ACLU Releases Report On Voting Rights In Indian Country

The ACLU has released a report entitled Voting Rights in Indian Country: A Special Report of the Voting Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union

This report highlights the litigation the Voting Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties
Union brought, or participated in, on behalf of American Indians in five western states—
Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

The litigation challenged a variety of discriminatory election practices, including: at large
elections; redistricting plans that diluted Indian voting strength; the failure to comply with
one person, one vote; unfounded allegations of election fraud on Indian reservations;
discriminatory voter registration procedures; onerous identification requirements for voting;
the lack of minority language assistance in voting; and the refusal to comply with the
preclearance provisions of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

The report gives an overview of the volatile and often contradictory federal policy toward Indians,
from treating them as independent nations, to placing them on reservations, to assimilating
them and allotting their lands to whites, to giving them rights of U.S. citizenship, to terminating the
reservations and tribal governments, and in more recent times to protecting the tribal system and
giving Indians maximum opportunities for self-development and self-determination.

To view a pdf of the complete report, click here