Oliver (OJ) Semans, Executive Director. OJ, a United States Navy veteran and an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, with his wife Barb, have worked for decades to help get out the Native vote and to work toward ensuring Native peoples have true unhindered access to the ballot box in state and federal elections.

OJ’s work in the Native Vote arena is known far and wide. He is recognized as an innovator on how to successfully turn out the Native vote both on and off reservations. He is also well known as a voting rights educator. In 2019-2020, OJ, along with Tribal and Tribal organizational partners, OJ helped establish the first of its kind Native American Presidential Forums which were held in Sioux City Iowa and Las Vegas Nevada. The success of those forums led to additional Presidential and Candidate forums being held in multiple other states since then. In addition to these efforts, OJ collaborates with major national voting and civil rights organizations to increase voter turnout throughout Indian Country and amplify Native voices in Congress.

OJ’s philosophy is culturally based. He believes that Tribes and their members have been organizing for their survival and to expand their collective interests since the beginning of time. The same can be said about getting out the Native vote. “If you provide the proper information and utilize local Tribal community members to approach and encourage other members of their Tribal community to participate in the electoral process, they empower themselves to protect their treaties and sovereignty as well as uplifting and meeting the needs of each Tribal community member.”