Jul 5, 2023
Voter participation often begins with a simple question: Why should I bother? For Indigenous people, the answers come tangled in hundreds of years of broken treaties, systemic racism, and voter access restrictions like those that Miguel Trujillo fought to overturn. And yet, Dr. Porter Swentzell (Santa Clara Pueblo) challenges the notion that engaging with the colonizer’s process can’t work in tribes’ favor.
Judge June Lorenzo (Laguna Pueblo and Navajo/Diné) agrees. Judge Lorenzo works tirelessly to connect with Indigenous voters and ease their way once at the polls.
Welcome to the fourth episode in Encounter Culture’s collaboration with the New Mexico History Museum exploring Indigenous voting rights before and after Trujillo v. Garley. If you’ve never heard of the case or the inspiring story of Miguel Trujillo, we encourage you to check out the last three episodes. Then join us here to learn about the complicated realities surrounding Indigenous suffrage with Dr. Porter Swentzell), executive director at Kha’p’o Community School, tribal leader, and invaluable consultant on this project, and June Lorenzo, chief judge of Pueblo of Zia.
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Enter by August 31, 2023. You must be 18 years or older to apply and there is no purchase necessary. This opportunity is made possible by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and the Museum of New Mexico Foundation.
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Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.
Hosted by Stephanie Padilla (Isleta, Laguna, Cochiti) & Charlotte Jusinski, Editor at El Palacio Magazine
Technical Director & Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz
Recording Engineer: Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe
Executive Producer: Daniel Zillmann
Consulting Producer & Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota)
Associate Producer & Editor: Alex Riegler
Show Notes: Lisa Widder
Social Media Design: Caitlin Sunderland
Theme Music: D’Santi Nava
Instagram: @newmexicanculture
For more, visit podcast.nmculture.org.
Special thank you to Clark Tenakhongva, along with Gary Stroutsos and Matthew Nelson, for the incredible Hopi music featured throughout all 6 episodes of this season. Their new album Hon Muru is set to release in August 2023 and will be available for purchase along with their other recordings on Bandcamp and at ongtupqa.com.
This season was made possible due to the generosity of
the National Endowment for the Humanities and the family of Miguel
and Ruchanda Trujillo.