Native Americans have historically had a low voter turnout, and have been more likely to vote in tribal elections than national ones. Even so, the segment of the population is highly reliant on the federal government for important services, including some schools, social services, and law enforcement.
Government services are provided through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and during the last shutdown in 1995, the bureau furloughed all 13,500 of its employees. Should the same thing happen, certain services would be suspended, like garbage pickup, and dozens of schools could be closed.
There are about 2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who benefit from services from the federal government. Because Native American communities are often poor, it would be especially difficult for them to pay for certain services themselves.
For instance, two-thirds of the money that the Navajo Nation uses to pay for its jails, social services, and law enforcement comes from the federal government. If the cash flow was suddenly stopped, the tribe says that it could only keep the programs running for about a month.
– Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
