How Becoming a Native Organizer
Jandi Craig, White Mountain Apache Community Organizer
HOW BECOMING A NATIVE ORGANIZER SAVED ME
I’M A MOM, A CITIZEN OF THE WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE TRIBE, COMMUNITY ORGANIZER, AND IN JANUARY 2021 WAS ELECTED 1ST VICE-CHAIR OF THE NAVAJO DEMOCRATIC PARTY. TODAY, I AM SHARING MY STORY ABOUT BECOMING AN ORGANIZER ON TRIBAL LANDS.
To help support on-going community organizing efforts on tribal lands, strengthen Native leadership, and protect the vote in Arizona donate here today: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/nativeorgkos
How I Became a Community Organizer
Last year my son and I became victims of domestic violence. I learned firsthand that the system is not victim-focused and that your very life is affected by who you vote for in local races. In particular the county prosecutor, judges, and sheriff. People need to know who is on their ballot and who’s making decisions that impact them everyday.
My experience is not unique. I waited 45 minutes for the sheriff’s deputy to arrive. A terrorizing 45 minute wait while the angry abuser was on the other side of a door. Even when the deputy arrived I did not feel altogether safe. The sheriff’s deputy was reluctant to take my abuser into custody stating, “It was my word against his,” despite my foot being broken. I had to beg him to arrest my abuser.
Coming out of this experience I found support and purpose in a group I helped co-found, to empower women and began doing voter registration. Then we discovered there was a problem with the census. There were no census workers able to go door-to-door in our White Mountain Apache communities and the self-reporting numbers were very low. We started helping people self-register and at one point hosted a drive-thru event offering voter registration, census reporting, and covid relief items.
A real turning point for me was when the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe was faced with the imminent threat of disestablishment by the Trump administration. Our mission turned to voter education because all tribes are vulnerable to this sort of action. This inspired our Apache women to learn more about the political process and how local and national policies impact our daily lives.
As a result of our efforts, we saw a rise in first-time voters and turnout because lots of Apache women took the time to learn more about the candidates, issues, and elections and shared this with their family, friends, and broader community. Women who had never voted before or thought their vote would not count were sharing this valuable information and were connecting. Everyone was stepping up and pitching in to inform and rally our communities. This is how I became a community organizer.
We had an 8% increase in overall voter turnout for White Mountain Apache and a 12% increase in Democratic turnout. That is what I am most proud of.
Our Indigenous people, the Native vote, came through to turn Arizona blue in 2020 and proved that every single vote counts. This 2020 election was decided by just a little over 10,000 votes.
Jandi Craig and fellow organizer Josh. Photo by Dawnafe Whitesinger
Next Steps
Moving forward we need to keep up this momentum and be present year around, not just during the election cycle. To help with the expansion of the county party, I was asked to be chair of the Navajo County Democrats, but I felt I needed to learn more about the processes and role so I agreed to be the 1st Vice-Chair which is turning into a great learning experience. I will be joining the Arizona Democratic Party State Committee and have met with state party leadership, and every time we meet I learn something new.
In Apache culture, it is important to listen and learn by observing. At the same time, I appreciate the opportunity to share, and if others can connect to my story and take away that they too can make positive changes in their communities, I know I’ve done my part.
Mostly everything is a learning experience right now. I am anxious and excited to work with a great group of folks and have to remind myself to take things in stride and continue to be open to new ideas and opportunities. I try hard to never say, ”no” when helping people. There is always a way to help, there is always a way to figure things out.
We have more Indigenous leaders to train now and in the future. This year and next we are building our program because I know first hand how critical this outreach is. I want to see more community people sitting at the decision-making tables and be the voice in their communities. There is so much potential with the Native vote and we just need to communicate and empower people to step into those leadership roles. As a traditional Apache woman, I am getting comfortable being uncomfortable because that is where the power is.
To help support our on-going community organizing efforts on tribal lands, especially in White Mountain Apache donate here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/nativeorgkos
Ashagoteh / Thank you for standing with us.
Jandi Craig, White Mountain Apache Tribe
1st Vice Chair
Navajo County Democrats
— Northeast Arizona Native Democrats
The Northeast Arizona Native Democrats is a project of the Navajo County Democrats and is a cross coalition work group made up of Coconino, Navajo, and Apache County Democrats.
neaznativedemocrats.org
Email: nativevote@neaznativedemocrats.org
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Checks may also be payable and mailed to: Navajo County Democrats — Native Organizing Fund
PO Box 144, Lakeside, AZ 85929 · (928) 224-8021
