Behind Four Directions
"Four Directions Native Vote - Indian Country addresses historical and contemporary injustices against Tribal communities through equal access at state and federal elections, advocacy in the Census, concerted efforts to election protection in Indian Country, litigation, and evolving Federal Indian law to benefit tribal interests."
ABOUT FOUR DIRECTIONS
We advance equality at the ballot box across Indian Country
Who We Are. What We Believe
Our Beginnings
In Lakota culture, the powers and teachings we received from the Creator and the Four Directions of the Universe have given us a way of life we Lakota strive to maintain. That way of life, those teachings, we refer to as Wolakota.
The Four Directions, like the cycles of life itself, are represented by a circle. As we travel through the circle, through various stages of our lives, we continue to seek knowledge to better ourselves and our communities. Since time immemorial, when we were faced with challenges from outside forces coming into our lands, wars were fought to protect our resources so we could continue to thrive as a Nation.
The reality is, the “Indian Wars” have not ended. The fight to protect our resources and to protect our Creator given right to exist as free and sovereign people is the same. The difference is, today, to fight these “Modern Day Indian Wars” we adapted and learned a different way to fight.
In 2003, the principal staff of Four Directions Native Vote Indian Country began the fight to protect Native voting rights and to remove the barriers Native people faced when trying to exercise their right to vote on the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Indian reservations in South Dakota.
What started as a grass roots effort, quickly grew into a national movement to protect Native voting rights. While achieving tremendous success in the protections and expansion of Native voting rights, the reality is that the fight has grown larger and the opposition to Native voting rights has grown. Our principal staff realized they had to adapt to a new more meaningful way to fight.
As our ancestors changed their way to engage their enemies, we too adopted new battle tactics, one of which was to restructure our organization to enable more effective voter advocacy and engagement as we move into the future.
Our Future
On June 25, 2026, the 150 th Anniversary of the Battle of the Greasy Grass, (Little Big Horn), Four Directions Native Vote - Indian Country (FDNV-IC), a 501(c) 3 organization, has begun our re-energized continuing effort to achieve equality at the ballot box for Tribal Nations and tribal citizens. Four Directions Native Vote - Indian Country is the only major Native led and Native run, nonprofit, headquartered on a reservation (Rosebud).
Traditionally we governed ourselves and our communities by consensus. Every voice was heard before a decision was made and no one was left out of the process. The United States was founded on those principles and the right to vote and have your voices heard is one of the cornerstones of this democracy. FDNV-IC believes this and that voting is a basic Native Human Right. The concept that every person has a say in how they are governed to keep the balance and harmony of the community intact is an essential part of those values given to us by the Creator when it comes to preserving our way of life. Four Directions Native Vote -Indian Country is committed to full enfranchisement of our Native peoples as a crucial way to navigate a stronger future for our Native communities.
One of the key reasons why the Lakota were so successful at defeating the United States Army’s 7 th Cavalry at Greasy Grass was our strong relationship with our allies, the Cheyenne and Northern Arapahoe. Collectively, with solidarity of purpose, we were truly a force to be reckoned with. In that spirit, FDNV-IC is continuing to build relationships with our voting rights/Indian rights allies. A majority of our Board members are leaders of national Native and Civil rights organizations dedicated to the preservation of voting rights, Indian rights, and civil rights thereby strengthening the existing relationships between these organizations and increasing our collective impact nationwide.
The next two years will be a critical time for the United States and its ability to survive as a democracy. The Board and staff of Four Directions Native Vote-Indian Country is committed to continuing to fight for our democracy, our tribal sovereignty, and our way of life.