Voting in Indian Country - by Jean Reith Schroedel (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This book is about attempts by states to limit the right of Native Americans to vote. The book covers law, legal cases, politics (especially at the state level), grassroots activism, history, and policy"--

Book Synopsis

Voting in Indian Country uses conflicts over voting rights as a lens for understanding the centuries-long fight for Native self-determination.

Among the American public, there is a collective amnesia about the U.S. government's shameful policies toward the continent's original inhabitants and their descendants. Only rarely, such as during the Wounded Knee standoff in the 1970s and the recent Dakota Access Pipeline protests, do Native issues reach the public consciousness. But even during those times, there is little understanding of historical context--of the history of promises made and broken over seven generations--that shape current events. Voting in Indian Country uses conflicts over voting rights as a lens for understanding the centuries-long fight for Native self-determination. Weaving together history, politics, and law, Jean Reith Schroedel provides a view of this often-ignored struggle for social justice from the ground up.

Differentiating this volume from other voting rights books is its use of ethnographic data, including the case study of a county with a population evenly split between whites and Native Americans, as well as oral histories of the people who have chosen to fight for voting rights. The stories of these lawyers, activists, and plaintiffs illuminate both the complexity and the vividness of their experiences on the front lines and their understanding of a connection to broader Native struggles for self-determination--both to control the lands and resources promised to them in perpetuity through treaties and to freely exercise the political rights and liberties promised to all Americans.

Review Quotes

"Voting in Indian Country is a meticulously researched and powerfully written study that is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the unique challenges of voting in Indian Country, as well as voting rights more generally. What sets it apart from other fine accounts about voting rights work and voting rights advocates is its grassroots perspective, provided by the oral histories of activists, lawyers, and plaintiffs, as well as the case study of voting rights in a South Dakota county. Anyone who reads this work will realize that it was written from Jean's heart."-- "Donald Ragona (Matinecock), Native American Rights Fund"

"As a North Dakota State Representative, I have dealt with voting rights issues involving barriers towards our Tribal Nations and its members, and I can personally relate to Voting in Indian Country. Although this book covers and explains scientific data, it also brings in the importance of grassroots Native organizations pursuing equality at the ballot box. I highly recommend reading the book. It will open your eyes to our efforts here and now on the obstacles we face and what we are doing to correct the wrongs."-- "Representative Ruth Buffalo, North Dakota House of Representatives"

"Few understand as Schroedel does that political repression continues in Indian Country...As states develop new voting district lines based on the 2020 Census, Schroedel's volume and research work is more critical than ever. Her concise but in-depth book provides a thorough primer on Native American voting, which deserves to stand alongside key works on Native politics and voting rights."-- "Native American and Indigenous Studies"

About the Author

Jean Reith Schroedel is the Thornton F. Bradshaw Professor of Public Policy at Claremont Graduate University. She is author of Evangelicals and Democracy in America: Religion and Politics.