A non-partisan political group is out with state-by-state grades for recent redistricting efforts. Common Cause gives South Dakota a “C-plus” for how it carried out the process of redrawing legislative districts based on updated Census data. The report credits the Legislature for holding numerous hearings and allowing testimony from community members. But the authors say there wasn’t enough education about the details.
O.J. Semans, Sr., is the co-executive director for the Native American group Four Directions. He says for tribal communities and organizers, he agrees with the report that there were barriers, but it wasn’t all bad.
“It did take a while to get the Legislature [in] coming out and actually meeting with tribes, but the outcome was beneficial for Indian country in South Dakota.”
Semans says groups like his also made sure tribal representatives were more present at redistricting meetings, a factor cited by Common Cause. But the report says under-resourced communities need more funding and other support to train participants, and Semans adds a separate, longstanding issue still exists.
“The challenge is to get the United States Census to do a proper job.”
He says policymakers heard concerns about specific regions, resulting in some gains. That includes the Crow Creek and Lower Brule reservations being drawn into a single state legislative district, as opposed to fragmenting those boundaries and hindering tribal representation.
Semans says Native Americans have been historically undercounted in the Census. The report recommends solutions such as hiring tribal members as census workers or having them guide census staff around reservations. The Census Bureau recently announced it will create a new federal advisory committee in hopes of addressing issues like undercounts ahead of the 2030 Census.
(Story courtesy of the Greater Dakota News Service.)
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