Native American Heritage Month Begins: Protect the Native Vote

Tomorrow is November 1, the start of Native American Heritage Month. Two days later, on Tuesday, November 3, the country votes in the 2026 midterms. That timing feels meaningful to us. Empower Pleasure is Indigenous-owned, and we can't think of a better way to honor Native people this month than by making sure Native voters can actually cast a ballot, and have it counted.

Native communities are among the most politically powerful and most obstructed voters in the United States. The barriers are real and measurable, and so is the organizing to overcome them.

Here's what's happening, why it matters for bodily autonomy and community health, and what you can do in the next 72 hours, whether you're Native or an ally.

A Month With Deep Roots

Native people have pushed for national recognition for more than a century. According to Native News Online, New York became the first state to recognize an "American Indian Day" in 1916, after advocacy by Red Fox James of the Blackfeet Nation. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed a joint congressional resolution designating November as National American Indian Heritage Month, and presidents have generally issued proclamations for it since.

Federal support has wavered: in January 2025, the same reporting notes, the Defense Intelligence Agency said it would stop observing the month. We believe Native heritage doesn't depend on a proclamation. It lives in our languages, our nations, our families, and, yes, our votes.

What's Happening With the Native Vote in 2026

Native candidates are running in record numbers. The Washington Post reported in October that at least 355 Native American and Indigenous candidates ran or are running in local, state and federal races this cycle, up from a previous record of at least 263 in 2024, based on counts from Advance Native Political Leadership and Indian Country Today. They run across parties. No Native woman has ever been elected governor or U.S. senator, and several races this year could change that.

But getting to the ballot box is harder than it should be. A new Native American Rights Fund (NARF) report, covered by Native News Online, analyzed federal election data from 2020, 2022 and 2024. In counties where Native people are at least a quarter of the population, it found:

• Rejections of mail and DMV voter registration applications rose by an average of 200%, even as national rejection rates fell.
• Mail ballots rejected for missed deadlines rose 134%, compared with a 55% increase nationally.
• Provisional ballots were counted at a lower rate than the national average, though that gap narrowed by 2024.

Barn Raiser reports that many tribal members were born at home and don't have birth certificates, mail service on some reservations is unreliable, and the trip to register or vote can mean hours of driving, sometimes on unpaved roads. In parts of rural Alaska, some villages can be reached only by plane or boat.

Federal voting protections have narrowed. On April 29, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Louisiana v. Callais. According to the Congressional Research Service, the ruling significantly narrows Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which communities of color, including tribes, have long used to challenge district maps that dilute their votes. Challengers now generally have to show strong evidence of intentional racial discrimination, separated from partisan motives. Supporters say it limits race-based line drawing; voting rights advocates, and we, worry it makes discriminatory maps far harder to fight.

Why This Matters for Bodies and Health

Ballots this year aren't only about candidates. Indigenous news outlets ICT and Underscore Native News flagged statewide measures that could affect Native voters, including measures on abortion rights (in Idaho, Missouri, Nevada and Virginia), transgender and Two-Spirit people's access to sports, restrooms and health care (in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Washington), and voter ID (in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and North Carolina). Their reporting notes that tribal IDs may not be accepted under some proposed ID rules, which could hit elders hardest.

The ID debate has two sides worth stating plainly: supporters say stricter ID and citizenship checks protect election integrity, while Native voting advocates say they shut out eligible citizens who lack costly documents. Our view is that any rule that makes it harder for eligible Native, rural, elderly, disabled or low-income people to vote deserves serious scrutiny.

For Native women, Two-Spirit and trans relatives, these questions aren't abstract. The people who shape health care, reproductive rights and public safety policy are chosen at the ballot box. That's why we keep saying it: your vote is a sexual health issue.

What You Can Do Before Tuesday

• Confirm your registration and polling place today. Use Vote.gov, Vote.org, VOTE411, or your state or local election office. Deadlines and ID rules vary by state.
• If you're voting by mail, check the return deadline now. Barn Raiser notes that many states require mailed ballots to arrive by Election Day. If mail is slow where you live, an official drop box or in-person drop-off may be safer.
• Know the hotline. If anything goes wrong at the polls (you're turned away, asked for ID you don't have, or your name is missing), call Election Protection at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683). Spanish: 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682). Asian languages: 888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683). Arabic: 844-YALLA-US (844-925-5287). If your name is missing, ask for a provisional ballot rather than leaving.
• Offer a ride, a phone call, or your time. Help an elder, a disabled relative, or a neighbor without a car get to the polls. Groups like Four Directions, the Native Organizers Alliance and NARF train volunteers and poll observers.
• Contact your representatives after the election, too. Find your members of Congress at Congress.gov and ask where they stand on Native voting access. Advocates have long pushed for the Native American Voting Rights Act to address many of these barriers.

Take Care of Your Spirit, Too

Election weeks are heavy, and for many Native, queer, trans and BIPOC people, the stakes feel personal. A few things that help: set limits on news and doom-scrolling, keep eating and sleeping on a rhythm, spend time with people who know you, and do one concrete helpful thing, like driving someone to vote, so the anxiety has somewhere to go.

If you need to talk to someone, call 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), or text NATIVE to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line, a resource the Indian Health Service lists for Native community members. LGBTQ+ young people can reach The Trevor Project any time.

The Takeaway

Native people have been voting, organizing and running for office despite every obstacle put in their way, and 2026 is a record year for that power. This Native American Heritage Month, honor it in the most practical way possible: make a plan to vote, help someone else do the same, and keep the hotline handy. Whatever your views, your voice belongs on that ballot. For more on what's at stake for pleasure and bodily autonomy this election, read Your Pleasure Is on the Ballot.

Empower Pleasure doesn't endorse candidates. Updated as of October 31, 2026. Facts can change quickly, so check the linked sources for the latest.

Sources

1. Alfaro, M., The Washington Post via The Spokesman-Review (2026). A record number of Native Americans are running in the 2026 midterms
2. Rickert, L., Native News Online (2026). NARF Launches Native Vote Week to Highlight Native Voting Rights Ahead of 2026 Election
3. Woodard, S., Barn Raiser (2026). Native Americans Build Strategies to Overcome Voter Suppression
4. Bartoo-Smith, N., ICT and Underscore Native News (2026). Statewide ballot measures could impact Native voters
5. Congressional Research Service (2026). Congressional Redistricting: High Court Narrows Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v. Callais
6. FairVote (2026). What to know about the Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais
7. Berg, K., Native News Online via Yahoo News. The Celebration They Can't Cancel: Native Heritage Month Lives On
8. Election Protection (2026). 866-OUR-VOTE
9. Indian Health Service. Resources for the Healing Process

Photo: Farouk Animashaun / Pexels