With assurance and support, Native people with felony records head out to vote

It’s a chilly morning as the men who work at Better Futures Minnesota circle up, ready to begin their day with an affirmation. Together the group vows to be positive, re-engage with their families and children, and fully participate as citizens in society.

After the affirmation Jason Allen, the program director for the south Minneapolis nonprofit, reminds them that it’s nearly a week away from election day.

“As we talked about a week or two ago, we’ve got a historic election coming up,” Allen yells over the warehouse din. “[If] you’ve never voted, this [is an] opportunity to participate in the democratic process like we talked about before.”

A few weeks ago, representatives from the Minnesota secretary of state’s office came to talk to the 20 or so participants about getting registered to vote. The men are all formerly incarcerated and many thought that since they had a felony on their record, voting was not an option. That is not the case.

In 2023, the Minnesota legislature passed a law that allows people with a felony record an opportunity to register and participate in the election. The law, which was challenged by the Minnesota Voters Alliance, was upheld last August. Now, 55,000 Minnesotans with a felony conviction who have serve their sentences are re-enfranchised.

One group of individuals stands out among those disenfranchised from the democratic process: Native American voters. According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections own statistics, Minnesota’s Native population is overrepresented in the prison population.

A spokesperson for the department said Native Americans account for more than nine percent of the population while Minnesota’s overall Native population is a little over one percent, according to recent census reports. More than 400 of those released from prison from January to September are Native people and are eligible to vote.

Which is why Better Futures Minnesota has made sure Indigenous participants Talon Frank and Landen Russette get registered and get to the polls.

“I kind of felt like I was going to get in trouble for it,” 39-year-old Russette said. He had heard about the law change but was so used to not being able to vote, that he didn’t think it was real until people from the secretary of state’s office showed them the official paperwork and got them registered. 

“A lot of them were worried that they [would] get in trouble for, you know, signing up, registering to vote,” said Mark Hanson, the communications manager for Better Futures Minnesota. “So that’s why we got someone from the state to come in here and tell them, like, ‘No, guys, it’s okay … here’s the documentation that it is a total legal thing now that you can register to vote.’”

Frank, who is a citizen of the Blackfeet Nation and lives in south Minneapolis, said he heard about the change in his status. The last time he voted was in 2012. He voted absentee this year.

“The lapse was because I was living a lifestyle that wasn’t, you know, how you say on the straight and narrow,” Frank said. “Better Futures was willing to bring me on board, and one of my agents told me that I was eligible to vote, so I figured I’d vote.”

Better Futures helps men like Frank and Russette. They hire people with felony convictions when no one else will. They provide stable employment, make sure they get health care and winter clothing. The organization sells used appliances, door frames and other parts of houses going through a remodel or that people don’t want anymore. 

Both of the men say that they’re voting because of issues everyone is talking about in this election cycle — the cost of living and making ends meet. 

“...Equal rights, the price of living. You know, everything's expensive,” 42-year-old Frank said.

Allen thinks it’s especially important to reach out to Native people to vote in this election cycle. 

“When they didn’t have a right to vote, policy was made that impacted them and affected them, and there was nothing that they could do about it,” Allen said.

Indeed, Native Americans have historically experienced barriers when it comes to casting their ballot. Native people weren’t citizens of the United States until 1924 and it’s only within the last 70 years that Native people have had access to the ballot box in every state. 

Russette, who is an enrolled member of the Fort Peck Sioux Tribe, said he’s never voted due to his felony convictions. He was charged a couple of months after his 18th birthday and has never been able to participate in any election.

He said he wants to set an example for his kids by voting and his brother, who also has a felony on his record. Russette says he pays attention to the news to hear about the issues, but says he already knows who he’s voting for.

“I just want to see if my vote matters. That’s all, you know,” he said.

Russette finally made his way to his polling place in Apple Valley. There, he was met with election workers who explained the ballot and directed him towards one of the empty booths.

He walked out with an “I voted” sticker and said next time he votes he wants to pay more attention to local races. 

“I voted, and I feel good,” Russette said. 

• Documentary about Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier opens Twin Cities film festival
• Unsolved violent crimes in Native American communities to get more attention with FBI surge
• The Indian Child Welfare Act is before the Minnesota Supreme Court again. Here’s why
• Bemidji novelist Dennis E. Staples aims to make the North Woods scary with new book