The election at this school pitted pizza against chicken nuggets, and democracy won

On a recent Tuesday morning, the Salt River Elementary School library is eerily quiet.

Patriotic music blares from the loudspeaker as teachers and staff complete decorations welcoming students to voting day. On the shelves near the entrance to the library are books about democracy. “VOTE” is written in large letters on every computer monitor, and red, white, and blue garlands adorn the walls.

In one corner, cardboard partitions serve as private booths where students can vote.

Leaving the special national election for now, students at this tribal school in Arizona will be voting on their favorite school lunch. Choices in this tough campaign? Pizza or chicken nuggets.

The stakes are high: Whichever menu item wins will be served next week as students follow the US presidential election. It is part of a wider effort to teach even the youngest children about democracy and the importance of their voice.

“I want these kids to grow up to be the voters of tomorrow,” said Dawn Burstyn-Myers, who held the annual event at the school 20 years ago through a nonprofit called Arizona’s kids vote. “Maybe become president or a council member to help your community.”

Inclusion of civic education in the curriculum

Every year, students at the school east of Scottsdale get to choose between their favorite things: outdoor activities, school supplies and – this year – the best school lunch ever. Next week, they will also participate in a mock election to vote for the President and Vice President of the United States.

Here, teachers focus their lessons on citizenship, voting procedures and democracy. In Meyers’ music and movement lessons, kindergartners learn to spell the word “vote.” With pom-poms in hand, they repeat each letter, forming its shape with their bodies.

In Audrey Yellowhair’s class, sixth graders are assigned topics related to voting procedures to present to their class. Joseph Miller reads aloud a poster his group is preparing: “The new president must fight for our country and heal the middle class and the lower class.” Alonzo Lopez has been discussing the election with his family at home and says doing civic duty is important, especially for Native Americans like him. “It’s important,” he says, “because our ancestors couldn’t vote.” Lopez has O’odham ancestry, as do many others who live in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC).

This year marks the centenary of the day The Indian Citizenship Act was passed by the Congressgiving Native Americans the right to vote. But voter suppression tactics like literacy tests, inaccessible polling places and strict voter ID laws kept Native Americans in Arizona from voting until the 1970s, making them one of the last groups of Americans to gain the right to vote.

Voter turnout continues to be a problem on the reservation, says Martin Harvier, president of the SRPMIC Tribal Council.

He and his team are working hard to get people out the vote, and these students are a part of that: “Hopefully, the kids also go home and tell their parents, ‘Hey, I voted today, and we’d like to go vote for more than just in our tribal elections, but also in national elections, which we believe are very important elections in Indian Country. »

National election billboards dot the roads along the reservation, including signs in the O’odham and Piipah languages ​​spoken by some families here.

For nearly two decades, Garvier has come to Salt River Elementary to participate in Vote Day. At 11:00, students go to the library, where they receive a ballot, fill it out in a private booth and drop it into the ballot box. Harvey then puts an “I voted today” sticker on their shirts.

“We know that our voice must be heard”

Lynette Stent wears a T-shirt that says “Registered Indigenous Voter” as she supervises her third-graders. She beams with pride as she watches them participate in democracy.

“To put it in perspective, my parents were 9 years old when Native Americans got the right to vote (in Arizona). I’m one generation away,” she says. “So now it’s really important to instill in our students the concept of voting.”

She adds that her students held a class debate about which presidential candidate would best serve the needs of their community. Some are particularly passionate about economic issues, while many others are passionate advocates for women’s rights.

“As Indigenous people, we know the value of our voice because everything we do is connected to the federal government, whether it’s land, whether it’s health care, whether it’s education,” Stant says. “We know our voice needs to be heard.”

After the ballots are opened for the favorite school lunch, the tension at Salt River Elementary is palpable. The student council is meeting to count the votes.

Finally, as the school day draws to a close, students return to the library, eagerly awaiting their results. Amidst a roar of support from both pizza and chicken nuggets voters, the loudspeaker finally crackles.

“Are we ready for the results of our elections?” asks Principal Amanda Guerrero. For the first time that day, the library falls silent until she announces that with 137 votes, “the winner is…pizza!”

Cheers, shouts and groans erupt. The crowd is barely contained. One disappointed nugget supporter tells NPR that she was sure her candidate would win, but participating in the democratic process was still worth her time.

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