit to vote.

2002: Native votes swing U.S. Senate election

Nearly 2,900 people in Oglala Lakota County voted for Tim Johnson, and 248 voted for John Thune in the 2002 U.S. Senate election. (Mike Lakusiak/News21)
Nearly 2,900 people in Oglala Lakota County voted for Tim Johnson, and 248 voted for John Thune in the 2002 U.S. Senate election. (Mike Lakusiak/News21)

Researchers say votes from the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations in South Dakota tip the scales in favor of Democratic candidate Tim Johnson, who beats Republican candidate John Thune by 524 votes.

June 25, 2013: Supreme Court takes away voting protections

The Supreme Court justices ruled 5-4 that a key provision of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional. (Matt Wade/Flickr)
The Supreme Court justices ruled 5-4 that a key provision of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional. (Matt Wade/Flickr)

Alaska, Arizona and two counties in South Dakota with a history of discrimination against Native Americans no longer need to submit voting policy changes to the U.S. Department of Justice for approval.

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