DECOLONIZING YOUR NEWSFEED

ARIZONA| 11.13.20

We will remember the 2020 Election as a historic one for many reasons— that it took place in the midst of a deadly pandemic; that it spurred voter turnout, the largest we’ve seen in more than a century; and that it resulted in the first female Vice-President-Elect who is also a woman of color, Kamala Harris. 

In Arizona, there is another time-shifting event: the state flipped from red to blue for only the second time since 1952. Only Bill Clinton was able to break this tide. For President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., his win is a narrow victory— a margin currently over 11,000 votes, or about.03 percentage points.

The state’s Indigenous electorate, small but significant, is widely being recognized for Biden’s win, not unlike how Black and Latinx voters nationwide are being credited in similar regard. Exit polling shows that across 48 precincts from five Arizona counties where Native voting-age populations are highest, an estimated 109-thousand registered Native voters cast ballots with an average of 55 percent choosing Biden. (Battleground Maricopa County also saw a significant surge in Native voter registrations, however, tracking Native voter turnout in cities is more difficult than on reservations.)

THE INDIGENOUS INTERNET

INDIGENOUSLY INDEX

Total number of incumbent U.S. presidents that lost their re-elections before Trump: 10

Number of times Arizonans have elected a Democratic President since 1952: 2

Approximate percentage President-elect Biden leads on Donald Trump in Arizona: .03%

Estimated votes supporting Biden’s lead in Arizona: 11,000

Estimated number of voting-age Native Americans in Arizona: 229,840

Number of rez-based voting precincts in AZ’s five most populated Native counties: 48

Estimated Native voter turnout (Apache, Navajo, Coconino, Pima, Pinal cos.): 109K

Average percentage that Native voters cast ballots for Biden in the five counties: 55%

Estimated ballots cast on Navajo and Hopi reservations: 70K

Average percentage of votes that went to Biden: 74%

Exact coronavirus death toll on the Navajo Nation: 598

Number of states that record voter registration by race: 4

Number of Native state lawmakers to join Montana legislature: 10

Number of Northern Cheyenne elected, making up an all-female tribal council: 5

Total decades to create the first national memorial for Native veterans: 2

THE CRISIS

Last weekend, a premature statistic about Navajo voter turnout went viral, to the point where several people who read this newsletter reached out asking me if the data could possibly be true. And they would have every right to want to believe that 97% of Navajo voters cast ballots for Biden. Afterall, the tweets came from professors who teach at respectable institutions. Shockingly and distressingly so, a good number of brand name media outlets also followed suit.

I’m relieved someone else wrote the essay that I thought I’d be forced to write; so often, it feels that no one else will. Here’s a diplomatic Fact Check from USA Today.

ENDORSEMENT

FEEDBACK

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Ashley, Milwaukee, WI

Thanks, Ashley. Hope not to disappoint.

QUOTE

The Indigenously newsletter is produced by Jenni Monet (Laguna Pueblo), Tsanavi Spoonhunter (Northern Arapaho) and Miacel Spotted Elk (Diné)

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