Native Vote, Native Voice: Battleground States - Arizona

In this episode, we explore the pivotal role of the Navajo Nation and Native American voters in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. Hear from indigenous voices across Arizona as they share their personal experiences, concerns, and hopes for the future, from language revitalization to traditional farming practices.
We delve into President Biden's historic apology for the federal boarding school era and its profound impact on Native communities. Gain insights on the significance of Native American voting power and how it could shape the 2024 race. Join us as we uncover the rich tapestry of Native American experiences and their enduring influence on the American political landscape.

This podcast is produced by Native News Online, with funding support from the MacArthur Foundation, the National Congress of American Indians, and Four Directions.

Follow us on Facebook, X, Linkedin, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok! For all of our coverage visit www.nativenewsonline.net

Transcript

This is the native vote. Native voice Podcast. I'm Sean Griswold, today we're going to discuss why this Denae voice, from the Navajo Nation, matters to the 2024 presidential election.
Passing on the traditions is like doing my language, talking in my own native language and things like that. When I was in boarding school, we were not told not to speak our own language, so And but I mean, later in years, they kind of made a difference. It's really it's really good that now it's like our kids are learning their language and things like that.
Arizona joined the United States in 1912 and immediately voted twice for Democrat Woodrow Wilson. He's one of five Democratic presidential candidates in history to win Arizona's electoral votes. This includes FDR and Harry Truman during the World War Two era, Bill Clinton in 1996 and Joe Biden in 2020 Theodore Truman was elected in 1948 two Fort McDowell Yavapai tribal citizens won a lawsuit that finally granted them the right to vote in Arizona. However, things still move slowly. Barriers, including English proficiency tests that existed until the late 1970s made voting difficult for people from the 22 federally recognized tribes in the state. Then in 2020 amidst a global pandemic and under strict lockdown orders, Native Americans in Arizona showed up in mass to vote for Biden, assisting Biden in a narrow victory to the presidency over Donald Trump. After the election, the Washington Post published a front page photo of Navajo voters riding horses to the polls, wearing their turquoise jewelry amidst the red sandstone backdrop that makes up much of the Navajo Nation. The Native American vote had arrived. Last week, President Biden went back to Arizona to visit the Gila River Indian Community. There, he issued an apology for more than 150 years of federal boarding school policies that advanced genocidal practices of native people through public education across the country. Biden's visit came as an official visit by the White House, not a campaign stop, but the action was a clear example about why elections matter. To set the tone, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland kicked off the remarks of head of Biden Holland's agency. Started the investigation into the boarding school era history, with dives into federal archives and visits to communities where native children were forcibly taken to these schools. In effect, Holland's presence and the actions by her agency is exactly why Biden was in Gila River to apologize
as we stand here together, my friends and relatives, we know that the federal government failed. I
It failed to annihilate our languages, our traditions, our life ways. It failed to destroy us because we persevered.
From there, Gila rivers governor spoke to the significance of the apology and how it can strengthen tattered relationships between tribal nations and the US government.
I am Steven roe Lewis, governor of the Gila River Indian Community, tribal leaders and distinguished guests, it is with honor that I welcome President Joe Biden to the Gila River Indian Community. My earlier words describe the many contributions that President Biden has made to our tribal nations with investments, saving lives, changing communities. I know I speak for everyone when I say that we've never had a president and vice president who have done more for Indian country, and we can never forget the incredible heart is of the First Lady.
We are here today to acknowledge the past and to take the first difficult but necessary steps to begin the healing, because today is as much about our future as it is our past, all of us present today are joined. Are joined in spirit by those who did not survive, the unmanageable. We offer our prayers to those who did not survive, and we offer our heart, our evidence to those who did as we admire their strength. It's not surprising that President Biden, a person of unparalleled compassion, impeccable character, is. And profound empathy would be standing with us today, on otham jovid, on Indian Country, each of us understand the solemn nature, the solemn nature of this day, of this moment, of this historical time and place that we are all a part of. Today's words will be carried forward by all of us here, Mr. President and to future generations, this is a day built on respect and honor we all know today, Indian Country is a much is much stronger because of the words and actions and the heart the ebony the heart of President. Biden, on behalf of the Gila River Indian Community, I introduce to you, President Joe Biden,
Biden took the stage to a traditional song by people from Gila River and the tahana Autumn tribes. He gave a few remarks before his apology for what the US did to Native Americans through boarding school policies. Oh.
I watched that beautiful performance just now and move me deeply to reminder of everything native people enjoy and employ sacred traditions culture passed down over 1000s and 1000s of years, long before there was a United States and native communities flourished on these lands that practiced democratic government, before we ever heard of it, developed Advanced agriculture, contributed science, art and culture. But eventually the United States was established and began expanding, entering treaty of sovereign tribal nations. But as time moved on, respect for cyber, for tribal sovereignty evaporated, was shattered, pushing native people off their homelands, denying, denying their humanity and their rights, targeting children to cut their connection to their ancestors and their inheritance and their heritage. But then, then the federal government mandated, mandated removal of children from their families and tribes, launching what's called the Federal Indian boarding school era, era over 150 year span, 150 years from the early 1800s 1870 to 1971 most horrific chapters in American history. Should be ashamed, a chapter that most Americans don't know about the vast majority don't even know about it. As President, I believe is important that we do know generations of native children stolen, taken away to places they didn't know, with people they never met, who spoke a language they had never heard, children abused, emotionally, physically and sexually abused, forced into hard labor, some put up for adoption without the consent of their birth parents. Some left for dead and unmarked graves, and for those who did return home, they were wounded in body and spirit, trauma and shame passed down through generations. The policy continued even after the Civil Rights Act, which got me involved in politics as a young man, even after the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 I'd like to ask with your permission for a moment of silence as you remember those lost and the generations living with that trauma.
I 850 years, United States government eventually stopped the program, but the federal government has never, never formally apologized for what happened, until today I formally apologized. Apologize as president united states of america for what we did. I formally apologize. It's long overdue at the tribal school, at a tribal school in Arizona, a community full of tradition and culture and joined by survivors and senators to do just that, apologize. Apologize. Apollo, rewrite history book correctly. I have a solid responsibility be the first president to formally apologize to the native peoples, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Native Alaskans and federal Indian boarding schools. It's long, long, long overdue. Quite frankly, there's no excuse this apology took 50 years to make federal Indian boarding school policy, the pain it has caused will always be a significant mark of shame, a blot on American history. Native
people that live in Arizona enjoyed Biden's apology and now want to see action to right past wrongs from the boarding school era. Next, we'll hear from several indigenous voters in Arizona that discuss a need to support language revitalization, traditional farming methods and indigenous family bonds. These all came after from people who heard Biden's speech. In this order, we'll hear from David vandruff, Virginia, Flores, Joshua, Francisco and Gila River, and then from Shannon nota at the rally in Winder rock for Governor Tim Walz from Gila River, Gila River,
you said you're Hopi, too hard. Hopi, yes,
any other tribes you represent? No, just
those. What I do for Gila River healthcare is that I teach community members how to garden, because we're going into the sixth generation of our river waters not being available. So we've kind of gotten into, I want to say, a lack of practice for those for that you know so much. In Part, I refer to that as the as the native cultural connection with our community now that we're kind of in danger our languages. You know, culture is shifting and changing with the event of cell phones and the internet and things that that's drawing our young people away, it's almost like a brain drain type of a thing, it's hard to try to get young people interested in their and who they are. Could you share
with you when you're working on the garden, you're showing people how to set it up, what do you experience, or what do you see when people experience the ability to grow something from seed to full to full harvest. What is that like for somebody when they see that? What do they learn in that experience?
Well, what happens is that when you ask students like, where do you think food comes from, all of their heads will turn in the direction of the nearest store. They don't make that connection that food comes from the ground that they walk on. And when you show them the process of like germinating a seed, they are just amazed and in wonder of the what the what the power, what the energy that's inside that little piece of nature, and what can, what can grow from it, and depending on what the plant is, how big it can get, what it can produce. When I worked at the local high school, named after our very own IRA H Hayes, World War Two veteran and hero. We had a small orchard, and we had some peach trees and fig trees to see the look on their faces when they bite into a fully ripened peach. It's like priceless, and it's a it's a taste that they'll never forget, because you can't buy that in the stores, you know? So it's a blessing to be able to share this with our community in doing this
here, but have just that garden there. Well,
I think again, it makes what I refer to as the cultural connection, is that when they learn about the history of our people and how we used to garden and farm along the river, it helps them understand their place in the world, so to speak, and how, how they can relate. Because I think sometimes when you say that you're Native, or you're indigenous to a young person, they're kind of like, what does that mean? You know, right? And again, if language isn't, you know, shared meaning, indigenous. Indigenous language shared in the household that kids are growing up in the non Indigenous world. And so there is a time and place in a young person's life where they have what I refer to as an identity crisis, and so something like gardening and farming can help them bridge that gap or come back to their roots, so to speak.
I'm originally from the Navajo tribe, and I'm myadesh Kristen and Todd Jr, that's my clan, so coyote pass and bitter water in English anyway. So that's where I come from. It's a small town called inscription house Sapien. So that's where my roots are. I'm passing on to traditions just like doing my language, talking in my own native language and things like that. When I was in boarding school where we're not told not to speak our own language so and but I mean, later in years, they kind of made a difference. It's really it's really good that now is like our kids are learning their language and things like that. My daughter's like, 21 and, I mean, she always says that, Mom, you know what? You should have taught me how to speak my own language. Now I have to pay to go to the university to learn my own language. I really want the community to speak their language, you know, like even my own tribe. I want them to be like more learning about their ancestors. I mean, for our, for our tribe, or the the indigenous people, to have that history, you know, write a book, you know, it's like, Okay, what's going on? You know, we always, when I went to school, we only talked to we always talk about Columbus, you know, how he, how he I came over here. So it's just kind of okay now, no, yeah,
Joshua, Francisco. I'm a como in donutham. Reside in Don autumn in Tucson, and Acoma right here in Levine, Arizona.
What's it mean to have a US president here and your family all around you? Feels pretty
good like I mean, we never seen a president out here before. Kind of glad one came down, but that's real good to have a lot of these dancers here, seeing all of our traditions in one group. Other than that, yeah, like most of all, this is my family right behind us.
Feels good. What do you what do you want to see in the next four years?
Just everything that they promise. Like, I mean, us Native Americans really, haven't really gotten much hit with government, but like, now how Biden is throwing us like, different stuff. Like, I would like to keep seeing that growing like the solar power, growing like more water coming back. Like all that, no one to see all that. Just let us thrive.
I am from wood springs, Arizona and Danette. Yes, we'll go to Danette. All right, you said
you've already voted. Why did you really vote?
Just to make sure my vote gets in, and to avoid any type of conflict or nonsense if there's gonna be any. Did
you have any issues with voting? No,
I have no issues at all. Would you describe your early voting process? What did you do? How did you do it? I went to the local office, the office here in Election Division, yes, and I voted there. So okay, I had no option. I had no difficulties. I just showed up my ID and I had my little voter card. So yeah, it's got to feel
relief to like, be done voting, right? Yes, yeah, what was, why did you vote this year? What took you to the polls? Oh,
actually, I've always voted since I've been since I've been able to and for me, it's a it's really big for me to vote, to try to get my voice heard. I know it's just one vote, but I know a one vote to tip the tide. So it's very important for me to get my vote, and as a woman, you know, yeah, as a Native American, as a female, to get it out there. So,
and what are those issues for you as a native woman that you want to see address in the next four years.
I grew up in a family with where, you know, some family members were brutally murdered, female members, and they did not receive justice. My oldest sister didn't receive justice, and a lot of them go missing murder, and nothing's ever done. And I would like to see more done for the women that go missing, people indivi indigenous people that go missing. I want more done for them. So public safety is a matter for you. Yes, public safety. I mean, you can't even go for a walk sometimes without somebody pulling behind you, and you don't even know who they are. And out here on our reservations, it's scary. Are
you in Arizona or New Mexico voter? Arizona? Arizona. So you have a very important vote in this election. You know that? What does that? What does that mean for you to know that the native vote could, as it did, in 2020 bring another win for your ticket.
I think it's it's really important. I'm hoping that other people wouldn't vote. Other young people would vote too, but to each their own. You know, we can't force people to vote, but I hope, I hope and pray, that everybody does vote.
Democrats are trying their hardest to build on that momentum in 2024 Kamala Harris spoke in Phoenix to a packed Arena on indigenous peoples day in October. And her running mate, Tim waltz visited Window Rock, the Navajo Nation capital last weekend. They say the things that native voters want to hear, things native people talk about daily, such as supporting tribal sovereignty, building government to government relationships, access to better health care and environmental protections for water and air. Waltz hit all these notes during his rally in Window Rock. He also made it clear that Arizona voters should get out to support former Navajo Nation president and current congressional candidate Jonathan nez. Nez is in a toss up race to represent Arizona's Second District in Congress in Winder rock Ness told native news online that he expects native voters to carry him to a victory and is excited to work with the potential Harris administration. In his speech, Walsh gave his pitch as to why he and Harris are best for Indian country. Former
president has make sure we send him to Congress. Make sure we send him to Congress. The highest law is to honor tribal sovereignty, promote tribal consultation and ensure tribal self determination across this country. And you know, it's pretty simple too. If tribal nations are doing well and your kids are doing well, the rest of the country is going to be just fine. We've done it, and we've delivered in Kamala Harris will continue to deliver for Indian country when she's elected president. Now protecting the land, restoring or expanding 10 national managements. And you know these national monuments across your state here, those protect tribal homelands. She signed more than 200 co stewardship agreements with tribal nations, knowing you don't need us to direct you how you take care of your land. You don't need gatekeepers in front of the way. You need the resources and the authority to do it yourself. And that's what those agreements mean. And when Donald Trump and the restroom tried to take away Bears Ears monument, many of those settling claims on water rights, all of the things necessary, trying to right past wrongs. We I hear people say we can't be responsible for what they did in the past. Well, we can sure they'll be responsible for how we expect to do it now and what we do about it. So look something we did in Minnesota and she did at the national level, and we need to continue to expand, is we established a murdered and missing indigenous relatives task force to make sure it's in, making sure the resources are there, and no longer finding it acceptable when native people go missing and it doesn't even show up in the paper and resources aren't made to solve that that is simply immoral and unacceptable, and by establishing that we have to correct that wrong. And I know this doesn't come as a shock to you. I'm an optimistic guy, but I think it's important to understand Donald Trump had a chance when he was president to show you that he cared. He had a chance to show you. He excluded tribal businesses from receiving pandemic emergency relief. He tried to remove most of Bears Ears, National Monument. He made it harder for tribes to regain ancestral lands, and he even tried to de recognize tribes. Look, that's what he does. And I want to be clear about this, it was those code talkers. He didn't have any gatherings of tribal leaders at the White House, but he wanted a photo op, because Americans recognize the Navajo code talkers are heroes that are at the top of how Americans believe it so. Oh, so what did he do? He took them to the White House and made them stand in front of a portrait of Andrew Jackson talking to Mark Kelly, over here, Senator Kelly, this thing is going to be razor close. There is a real possibility. And I think it might be more probable if the Navajo nation turns out the numbers that we know you can and do that, it won't just be Arizona that goes it is entirely possible, and I think probable, that we win the whole damn thing because of the work that was done here, the work that's done on. Nation and we put Kamala Harris in the White House.
Now we end the show with the conversation on all that happened this week with native news online political editor, Neely bargwell, Neely, how's it going?
It's going good. How are you
I'm doing well. Thank you. I'm glad to have you back here and joining us, we are getting closer to the election, and we had a lot happen, and you were covering one of the larger stories that truly impacted Indian country and even hearkened us back to 2020 like we were discussing ahead of the interview, and it had to do with President Joe Biden's apology for the boarding school era that, and he did, and he issued this apology, and Gila river just around Phoenix, and Arizona a major swing state, around a bunch of tribal leaders. But you picked up on the news ahead of his visit, ahead of the apology becoming public. Can you share with us, sort of how you came to the news, and then what was it like to report this out and having known this information when others didn't right?
So as you know, Levi, the publisher, has worked his entire life to get native news online to where it is today. And so what happened was we were on a meeting, and then leave, I got a call, and he says it's from it's from the White House. I have to take this. I always think it's really funny when he says that, but he took the call, and then he called me, and, like, maybe, like, 10 or 15 minutes after the call, and he is, like, kind of choked up a little bit, and he's like, nila, I got a call from the White House, the President, he's going to apologize for for boarding schools. He's going to get up on stage and say something about recognize the boarding schools and what happened to native children, the atrocities that happened there. And I was like, You know what, Levi this is, it was kind of a big moment for him and for us, even for everyone at Native news online, just to see where, because, like, that's the perfect representation of all the work that Levi has done. And not only is that a perfect representation of the work that Levi has done, but it's also the perfect example of the work that the Biden Harris administration has done to improve their relationship with Indian Country.
Yeah, this is for me, it really did hit that mark that elections matter. And you know, this all happened. One, number one, we even mentioned how people were not talking about boarding schools and how this, announcement, plus the investigation that came before it, for many Americans is their first time learning about what the federal government did to Native Americans at boarding schools, the history we've all lived with. We all we came to understand it at different points in our lives, but Biden brought it forth, forth and center for the majority of Americans, and the recognition of this is the first step, and the apology is words right now, and it happened at a public event. And I guess, really trying to understand what we do next from these words and but bringing it back to the point of just the significance of acknowledging this, what does it mean to start to understand for you as a journalist, to start to do research into this and then and then communicate the atrocities of what happened, while also acknowledging the resilience of the people that are still here, right? One of the marks that I thought was significant was Secretary Haaland saying the federal government failed. They tried to eradicate Native people, yeah, and then she she just gestured her hands to the crowd filled with Native people from all over the continent, and said the federal government failed because we're still here,
right? That was honestly that gave me chills, honestly, because think about how big that is. I mean, you know, this apology is a lot of different things. Of course, a lot of different people feel a lot of different ways about it, and no way to feel is wrong. Our people have suffered great injustices at the hands of the federal government, at the hands of, you know, churches, right? And the boarding school era, you know, was a very challenging, challenging time for our people. We had, you know, families lost their children, communities lost their youth, right? And that is something we will feel and are feeling like for generations to come, right? That's what intergenerational trauma is, and we now are doing the work to make sure that less and less and less of. Intergenerational trauma is passed down, and more of that resilience and strength is passed right? And I think, you know, people have very valid criticism of this apology in the sense that, oh, it's happening, you know, really right before election day, right, when the races, you know, are tight, you know, they're, they're, they're tied in the polls, like even Trump's pulling ahead. You know, it's everything that they do is political, of course, right? That's, that's how our political system is. Unfortunately, it's so anyway, but, and I think that's valid, it's a very valid criticism, and it it's right, and it's true, this is a political play, but what it also is, is a commitment from the seal of the Oval Office to Indian country that they are going to continue the work that they have already started from the very first day that Biden was in office, right? He nominated Secretary Deb Haaland, and since then, so much has been done to improve the nation to nation relationship between tribes and the federal government, and that's through different means of support, right? And one thing that Deb Haaland mentioned in her speech at the apology was, you know, language revitalization, and that is a big piece of ensuring that the future generations are going to be resilient for years to come. And I think what we need to focus on more so.
What we need to focus more so on is the fact that the seal of the oval office just made a commitment by making this apology to ensure that the work that has been started is going to continue, whether or not there's a Democrat in office,
yeah, it'll be up to whomever's president to continue going forward, because there's a full list of recommendations that come out of the investigative report that can help lead some form of justice for Native people, for people whose family experience boarding school eras, who are still dealing with the effects of the trauma that the boarding schools caused. And also, you know, one of the things that I, you know, we've talked about Holland's efforts on revitalization, that the federal government's going to run out of this investigation, these are some things that are currently already happening in tribal communities. There are traditional immersion programs across the country, including care in New Mexico, where I'm based. Out of that has kids who are pre K, who are learning their traditional languages. I have cousins who know that, who are more fluent than even their parents, or their parents or their grandparents, because of that disconnect, where they were not allowed to speak, where it was shunned and and beaten out of people or OR and NOT passed down. You're seeing children now pick it up. They're becoming they're heading into pre they're heading into kindergarten, into elementary school. Some have graduated. We're now in generations where students are, kids are becoming more fluent in these traditional language skills. And so for the federal government to catch up with, Holland's announcement, while we didn't get a lot of details, she did say things will be coming more she said, she did say that a lot of this is done in conjunction with, you know, traditional language experts and educators. Why is it significant for Native people to start to learn, or have even just the ability and the option to learn their traditional languages?
Well, you're exactly like correct when you said that we are already doing language revitalization. Communities across the nation are engaging in some sort of language revitalization efforts. I mean, even here in Michigan, the Pokagon band they I though they were the first like, I'm not saying they were the first like, factually, but for me, that was the first like effort, organized effort that I saw because where they sent three different people to go live with fluent elders, native like, native speaker speakers, who still are alive. And then they went and lived there for three years and came back, and then now it is their job to like teach the community. And that was like the first effort that I saw personally, and that really like inspired me and opened my eyes to the importance of language revitalization. Because. Languages are everything like language is our culture. Our language, you know, affects how we see the world and how we engage with each other, and how we relate to each other, and getting that back is, is definitely is is, is key to, you know, re engaging our communities and revitalizing our communities. And I think what's important when it comes to support from the federal government is that it is what it is. It's support. They're not there to tell the communities how to, like, revitalize or whatnot, right? It's working with the nations and communities that have already started these efforts, and seeing where they can help fill in the gaps, and that can be with financial aid, right? Grants that can support these efforts, where maybe they do have language immersion programs, where they send more people to live with elders or what like, whatever it is. I think it's important that you know the federal government, regardless of who's in office, remains committed to that responsibility that they took on.
Yeah, it's a policy. The politics became the policy, and now we're talking about traditional language revitalization as a political conversation in this 2024, presidential election. It's, it really does show a lot of advancement, plus the seriousness of the native vote in this election and and the targeted effort that Democrats are making to do the things and be responsive that to the stuff that native people are asking
for. Well, yeah, of course, because I mean, Native issues are non partisan, right? Our issues are issues that exist, regardless of who is in office and what party controls Congress, right and our issues need addressing, whether or not you know Harris or Trump win the election,
yeah, and language was The topic of conversation for a lot of people. Not only did Secretary Holland bring that up, but you know, there was traditional there were signs that had traditional language from the people in Gila River that were behind the president. He came out to some songs and prayers ahead of time. It was a fully indigenous event. And one of the things that came from a conversation with somebody in the crowd, and I just wanted to share this quote with you. Her name is Shannon Flores. She was Denae, or she's Denae, and she works in child welfare in Gila River with the tribe there. She also went to boarding school and talked about the loss of language for her, how she's recaptured it, how she picked it up as a as an adult, then started teaching as much as she could to her kid, and then her kids started learning more in college, and she had this quote that really stuck with me, and talking about how her and her daughter grew affection for one another and bonded together by learning Denae as best they could. And then her daughter went to college. She told her this. She says quote. She always says, Mom, you know what? You should have taught me more how to speak my own language. Now I have to pay to go to the university to learn my own language. Do you have any thoughts for that quote? I
mean, I definitely relate in that way, because I also took my first language classes when I got to college, just because it was offered. It was one of the big reasons I chose to go to Michigan State, was because they had the Anishinaabe Moen program for me to take, and that was really exciting for me. But those classes weren't the first time I did learn my language, like engage with my language. I guess my mom, you know, used to work for the school district where I'm from, with their Native education program. And this is when, you know, native Ed was kind of just emerged, like emerging, emerging. That's the word. This is kind of when native ed programs were emerging in public schools and schools in general. And so my mom was just as much on her reconnecting journey as I was at the age I was, which I was like, seven, eight, we were on the same journey and re engaging with our culture. Because my grandma, she didn't pass any of that to us, because it wasn't necessarily given to her by her parents. Either her parents didn't teach her her or her siblings the lane. Which either she told me that one time when we were having a conversation years ago, she was telling me, yeah, I remember, you know, I would hear my parents talking in the other room, like in the kitchen, whispering in initial me when in their language. So they wouldn't, you know, we wouldn't hear it. They didn't want us to learn it, because my grand, my great grandparents, were in the boarding schools, right where our tribe is from. And you know that, you know, I remember her telling me that, and I was like that, really, I guess, made me realize just how important you know languages, and language is important you write in the, in the case of that, you just brought up, you know, what brought her and her mom closer? And I would say that, you know, that's, that's what it does, like I said it, it helps build a relationality to each other. And, you know, I had the privilege of engaging with my language at such a young age. You know, I've, I've known how to introduce myself in the language since I was like, seven or eight. I mean, I got my spirit name also when I was young as well. So I've been engaged. I've had the privilege of being able to engage with my culture and language in that way. And I think that is really, really special for me, but yeah, then I did take classes in college, and that was the first time I learned how to like say more than just animal names and and different phrases that my mom would yell at us when we were kids. What
stuck to me out of hearing this conversation really hits the mark of the bond and the and the tie that language brings to people, and that was a clear attempt by the US government to separate us and harm our relationships, which it has done to a strong to a strong, very obvious extent. And when you see that language can bring people back together, you see exactly why that was its intent, right? And so as it did for you and your mother, as it did for Shannon and her daughter, as it does for many people across Indian country who can have that bond of their culture and their language shared together. It goes right back to Secretary Holland's remarks that the US government failed Exactly. It's happening still, right? And yeah, and so we'll have to end it there. We were running out of time in in our Zuni language, or she we, which is the name that we call our people. We don't have a word for goodbye. We say at the BA, which it translates to, see you later, right? And so nearly we'll talk to you next week, see you later, Bucha,
which is, see you later
in the BA. Thank you so much. This wraps our show for the week. I want to thank all of our guests for their time. I also want to give a shout out to native news online publisher Levi Rickert, whose busy schedule kept him from joining us this week, Levi did write a column thanking President Biden for the apology he issued in Gila River. Definitely go check that out at Native news online. Thank you listeners for tuning into this episode of the native vote native voice podcast. The native vote native voice podcast is produced by native news online with funding support from the MacArthur Foundation, the National Congress of American Indians and four directions. Thank you all for tuning in until next time you