PowWow the Vote MN is a voter registration and turnout initiative supported by Honor the Earth. ¹ During the 2018 and 2020 elections, PowWow the Vote MN was active in registering Native American voters in and around the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota. PowWow the Vote MN also transported voters to the polls. ^{2 3}

Honor the Earth is a 501(c)(3) founded and run by Winona LaDuke, the Green Party candidate for Vice President during the 1996 and 2000 elections. LaDuke has advocated for far left-wing economic and environmental policies for decades. Honor the Earth opposes the construction of pipeline for transporting oil, especially the Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota. ⁴ Honor the Earth also supports the Green New Deal. ⁵

Media produced by PowWow the Vote MN organizers cited stopping the construction of pipelines as a reason for Native Americans to vote. ⁶

Founding and History

PowWow the Vote MN began in order to increase participation in the 2018 election from Native Americans living on and around the White Earth Reservation. To increase voter turnout, the organization created media content encouraging Native Americans to vote, often promoting the environmentalist talking points supported by its funder, Honor the Earth. ⁷ One member of the PowWow the Vote MN team referred to United States elections as “colonial election[s],” but he encouraged Native Americans to vote anyway. ⁸

PowWow the Vote MN also operated its “Rez Uber” program, driving Native Americans living in highly rural areas sometimes over 100 miles to vote at county courthouses. ⁹ During the months before the 2020 election, PowWow the Vote MN hosted “Rez Curbside” voter registration events to register Native American voters in and around the White Earth Reservation. ^{10 11} Following the 2020 election, Honor the Earth founder and director Winona LaDuke wrote an op-ed that credited Native American voters with tipping the vote in favor of Democrats in elections across the United States. ¹²

Political Activism

PowWow the Vote MN is funded by Honor the Earth, a far-left advocacy group. Honor the Earth was founded in 1993 by activist Winona LaDuke, a member of the Anishinaabeg tribe. LaDuke was the Vice-Presidential nominee of the Green Party in 1996 and 2000; she was the running mate to Ralph Nader. ¹³

Honor the Earth has opposed the construction of oil pipelines, and it argued against allowing permits for the Line 3 oil pipeline in northern Minnesota. Honor the Earth supports the Green New Deal. ¹⁴

Honor the Earth also supports increased use of cannabis and hemp for fabric production to replace the modern textile industry. Winona LaDuke acquired a permit in 2016 to grow hemp in Minnesota and she owns Winona’s Hemp & Heritage Farm, where she grows 40 acres of hemp. ^{15 16}

Tax documents do not reveal the exact amount of money that Honor the Earth used to fund PowWow the Vote MN. However, in 2019, Honor the Earth had assets worth $979,932. ¹⁷ The 501(c)(3) receives grants from multiple center-left and left-of-center foundations, including the Kalliopeia Foundation, the NoVo Foundation, the Tides Foundation, and the Ben and Jerry’s Foundation. ¹⁸

1. “Our Mission.” PowWow the Vote MN. Accessed April 21, 2021. https://www.powwowthevotemn.org/mission.
2. “2018/2019 Honor the Earth Annual Report.” Honor the Earth. Accessed April 22, 2021. https://www.honorearth.org/annual_report.
3. “2020 Honor the Earth Annual Report.” Honor the Earth. Accessed April 22, 2021. https://www.honorearth.org/annual_report.
4. “Stop Line 3.” Honor the Earth. Accessed April 22, 2021. https://www.honorearth.org/law360_line3.
5. “The Green Path: A Just Transition.” Honor the Earth. Accessed April 22, 2021. https://www.honorearth.org/green-newdeal.
6. “Nina – Youth Climate Change Intervener “Why we need to Vote.” Youtube.com. October 31, 2018. Accessed April 21, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91kyLmoq698.
7. “Our Mission.” PowWow the Vote MN. Accessed April 21, 2021. https://www.powwowthevotemn.org/mission.
8. “John Shimek – Why I’m Voting.” Youtube.com. October 30, 2018. Accessed April 21, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amqKyh80opE.
9. “2018/2019 Honor the Earth Annual Report.” Honor the Earth. Accessed April 22, 2021. https://www.honorearth.org/annual_report.
10. “2020 Honor the Earth Annual Report.” Honor the Earth. Accessed April 22, 2021. https://www.honorearth.org/annual_report.
11. “Register Early! Summer “Rez Curbside” Voter Registration Schedule.” PowWow the Vote MN. Accessed April 21, 2021. https://www.powwowthevotemn.org/registration-events/earlregistration?fbclid=IwAR3WbNa4b2wjwCQIeR6UcInFwcWRe2Kc6XZcgc9vBEfhIZyvPEVXtY1R6bo.
12. LaDuke, Winona. “LaDuke: Native voters were the difference Nov. 3.” The Globe. November 25, 2020. April 21, 2021. https://www.dglobe.com/opinion/columns/6774512-LaDuke-Native-voters-were-the-difference-Nov.-3.
13. “Winona LaDuke.” WomenOfTheHall.org. Accessed April 22, 2021. https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/winona-laduke/.
14. “The Green Path: A Just Transition.” Honor the Earth. Accessed April 22, 2021. https://www.honorearth.org/green-newdeal.
15. Anthony, Neal. Winona LaDuke leads the hemp crop movement around Minnesota’s White Earth Reservation.” Star Tribune. August 24, 2019. Accessed April 22, 2021. https://www.startribune.com/winona-laduke-leads-the-hemp-crop-movement-around-minnesota-s-white-earth-reservation/557992032/.
16. LaDuke, Winona. “The Renaissance of Tribal Hemp.” In These Times. April 21, 2018. April 22, 2021. https://inthesetimes.com/article/industrial-hemp-native-american-tribes-winona-laduke.   
17. Honor the Earth Form 990. 2018. Accessed 22, 2021.  https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/454714238/202031979349307523/full.
18. “2020 Honor the Earth Annual Report.” Honor the Earth. Accessed April 22, 2021. https://www.honorearth.org/annual_report.