Indigenous leaders convene in Scottsdale for "power building" summit

Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian elected officials, organizers, artists and academics are convening in Scottsdale on Tuesday to harness their collective political power heading into election season.

Why it matters: Indigenous voters represent a large and important voting bloc in Arizona and many other swing states but are too often political candidates , co-founder and executive director of Advance Native Political Leadership Anathea Chino tells Axios.

The big picture: "The founding of the United States is a complicated history for Indigenous people. The building of U.S. democracy was largely … not intended for us to thrive in or survive in," she says.

• "But we are still here and we will continue to be."

State of play: The Native Power Building Summit was first held in 2018 but is convening leaders in-person for the first time this year. Speakers include two members of Congress and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, the highest-ranking Indigenous woman elected to an executive office.

• Chino says she's glad to be hosting the event in Arizona, a politically important state with a large Indigenous population.
• Strong Native American turnout is credited as one of the factors that led to President Biden's 2020 win here.

Zoom in: Many of the event's attendees hold diverse views and advocate for different causes, but they share the belief that Native voices should be heard and listened to, Chino says.

• "We want to support everyone to make their own decisions. But we agree that no decisions are going to be made without us. We have decided to have a voice," she says.