Kamala Harris is charting a new way forward for the Navajo Nation

By Arizona Rep. Mae Peshlakai

Editor’s note: Arizona Rep. Mae Peshlakai is from Cameron, Ariz. She is serving her second term in the Arizona House of Representatives. She is Ta’neeszahnii and born for Bįįh Bitoodnii. Her maternal grandfather is ‘Áshįįhí and her paternal grandfather is Tsédeeshgizhnii.

Here on the Navajo Nation, there is a lot on the line in this election. As the five-fingered intelligent earth dwellers, we know that the policies of our president and vice president determine the future of our land, culture and democracy.

Both Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz recently visited Arizona to meet with tribal leaders – because they understand the power of our vote, and they are determined to earn our votes.

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz have earned my vote, because they are committed to respecting and strengthening tribal sovereignty as well as advancing policies that have a real, meaningful impact on tribal communities and Native American families here in Arizona.

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz were raised in middle-class households, and they will make building up the middle class a defining goal of their administration. They have a vision for a New Way Forward that will lower the costs of everyday needs like groceries, housing, and health care, including prescription drug costs. The vice president has already proposed the largest-ever investment in tribal housing – in addition to her plan to build 3 million new units – because she knows lowering the cost of housing is crucial for our communities. Vice President Harris will also support Native entrepreneurs by providing much needed tax relief to Americans who want to start a small business and cutting red tape that makes it harder to grow a small business.

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will build on the historic investments for the Indian Health Service and make affordable health care more accessible by expanding and strengthening the Affordable Care Act and making permanent the tax credits that are lowering premiums by about $800/year. And Vice President Harris is fighting for the freedom to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump and JD Vance’s Project 2025 agenda is dangerous and extreme and would harm our tribal communities and Native American families and take this country backward to the days when our Native people did not have a voice.

When Donald Trump was in office, his administration rolled back policies that protect the rights of Indigenous peoples and failed to respect and honor tribal nations and tribal sovereignty. He said that Americans who died in war are “losers” and “suckers,” and that includes our Native American men and women who sacrificed their lives to defend our country – patriots like John Kinsel Sr., a Navajo Code Talker who journeyed on at the age of 107. We must never elect a president who does not respect or value their service to our country.

Donald Trump’s and JD Vance’s Project 2025 agenda would dismantle critical federal agencies that protect and deliver resources to our communities and are important to honoring tribal sovereignty. It would make drastic changes at the Department of Interior that oversees our precious lands, gut the Clean Water Act, slash national monument designations so that Trump can exploit our lands for oil and coal, and kill the Antiquities Act that protects our cultural and natural resources like Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni here in Arizona and one of our most sacred sites, Bears Ears. In other words, they would remove important environmental safeguards that ensure the health of our public lands — a serious threat to our current generations and future generations.

Trump and Vance wouldn’t stop there. Their Project 2025 agenda would also restrict our access to health care and education by repealing the Affordable Care Act, jeopardizing the Indian Healthcare Improvement Act; ending Head Start; reducing federal funding for schools; and stopping student lunch programs; and it could increase taxes on Native American families by nearly $4,000 per year.
But Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are ready to turn the page on Trump’s darkness and division.

The preservation of our land and natural resources, the education of our children, the well-being of our mothers and elders, and our self-determination are at stake, and Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are the people who will fight for us.

Indigenous people have known oppression in one way or another. Let us stand together in this election and ensure a better tomorrow for our people by voting for Vice President Harris and Governor Walz. Former President Trump has proven himself time and time again to be unfit for office.

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz represent a brighter future for the Navajo Nation. She has our back. Let’s have hers.

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