The Black Hills Pioneer from Spearfish, South Dakota • 17

Pg 17 BLACK HILLS PIONEER Friday, November 2, 2018 Read about the upcoming, ballot measures every Saturday in the Black Hills Pioneer. Let your voice be heard and vote Tuesday, November 6th. Be Informed Vote Smart. dent in class, said, describing that she likes to sing along with the books. One of her favorites is called, Tanner Pedersen, another student in class, said that his favorite book so far is fun.

I like the music, and pretty he said of the program. Hoff tried a free 30-day trial of Lyrics2Learn last year. loved it, and my students loved it, and I saw their reading comprehension and fluency go through the she said. Then, serendipitously, Hoff learned that someone had nominated her for a program through Farmers Insurance that provides classroom funds for teachers. Her name was drawn, and when she asked whether she could put the funds toward a subscription to Lyrics2Learn, the answer was, The students got started with the program Monday, and Tuesday, they were able to log in to the classroom computers and iPads to access their accounts, heads bobbing and voices singing, as they listened to their lessons.

Hoff can track their progress, and parents can also log in to see how their children are progresses on the program as well, and the students can also utilize the program at home. just think that, especially with this age of kids, that important for them to be able to have lots of different things to grab from, so that brain-based learning and being able to move along with it and sing along with it is just so important for them to Hoff said. our focus is reading fluency and comprehension so much of the from Pg 2 READING ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) Native Americans are running for high-profile seats this year in New Mexico, Kansas, Minnesota and Idaho in what could bring historic gains for a population once excluded from electoral politics. Indian voters also could swing important races in Montana, Arizona and North Dakota.

The midterm election Tuesday comes 70 years after Isleta Pueblo member Miguel landmark court challenge against a New Mexico law that had prevented Native Americans from voting. And 50 years ago, Native American voters were credited with helping Robert F. Kennedy win a historic victory in South Democratic presidential primary. a look at how the Native American vote has become a key bloc in the U.S. after decades of exclusion: THE LONG FIGHT Written into the original U.S.

Constitution was a clause that said Indians who pay taxes could not be counted in the voting population of states. That prevented Native Americans living in tribal communities considered sovereign nations from becoming U.S. citizens and voting members of the new democracy. Like African Americans, Native Americans were excluded from voting and public accommodations long after the Civil War and the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890 in South Dakota. The Indian Naturalization Act of 1890 finally granted citizenship to Native Americans by an application process, but many allowed to vote until President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924.

Still, a number of states such as New Mexico and Arizona barred many Native Americans from voting. That changed after World War II veteran Marine Sgt. Miguel Trujillo Sr. sued New Mexico when a county clerk refused to allow him to register to vote because he lived on tribal land. Trujillo won his case, clearing the way for Native Americans in New Mexico and elsewhere to vote.

REMAINING BARRIERS In 1975 under President Gerald Ford, the Voting Rights Act was amended with changes that mentioned Alaska, Arizona and parts of South Dakota as places that discriminated against Native Americans through ballot language. The federal law required that polling locations offer information in Spanish and various Native languages. As late as the 1990s, some New Mexico counties were subject to U.S. Justice Department consent decrees for violating the Voting Rights Act by not providing information in Native languages. Meanwhile, voters began electing Native Americans to seats in state Legislatures.

In 1992, Democrat Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado became the first Native American elected to the U.S. Senate. He later switched to the Republican Party. THE 2018 ELECTION A new Republican-backed ID law in North Dakota upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court prevents Native Americans without a residential address from voting.

Opponents say the law is intended to disenfranchise Native American voters who historically have used post office boxes as addresses. Supporters of the law say meant to combat voter fraud. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat, won a close race in 2012 in the state with the help of Native American voters. She is now facing a strong challenge from Republican Rep.

Kevin Cramer. Elsewhere, Democrats Debra Haaland in New Mexico and Sharice Davids in Kansas are vying to become the first Native American women elected to the U.S. House. In Idaho, Paulette Jordan, a Democrat, is vying to become the first elected Native American governor. Voters in Minnesota will elect the first Native American lieutenant governor.

Both candidates Democrat state Rep. Peggy Flanagan and Republican Donna Bergstrom are members of tribal nations that are bands of Ojibwe. AP Explains: How the Native American vote evolved.