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Four years ago this week, Indigenous water protectors were being beaten, tazed, and shot at with rubber-coated bullets by militarized police protecting a corporate energy project at Standing Rock, North Dakota. Everyone on those front lines knew back then the stakes of a Trump presidency, particularly with regard to what happens to the land. How we treat Indigenous lands is stark metaphor for how we treat our most vulnerable—and here in America that often represents Indigenous Peoples. This election year, land, water and sovereignty remain cornerstone issues for a record number of Native candidates running for public office across America—134 by our count. As I told Democracy Now’s! Amy Goodman, some of the big races to watch in Indian Country are the little ones that rarely are considered in an election cycle. Remi Bald Eagle's bid for a seat on the South Dakota Public Utility Commission is one example. A Cheyenne River Sioux Water Protector, his candidacy is his way to continue his defense on his homelands. Another obscure contest I’m watching: the vote for Pima County Recorder in Southern Arizona where candidate Gabriela Cázeres-Kelly (Tohono O'odham) is bravely confronting decades of institutional voter suppression directly stemming from that public office. Follow us on social through next week where we'll be posting their stories and following their races. In the meantime, two offerings: this spreadsheet that we've been building the last two weeks of all the Native candidates; and also this link to all of the candidate’s tweets. With so much going on, my Sunday reading list is thin; topping my list: historian Phil Deloria’s New Yorker book review about Tecumseh, and Matthew L.M. Fletcher’s recently updated legal analysis about the pitfalls of originalist theory and the law. (I found the latter while digging around for details about Amy Coney Barrett’s loose handling of federal Indian law cases.) I overheard this week someone saying they were experiencing Pre-Election Stress Disorder (PESD). I can totally see how it's a thing. Take care of yourself and be realistic about the post-Nov 3 goings-on. And vote, obvi…(if you haven’t yet.) Jenni Monet
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