Did you know that despite passage of the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution in 1870, which allowed all citizens to vote "regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude," that Native Americans were prohibited from voting for at least five more decades?  In 1924, Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act which granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States. After recognition of our citizenship was mandated by Congress,  it was still 1948 before Arizona allowed Indian people to cast their ballots,  and it wasn't until 1962 when the state of New Mexico became the last state to recognize our right to be heard at the polls. 

There is irony in this historical fact because US history and federal Indian law teach us that native people were here centuries before the Europeans arrived, and yet we were the last to be considered for citizenship and the right to have our voices heard.

At each ICC training, we always begin the session with the questions, "what is a tribe and what does it mean to be Indian?"  Its always interesting to hear each participant's definition. What makes it interesting, is that each of us as individuals respond with terms that reflect our own perspective. Some people will say a tribe, "is a sovereign group of people with common interests." Others may say it "is an entity which is recognized by the federal government."  As to the question of what it means to be Indian, the answer is always unique. Because we as native people are not all the same. It may mean something different to a person who is employed by tribal government than it means for an elder who advises the current leadership. Whether you are a tribal member or not, just take a moment to consider what your own definition of tribe is. If you are a native person, try to think of how you might describe your status to someone who doesn't know about tribal ways, customs or origins. We think you will find this exercise interesting to say the least.