Implications of a Harris – Walz Presidential Ticket for Indian Country

On July 21, President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor, positioning her as a leading contender for the Democratic nomination. While Harris’ time as VP has not yielded numerous notable policy achievements, her prior experience as a California senator and attorney general, along with her 2020 presidential campaign, reflects a consistent commitment to pro-environmental policies and an evolving perspective on tribal land issues. Should she ascend to the presidency, her history suggests a continued focus on preserving public lands, water, and wildlife, alongside bolstering tribal sovereignty.

Under Biden’s administration, significant strides have been made, such as restoring protections for Alaska’s Tongass National Forest and conserving over 41 million acres of public land. The administration also enacted the climate-conscious Inflation Reduction Act, celebrated for creating clean energy jobs and facilitating a historic wealth transfer to marginalized communities. This aligns closely with Harris’ own presidential platform, which emphasized environmental justice and an end to fossil fuel exploitation on public land.

Before joining Biden’s ticket, Harris gained recognition as a prosecutor in California. As the state’s attorney general, she took action against corporate polluters, including securing a $44 million settlement from the owners of a container ship that discharged oil into the San Francisco Bay. She negotiated substantial settlements with oil companies due to negligent hazardous material monitoring and was involved in holding Volkswagen accountable for violating air pollution regulations. However, her claims of pursuing polluters as a San Francisco District Attorney have faced scrutiny.

In the Senate, Harris co-sponsored initiatives focused on establishing national wildlife corridors, reallocating energy revenue to national parks, and promoting climate equity by assessing policy impacts on vulnerable communities. She voted in favor of protecting the Antiquities Act and the Great American Outdoors Act, advocated for halting Arctic drilling, and supported legislation that conserved two million acres of land and water, earning multiple perfect scores from the League of Conservation Voters over four years.

Harris’ engagement with Indigenous issues throughout her political career has been mixed. While she initiated the first Indian Child Welfare Act Compliance Task Force to support Native children as attorney general, she also resisted various tribal requests to place land into trust, which would expand tribal land holdings. Additionally, her legal stance during her tenure could have negatively impacted tribes seeking land trust designation; she contested the authority of the Big Lagoon Rancheria to acquire land from the federal government, posing implications for past and future land-to-trust transfers across Indian Country. Fortunately, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals eventually ruled against her position, mitigating potential adverse effects.

Since then, Harris has sought to clarify her stance. During her 2020 presidential campaign, she committed to aiding tribes in restoring their lands and outlined specific policies to enhance Native voting rights, increase funding for tribal services, and protect Native women and children. Her campaign also focused on addressing the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples and advancing legislation supporting tribal wildlife corridors and food sovereignty.

As vice president, Harris has participated in an administration that values Indigenous knowledge and priorities in public land management. The administration has funded Native-led climate resilience initiatives and appointed Indigenous leaders to key positions. Notably, Harris was the first sitting vice president to visit the Gila Indian River Community and engage with indigenous media. In her interview with ICT, she emphasized the importance of mutual respect and appreciation for tribal sovereignty in establishing partnerships with tribes.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has been selected as Harris’ running mate in her presidential campaign. Should the Harris-Walz ticket succeed, Peggy Flanagan would make history as the first Native woman to serve as a governor in the United States.

Walz was considered among a select few candidates after Biden endorsed Harris. Now, he and Harris are in a contest against former President Donald Trump and JD Vance for the presidency. According to Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison, Harris received sufficient votes from Democratic delegates to be the party’s nominee, with formal confirmation anticipated during the upcoming Democratic National Convention starting on August 19.

Walz’s selection has significant implications for Indigenous communities. Securing the Native vote was pivotal for Biden’s 2020 campaign, particularly in key battleground states like Arizona, Nevada, and Wisconsin. Walz has demonstrated a commitment to collaborating with Native peoples and has received backing from various Minnesota tribal leaders, including those from the Prairie Island Indian Community and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.

Since taking office in 2019, Walz has made strides with tribal engagement, being the first governor to visit all 11 tribes in Minnesota. He established regular consultations between state agencies and tribes, created an office dedicated to tribe-state relations, and played a role in returning over 1,000 acres of land to the Upper Sioux Community. His administration has focused on preserving Native culture, prohibiting non-tribal gaming expansion without consent from tribes, and addressing the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives.

Flanagan has expressed her pride in serving Minnesota’s population and has been an active supporter of Harris’ campaign. If Walz were elected, Flanagan would become Minnesota’s first female governor and the first Native American female governor in U.S. history.

Harris has indicated her intent to actively engage tribal leaders in shaping innovative initiatives, emphasizing the importance of respecting tribal sovereignty and keeping treaty obligations intact.

Having a vice-presidential nominee with strong ties to Indigenous communities could potentially enhance Harris’ track record concerning Indigenous issues and tribal sovereignty as she seeks to lead the nation.