Lily Gladstone is a Native American. Not only does that mean she was born in the United States, it also means that she is a member of a federally recognized tribe (Blackfeet and Nez Pierce) and has a documented connection to a tribe. It is a legal political designation. Yalitza Aparicio is a Mexican born, Indigenous actor. Although there are tribes in Mexico and clearly Indigenous folks, the Mexican Gov. does not recognize tribes in their country as sovereign nations the way the U.S. does. She is Mixtec and Triqui. She isn’t Native American.

1. I thought when I got older, I wouldn’t have to continue to identify as a teen mom. I’m 40. I had kids when I was 18. Twins. They’re adults now. But ppl say things like, “You look too young to have kids that old.” I know I don’t have to, but I’ll usually say “I was a teen mom” 2. Or “I had them young.” Or “I know, I look amazing, right?” Or “Yup.” Depending on my mood. I’ve also been known to launch into a whole explanation of how periods and fertility work and how until I go into menopause I’ll have been able to have children for a span of 35+ yrs!

Rewatched the LOTR trilogy recently and my kid casually says, “this is the only scene where 2 women speak to each other in the whole trilogy.” The exchange? A little girl says to Eowyn, “Where’s Mama?!” Eowyn shushes her. “Shh!” End scene. Ouch. It also never occurred to me that Arwen wasn’t a part of the counsel of Elrond, even though she literally tracked Strider’s group down, AND outrode 8 Nazgûl riders to save Frodo! AND I noticed in this rewatch that Legolas arrived in Rivendale with other Elven women! They also weren’t invited to the counsel!

My team will be done with 99% of all sig verification on 11/12. The rest will be processed in 3 different ways in accordance with the law:

1. Conditional Provisionals: there are 70 voters who showed up to the polls without ID. They have until 11/16, 5pm to resolve. 2. Problem Ballots: These have signatures that multiple operators couldn’t verify. Voters are contacted and we verify their identity using private info not available to the public. We ask if they returned an Early Ballot. They have until 11/16, 5pm to resolve. We have approx 1K.

As an Elections Official in AZ, I most interact with the Secretary of State’s office. They coordinate between Recorders, Elections & state as a whole. We look to them for guidance, clarity & resources. Republican candidate is an election denier. He could win. It’s terrifying. We have a doc called the Elections Procedures Manual. In odd # years, we’re required by law to update to include new legislation. The 15 county Recorders, Elections Directors & SOS meet regularly for months, section by section, to clarify language/issues we may be encountering.

Spoke at National Federation of the Blind's State Convention with Elections Director, Constance Hargrove, @albones520 from Secretary of State's office, @nfbarizona Chapter Pres, Donald Porterfield @NFB_voice in legislative session. Here's some of what we covered. LONG thread 1/20 Was able to share more about our office and ways that we've worked to provide more accessible services overall. Although I was there to speak, I was also there to listen and it was an amazing interactive session that opens us up for a lot of growth. Cool thing is, we've been 2/20

There are only 3 days left to cast your ballot for the Primary Election:
Saturday(7/30) 9am - 3pm
Monday (8/1) 8am - 5pm
Tuesday (8/2) 6am - 7pm

Here are the answers to the most FAQ’s:
1. Independents CAN vote
2. Anyone can utilize Emergency Voting
1/6 3. If you’re experiencing a problem voting, it’s an emergency!
4. You’ll need a valid ID (a driver’s license is most common, see website for more options)
5. You do not need your voter ID Card to vote
2/6

1. I’ve been quiet about the recent white supremacy being directed at me as an Indigenous elected official. I know talking about it will make ME vulnerable and I may lose support. It’s cool. I’m not scared, it’s just angering and exhausting to have to continuously explain it. 2.A dem county supervisor has repeatedly made public comments about my lack of experience and my need to consult the previous Recorder to see if she agrees with my decisions - before I make them. I’m been applauded for “maintaining my composure” during these public comments.

1. I’m often asked “what should I call you?”As a Native woman with a title, this is an uncomfortable question for me. I feel like it’s a way of saying, “you don’t need ME to use your title, right?” I feel like it’s forcing a familiarity as opposed to letting it evolve naturally. 2. Sometimes I have to address it for practical reasons. Like when I introduced myself for the 1st time to my staff. Or during interviews. My staff directly addresses me as Gabriella or Recorder. When they reference me to others outside our office, it’s Recorder Cázares-Kelly.

Had convo with reporter after tweet about the name of my Tribe: Tohono O’odham, versus previously used “Papago”. He wanted to know why it makes a difference. I was surprised that their colleagues argued it wasn’t a big deal cause the name is still in use in the Phoenix area. 1/3 I’m not a historian, not all Natives are. But I do know how to use Google. Much of the following is common knowledge in my community. Most importantly, Tohono O’odham is our traditional name. It what our people have always called ourselves. Papago is what others called us. 2/13

I was invited to participate in a White House listening session with other government officials to discuss best practices for engaging Tribal communities in voting. 1. I was really struck by how many Natives are working under our current administration. 2. They had already conducted listening sessions with Tribal Government representatives throughout the country to hear about concerns. They wanted to hear about best practices from government officials who have already had some success with Native outreach.

Anytime I talk about ways that I’m treated differently from others, I get a few angry comments or worse, “friendly” comments challenging my experience/perception or even the intention of the others involved. It’s a weird kind of gaslighting that minimizes my experiences. 1/15 I’m not fragile or “too sensitive”, I’m just talking about my personal experiences. I share cause I think people want to do better. How can they do better if they have no idea they’re doing something wrong? This msg is especially important for well meaning liberals 2/15

Anti-Native culture is so ingrained in American culture that u prob didn’t notice it in The Shining. They explicitly say hotel is built on an “old Indian burial ground” :rolls eyes: which perpetuates idea that Natives are dangerous, even in death. We’re the Indian problem. 1/10 During tour manager says during hotel’s construction in 1907 builders had to fight off Indian attacks. Pfft. Whatever. Even Geronimo’s famous surrender was in 1886. There weren’t “Indian War parties” in 1907. Bro, Natives were unable to leave our reservations at that point. 2/10

Was at a “Second Chance” fair talking about voting rights for people with felonies. Stopped at health booth to play a game guessing which foods were healthy. When @cheerios came up, I laughed “I knew that one from WIC”. “Oh. Do you work for WIC?” She saw my look of confusion, 1/ so she pointed out my Pima County mask. “Oh! No, I’m actually the County Recorder. I’m an elected official. I’m just an elected official whose been on WIC before.” They were surprised. Took the opportunity to talk about the importance of real life experience for electeds. 2/

Went to pay mortgage, but the amount was weirdly less than usual. Called. For 9 years we paid an additional 131.93 per month for mortgage insurance, required because we had a HUD RISK-BASED loan. No longer have to pay it. So our monthly payment went down. #ExpensiveToBePoor #Hud I never questioned it, because insurance on my biggest investment sounded like a good idea. I looked at my statements, I saw it, it gave me peace of mind. Oh good, if anything happens, I’m insured. Nope. That’s something different.

“Lobbying congress” sounds really fancy and special, but what it just means is that you meet with members of congress and you ask them to support (or oppose) an issue (hopefully a bill) you care about. You explain why it’s important and often you’re educating them/their staff. Anyone can lobby. You can call up your members of congress and senators and ask them for a meeting. There are no special requirements. You don’t have to be registered to vote, a certain age, or even a citizen. If you live in their district, they represent you. It’s their job.

I use the term Xennial a lot. It’s a term for the microgeneration between Gen-X & Millenial. I grew up w/ out a phone, mailing letters, renting VHS tapes AND also the VCR. But in my teens/early adulthood we got the internet, AOL, cell phones. Analog childhood/Digital adulthood. I also grew up in a rural place that lacked technology that was more common in the cities. If we wanted to watch MTV, we’d have to ask a friend who lived in town to video tape it & physically pick it up, because we couldn’t get cable. We got a house phone when I was in 2nd grade.

CW:Sterotypes/Alcoholism
A microaggression story that has stayed w me for 17 years. I was taking a higher Spanish class at the UofA. It was a hard class and my classmates & I formed study groups and practiced a lot. We were preparing for the midterm and we were stressed. 1/ I was friends w/a handsome classmate. I think he played volleyball. He was tall, blond, blue eyed & very smiley. I remember thinking he was funny. We were buds. We finished up a last minute cram study session & were waiting for the class to start. We were just reviewing notes. 2/

I get questions like: Where are you from? What Tribe are you? What percent Indian are you? Do you get money from the casinos? Do you speak Indian? Do you know about (obscure historical fact)? Do you know (Native who lives in another state)? Do you live on the reservation? Do you have a lot of alcoholics in your family? I found out I'm Native recently, do you know how I can find out more about my Tribe? Is it offensive to say "reservation"? Do you know a Medicine person or healer I can talk to? Have you done peyote?

Reminder regarding “Rain Dance”questions/comments: unless ur talking about a kui’pad, bahidag, ha:sañ, si:tol, nawait, ñei or kehina, I don’t want to hear ur ignorant quip minimizing my culture which has survived colonization & genocide because u want to joke about the weather. Every monsoon season I have to explain to ppl that them dancing in their driveways is not the spiritual ceremony that our communities prepare months in advance & which we think about year round. Our ceremonies requires community, harvesting, cooking, praying, singing, dancing.

To be clear, SB 1485 went to the legislature multiple times w/ intentionally confusing & ambiguous language. Confusing & discouraging voters IS disenfranchisement. If @dougducey REALLY wanted meaningful elections change in AZ he coulda pushed for Same Day Voter Registration. Or Automatic Voter Registration through the DMV’s database.