KAYENTA, Ariz. — Young Indigenous voters skated in solidarity to encourage people to register for midterms and get out and vote Aug. 13.
Young and first-time voters on the Navajo Nation took to their skateboards for ‘Skate to the Polls, a voter registration event that combines civic engagement with the growing skateboarding culture among Diné youth.
Set in Kayenta Recreation Park, the event enabled attendees to skate alongside supporters including Douglas Miles, The Skatepark Project (formerly The Tony Hawk Foundation), and staff from Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs’s office. The skater could then register to vote, update registration status,and learn about how to participate in the 2022 elections. The group hopes participants will use the even to “reclaim and celebrate their power.”
Led by Protect The Sacred, a program of cultural change nonprofit, Harness, and co-hosted with NDN Collective, ‘Skate to the Polls’ launched Ride to the Polls, a national campaign to activate young BIPOC voters to participate in the 2022 midterms.
‘Skate to the Polls’ began in Kayenta and ended at a community skate park with remarks from Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, Allie Redhorse Young, Harness program manager and Protect the Sacred founder and Lycia Maddocks, NDN Collective political director.
The event continued with a song and prayer led by an Indigenous medicine man, live music, pizza provided by Pizza to the Polls and more.
Special guest appearances included Nathan “Doggface” Apodaca (TikTok), Native actor Gary Farmer (Reservation Dogs), musical guest Scotti Clifford, and DJ Squeme.
Voter registration tables were set up at the skate park with voting experts onsite to ensure community members clearly understand voter information for the state and respective counties.
This was the first in a series of activations that will engage Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other historically overlooked communities to encourage and facilitate participation in the upcoming midterm elections in ways authentic to their customs and traditions.
Ride to the Polls first took shape in 2020 when Young led 50 voters on horseback to vote in the presidential election. Inspired by her ancestors, Young sought to draw attention to the numerous hurdles that stand between her community and the ballot box including infrequent polling places and post offices, a lack of mail services and limited access to the internet.
Now, Young and Harness are expanding their efforts to uplift BIPOC voices, especially within rural and disenfranchised communities. The goal is to encourage 50,000 BIPOC youth to register to vote or check their registration and turn them out to vote in the midterms.
“Ride to the Polls shows us that voting can be fun, joyful, and something to celebrate,” Young said. “This land is ours, this water is ours and these resources are ours. We can’t afford to sit this election out. Ride to the Polls is designed to amplify our collective power and turn people out to vote in 2022.”
The Skatepark Project has partnered with Harness to support the ‘Skate to the Polls’ activation through their Native and Indigenous Grantmaking Program.
“We’re proud to partner with Harness on this unique event and help spread awareness around voting and voter registration among skaters,” said Tony Hawk, founder of the Skateboard Project. “As an organization, we continue to prioritize support for skate park projects within Native and Indigenous communities across the US; and this important campaign that Harness has put together is aligned with our values, as it ties together two essential parts of the work TSP is focused on: skateboarding access and civic engagement.”
The Ride to the Polls campaign engages voters through art, media, storytelling, and on-the-ground activations to combat disenfranchisement efforts. Other voter-engagement events to follow in the run-up to midterms will include a Georgia ride targeting students, a ride partnering with Latinx organizations in Texas to hold a Quinceñera-inspired celebration bringing young first-time Latina girls to vote in trucks and limos, an Election Day horseback ride in Arizona and more.
“The events of the last couple of years have left many feeling discouraged by the electoral process and in need of more joy, celebration, and moments of connection,” said Andrew Murphy, executive director of Harness. “Ride to the Polls serves as a direct response to this need for civic engagement that centers diverse stories and cultures, inspiring hope and creating cultural moments energizing prospective voters in the lead-up to November.”
More information is available by visiting iwillharness.com/program/protect-the-sacred and follow their journey @protect_sacred on Twitter and @protectsacred on Instagram.
Information provided by Harness, Protect the Sacred and NDN Collective
KAYENTA, Ariz. — Young Indigenous voters skated in solidarity to encourage people to register for midterms and get out and vote Aug. 13.
Young and first-time voters on the Navajo Nation took to their skateboards for ‘Skate to the Polls, a voter registration event that combines civic engagement with the growing skateboarding culture among Diné youth.
Set in Kayenta Recreation Park, the event enabled attendees to skate alongside supporters including Douglas Miles, The Skatepark Project (formerly The Tony Hawk Foundation), and staff from Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs’s office. The skater could then register to vote, update registration status,and learn about how to participate in the 2022 elections. The group hopes participants will use the even to “reclaim and celebrate their power.”
Led by Protect The Sacred, a program of cultural change nonprofit, Harness, and co-hosted with NDN Collective, ‘Skate to the Polls’ launched Ride to the Polls, a national campaign to activate young BIPOC voters to participate in the 2022 midterms.
‘Skate to the Polls’ began in Kayenta and ended at a community skate park with remarks from Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, Allie Redhorse Young, Harness program manager and Protect the Sacred founder and Lycia Maddocks, NDN Collective political director.
The event continued with a song and prayer led by an Indigenous medicine man, live music, pizza provided by Pizza to the Polls and more.
Special guest appearances included Nathan “Doggface” Apodaca (TikTok), Native actor Gary Farmer (Reservation Dogs), musical guest Scotti Clifford, and DJ Squeme.
Voter registration tables were set up at the skate park with voting experts onsite to ensure community members clearly understand voter information for the state and respective counties.
This was the first in a series of activations that will engage Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other historically overlooked communities to encourage and facilitate participation in the upcoming midterm elections in ways authentic to their customs and traditions.
Ride to the Polls first took shape in 2020 when Young led 50 voters on horseback to vote in the presidential election. Inspired by her ancestors, Young sought to draw attention to the numerous hurdles that stand between her community and the ballot box including infrequent polling places and post offices, a lack of mail services and limited access to the internet.
Now, Young and Harness are expanding their efforts to uplift BIPOC voices, especially within rural and disenfranchised communities. The goal is to encourage 50,000 BIPOC youth to register to vote or check their registration and turn them out to vote in the midterms.
“Ride to the Polls shows us that voting can be fun, joyful, and something to celebrate,” Young said. “This land is ours, this water is ours and these resources are ours. We can’t afford to sit this election out. Ride to the Polls is designed to amplify our collective power and turn people out to vote in 2022.”
The Skatepark Project has partnered with Harness to support the ‘Skate to the Polls’ activation through their Native and Indigenous Grantmaking Program.
“We’re proud to partner with Harness on this unique event and help spread awareness around voting and voter registration among skaters,” said Tony Hawk, founder of the Skateboard Project. “As an organization, we continue to prioritize support for skate park projects within Native and Indigenous communities across the US; and this important campaign that Harness has put together is aligned with our values, as it ties together two essential parts of the work TSP is focused on: skateboarding access and civic engagement.”
The Ride to the Polls campaign engages voters through art, media, storytelling, and on-the-ground activations to combat disenfranchisement efforts. Other voter-engagement events to follow in the run-up to midterms will include a Georgia ride targeting students, a ride partnering with Latinx organizations in Texas to hold a Quinceñera-inspired celebration bringing young first-time Latina girls to vote in trucks and limos, an Election Day horseback ride in Arizona and more.
“The events of the last couple of years have left many feeling discouraged by the electoral process and in need of more joy, celebration, and moments of connection,” said Andrew Murphy, executive director of Harness. “Ride to the Polls serves as a direct response to this need for civic engagement that centers diverse stories and cultures, inspiring hope and creating cultural moments energizing prospective voters in the lead-up to November.”
More information is available by visiting iwillharness.com/program/protect-the-sacred and follow their journey @protect_sacred on Twitter and @protectsacred on Instagram.
Information provided by Harness, Protect the Sacred and NDN Collective