Biden promised to visit an Indian tribe. He finally leaves, rocking

President Biden is on his way to the Gila River Indian Community, near Phoenix, on Friday, the first time he has visited an Indian tribe as president.

The landmark move, which comes less than two weeks before the election, fulfills a promise Biden made to tribal leaders two years ago to visit Native American lands.

On Thursday, Biden said the visit marked an attempt to right historical wrongs as he became the first president to formally apologize for the federal Indian boarding schools that operated for more than 150 years, until 1969, separating American Indian, Alaska Native and native hawaiians from their parents to assimilate them and subject them to violence or even death.

“It’s part of the president’s legacy,” White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday when asked about the timing of the apology. She said the president had wanted to make this trip for a long time. “This apology is historic, it is impressive.”

A report by the Department of the Interior stated that at least 973 children had died in schools. The Report of the Department of Internal Affairs also called for a formal apology, among other recommendations.

But the timing of the visit — and the apology — also comes less than two weeks before Election Day, as Vice President Harris appears to be in a tight presidential race against former President Donald Trump. The Gila River Reservation, home to the O’odham and Pee-Posh people, lies partly within Maricopa County, one of the counties that could determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential race.

As Election Day nears, Democrats are hoping that grassroots voters in key states like Arizona will help secure the White House. Harris got support from the leaders at least 17 of the 22 federally recognized tribes — including the Gila River Indian community. Other indigenous tribes have published guides for swing voters Democratic candidate information.

“We talk about the Blue Wall, but there is a wall for local voters,” said Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Roe Lewis. “Blue Wall” refers to Midwestern states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that have traditionally supported Democrats but are now considered swing states. Lewis noted the significant numbers of Native voters in key states such as Arizona, Montana, and Wisconsin.

“It could very well determine the outcome of the vote in this very thin race,” he said.

According to the White House, Biden will use the visit to discuss his administration’s record on “respecting tribal communities,” including keeping the promise of the visit.

Republicans have seen the timing of the Arizona trip as a political gambit by the White House as they also seek to appeal to indigenous voters.

“Joe Biden’s visit to a Native American community less than two weeks before the election is nothing more than a photo op,” said Haley Dobbins, communications director for the Arizona Republican National Committee, saying Republican policies would better support the community.

Not the first high-profile visit

Harris and her partner Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz both held events earlier this month on the Gila River grounds, featuring Lewis.

Arizona has a total of more than 200,000 Native Americans who are eligible to vote, and voting advocates and political parties have been working year-round to make sure they vote.

Over the past few months The Harris campaign stepped up its efforts to court Indian voters. The campaign boasted the largest “expansive” effort to mobilize Native Democrats, hiring more than 20 staffers to reach out to the state’s 22 federally recognized tribes and buy ads during all elections through tribal media.

“It means so much to come back to the Gila River Indian community,” Harris said during her visit in early October, noting that she was the first vice president to visit the tribe last summer.

“I firmly believe that the relationship between tribal nations in the United States is sacred — and that we must respect tribal sovereignty, accept our trust in treaty obligations, and ensure tribal self-determination.”

Walz is already preparing to return to visit tribal members in Arizona. Right after Biden leaves, the vice presidential candidate will arrive in Window Rock, the Navajo capital that stretches from Arizona to New Mexico and a bit of Utah.

Former President Donald Trump also visited the state on Thursday, though he has yet to visit Native American communities specifically.

The The Arizona Republican Party, on the other hand, has been working to make inroads with Democrats support from Native American voters by setting up tables at tribal events, meeting with representatives of the Navajo Nation, and placing ads on tribal radio to urge voters to “Vote Republican.”