At the Navajo Nation parade in Window Rock, Arizona, several Native American voters spoke with NBC News about the issues that matter most to them heading into the November election.
Voters cited infrastructure-related issues such as road building and access to water, electricity and broadband on reservations, as well as education, missing and murdered Native American women, gun control, inflation and immigration as important issues.
Lomacoiva Manuel, 25, of Sacaton, Arizona, said she voted for Biden in 2020 but is undecided now. Missing and murdered Indigenous women are a top issue for her, and water and land rights are important to tribes, she said.
“There are so many missing and murdered Indigenous women and there’s not a lot of shining a light on that,” she said. “I have cousins, aunts, sisters who have experienced it, so I think there should be more shining a light on it. We have to do more.”
Lorinda Strayhorn, 60, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, said she voted for Biden in the last election and supports Harris’ campaign, citing the influx of immigrants onto Navajo land as a top issue.
“They’re doing a lot of land buybacks right now, but a lot of our land has been taken away, and that’s not good for our tribe, the Navajo Nation,” she said, “But the good thing they’re doing right now is they’re doing land buybacks.”
Denzel Beer, a 22-year-old rancher from Many Farms, Arizona, who voted for Trump in 2020 and plans to vote again in November, said road repairs were crucial.
“The dirt roads are getting worse,” he said, “so (Navajo President) Boo Nygren and others said they’d do this and that, but nothing ever happened. They didn’t fix the roads. So there’s been a big effort to fix Navajo roads and build highways on the dirt roads, which helps the people and protects the cars.”
Beer, who buys hay to resell, said the costs of growing hay for his ranch have risen so much that it’s “ridiculous,” adding that he remembers prices being cheaper under President Trump.
Steve Blacklock, a 65-year-old retiree from Black Mesa, Arizona, who voted for Biden in 2020 and supports Harris’ campaign, said the Navajo reservation lacks infrastructure, not just roads but utilities and running water.
Former coal small business BlackRock acknowledged the environmental damage caused by carbon fuels and said it was important to keep the environment clean for future generations.
“As the years go by, we realize we have to at least think about the younger generations to make sure they have a healthy environment,” Blacklock said.
Leo Mann, 56, a construction worker from Nazrin, Arizona, and a Trump supporter who said he will vote for Trump again in November, cited the economy and gun control as top issues.
“I think the biggest thing right now is the cost of living is going up,” Mann said, “so if it keeps going up, it’s going to be pretty bad.”
“Gun control laws are also an issue,” he said. “I know there are a lot of schoolyard shootings now, but that’s probably because kids weren’t raised right. I don’t know, but in my day, if you got in trouble at school, you’d get into a fist fight or a punch fight. Now kids bring guns to school.”
Mann also said there is a need to address infrastructure on the reservation, especially for veterans and school systems.