#but i am someone with a personal connection and interest in Texoma regional politics

[politics-and-philosophy]

Hey, not to be "that guy" but idk if the only reason Trump won Oklahoma is because Natives were disenfranchised.

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-elections/exit-polls

Now, that poll was only in 10 states, but it was 10 key swing states, meaning these were the people whose votes actually kinda mattered, and they voted more conservative than the white folk. Even this larger study looking at house district votes found that only 56% of Native Americans voted for Democrats. That's about on-par with swing state college grads, at 55%, and is lower than both Latinos at 64% and Asians at 66%.

Like most POC groups, Native Americans are not a monolith who vote lock-step for Democrats. There is a lot of conservative Natives, because a lot of marginalized people will vote against their own self interest if they lack the education to know who is actually out there working to improve conditions. There's also a lot of conservative Natives because racism, homophobia, transphobia, and general distain for poor people exist in Native communities too. Here's a recent study showing New Mexico Natives value things such as 'self-determination,' 'libertarianism,' and 'Reaganism.'

(Yes, they specifically said "Reaganism")

Yes, racist gerrymandering exists, and yes, racism hurts education outcomes in reservations, but these places are not that much more liberal than they look. Solving gerrymandering won't make Oklahoma blue unless it comes too with good civics education that teaches people how to understand politics, and a societal expectation of broadening horizons which encourages people to meet those who challenge their preconceived notions. This is not just a story of these poor disenfranchised Natives who are too poor or uneducated or systemically punished to vote for Democrats, which is frankly kind of a demeaning narrative to push. This is a story of a multifaceted group who have faced historic oppression, but are not themselves defined by it and do choose of their own free will to sometimes vote for conservatives and bigots.

On a personal note, I grew up 15 minutes from the Choktaw reservation, and regularly saw huge Trump signs when driving through it. But I also saw their health center open its doors to nearby white communities when the Covid Vax came out, because the reservation had a surplus and the nearby communities had none. No group is a monolith. So maybe before you go calling folk racist for a post that is calling out rightly how conservative policies harm their constituencies, you do a bit of your own digging, and don't assume all folk of one race vote the way you want them to.