( – promoted by navajo)
South Dakota is a state which has a bit of a reputation in being insensitive to the rights of American Indians, regardless of whether those rights stem from citizenship (such as voting rights) or from the U.S. Constitution (such as tribal sovereignty). The top law enforcement person in the state is the Attorney General, an elective position. At the present time an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Ron Volesky, is running for this office.
In order to win the race, Volesky will need to have a large turnout from all nine of the Indian reservations within the state. Republicans, as usual, will be working to discourage Indians from voting. According to Volesky:
I’ve got the experience to meet the challenges in that office, but I need help from the Indian vote. I ask South Dakota’s Native Americans to empower themselves so that we get a good vote on Nov. 2.
Volesky has served in both the South Dakota house of representatives and in the South Dakota state senate. With regard to education, he earned his B.A. at Harvard in government and international relations, his M.S. in journalism and mass communication from South Dakota State University-Brookings, and his J.D. degrees at the University of South Dakota–Vermillion.
He has his own law firm in Huron where he spent three years on the City Commission.
Recognizing that there are many issues in South Dakota that concern the state’s tribes, he has said:
As attorney general, I plan to visit each of the tribes regularly, discussing issues, as well as listening to their concerns.
Some of the concerns about Indian voting in South Dakota have been discussion in other diaries:
Diluting the Indian Vote
http://www.dailykos.com/story/…
Aji’s diaries on:
GOP Attempting to Suppress Native American Vote
http://www.dailykos.com/story/…
Indian Voter Registration
http://www.dailykos.com/story/…
Stop GOP Suppression:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/…
Cross Posted at Native American Netroots
An ongoing series sponsored by the Native American Netroots team focusing on the current issues faced by American Indian Tribes and current solutions to those issues.
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