Diné C.A.R.E. is a grassroots non-profit environmental organization on the Navajo Nation. The term “Diné” means “the people” in the Navajo language, and the acronym C.A.R.E. stands for Citizens Against Ruining our Environment. Founded by three Navajo women, the organization is known as the grandmother of the Navajo environmental movement. They often fight toe-to-toe with industry giants by building grassroots campaigns mobilizing local Navajo citizens to protect their homeland from environmental degradation.

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Native American Vote

Historically, Native Americans have faced huge barriers when trying to register and participate in elections. Things like language, technology, geography, access, and even lack of having a mailbox are barriers to the Native vote. A report by the Native American Rights Fund notes, “Although many other American voters share some of these obstacles, no other racial or ethnic group faces the combined weight of these barriers to the same degree as Native voters in Indian Country.”

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Today, there is approximately 6.8 million American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States; and like the Navajo people, their population is often concentrated in central areas strengthening their voting power and ability to sway elections in key states and jurisdictions. There are considerable Navajo voters in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah—and this voting block can notably influence elections at all levels of government, from school boards and municipal positions to the state governorship, congressional offices and the U.S. President.

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Leading up to the 2020 elections, key environmental issues were at forefront of the political discussion. It was important for Diné CARE to launch the Diné Votes Matter campaign to increase the number of Navajo voters in Arizona, an important battleground state in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.

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Challenges

Campaign goal:  Educate 60,000 Navajo voters in three Arizona counties (Apache, Navajo and Coconino), and mobilize them to vote during the pandemic.

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Challenge 1: In the 2020 elections the Navajo reservation had the highest COVID-19 infection rate in the world. Political strategists say that door-to-door canvassing is the strongest outreach strategy to get voters to the polls, however, during the pandemic this was not possible on the Navajo reservation due to tribal prohibitions against event gatherings, social distancing requirements, public opposition to face-to-face campaigning and isolation between people. Therefore, Diné CARE employed a strong marketing campaign through television, radio, newspaper and social media because it was the safest and reliable way to meet their overall goal.

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Challenge 2: regardless of the pandemic, targeting and reaching a message to 60,000 Navajo voters on the reservation is a challenge. The Navajo reservation is 27,000 square miles with the largest portion in rural Arizona. The reservation is roughly the size of the state of West Virginia. Further, the younger Navajo voters speak English but those most likely to vote are the elderly, who predominantly speak only Navajo. In addition, outside of the larger Navajo communities, access to the internet and television is sparse, so radio and print media are used as key mediums to transmit messages to many in the smaller Navajo communities. And finally, in comparison to other well-funded political groups, the Diné CARE had a modest budget to launch a comprehensive and impactful plan.

 

Challenge 3: Constraints imposed by social media platforms. Facebook imposed a freeze on advertisements before the election to curb misinformation campaigns from both parties. This created challenges for the team to get our ads on Facebook.  Facebook and Twitter also raised the requirements for approving advertisements and postings before and during the election. The bar was higher and it was harder to place our paid video advertisement on Facebook.

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The Diné Votes Matter campaign used the following strategies:

• Provide voters with registration locations, early ballot request

• Provide potential voters with clear, easy-to-understand information on polling sites, both early and election-day ballot locations.

• Present targeted messages to urge Navajos to vote and coordinate election day plans to vote with social distancing concerns.

• Use practical and trusted communications mediums for the key targets markets (text messaging, radio, television, newspaper and social media).

• Employ persuasive cultural messaging targeting Navajo voters.

• Leverage earned media gained from paid media.