New county line sign for Oglala Lakota County
I'm hoping this photo brings you as much pride as it did me. You all helped get out the vote to change the name of Shannon County to Oglala Lakota County in South Dakota.
This past December I wrote about the Daily Kos Community's many progressive accomplishments in 2014. One of those achievements was raising $163,739 to fortify GOTV efforts on South Dakota reservations! This campaign helped to build a long-term American Indian voter infrastructure that will pay off in the future of this state with a long, long history of suppressing the Native vote.
Excerpts of a statement from State Representative Kevin Killer who organized the South Dakota NDN Election Efforts PAC:
The efforts of the SD NDN PAC in the 2014 elections made a tremendous impact at the Federal, State and Local levels. With the generation [of] contributions from the Daily Kos community, we were able to hire organizers on 7 of 9 reservations and the urban areas of Sioux Falls and Rapid City. As South Dakota's voter turnout declined statewide, the only increases in turnout were in the Native communities of South Dakota.
[...]The turnout in the 2014 Senate race was higher than what Sen. Tim Johnson received in 2002 and Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin received in 2010. With investments in off election years and voter registration, the Native Vote will be prepared in 2016 and beyond to make their voices heard at all levels of government.
[...]History was also made this election with the voters of Shannon County approving changing the name to Oglala Lakota County by a 4 to 1 margin with thanks to the support from the Daily Kos community. [Shannon helped take land away from the Oglala Lakota in the 1800s.] This was the first time in over 100 years this happened in South Dakota. This successful campaign has helped spark conversation for other Native communities in South Dakota to consider chaining their county names and provides an opportunity to engage a new generation of voters to make history in their communities.
Shannon County is entirely within the Pine Ridge reservation and was named for a white guy who was key in grabbing the land away from the tribes in the late 1800s. Residents of Pine Ridge were very motivated to change the name to Oglala Lakota, the name of their tribe. Pine Ridge has the largest population of all the South Dakota reservations. The votes there and on the other reservations can be
critical in elections in which the winning margin might be only hundreds of votes.
As you know, these motivators are not enough. Traditional get-out-the-vote methods are needed, and their grassroots efforts were supported by this community and shared with your networks. This was critical for folks who live on reservations where their homes are often several miles apart. Many don't have transportation. GOTV takes money and there's not much of that on the reservations, especially at Pine Ridge. It's important to reach out to disenfranchised communities in your state. They often can be huge voting blocks.
Thanks once again for supporting our reservation efforts. You helped raise that new sign above.