October 18, 2020
Barb and I send you greetings from the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota. We are deeply touched by the tremendous outpouring of
support for our efforts to seek equality for the Plaintiffs and their relatives from the Navajo Nation.
The calls pledging support as individuals, families and their friends as well as pledging their time and resources to help the members of the Navajo Nation give us hope in the people of America.
It is because of this selfless sacrifice everyone is willing to make that we write this to you. Because of the pandemic, Four Directions cannot and has not brought individuals from outside the Navajo Nation to help with voter education, training and participating in early voting. We have and will continue to hire individual family members within the reservation to conduct our Get Out The Vote efforts now and until the closing of the polls on November 3rd, 2020.
It saddens us that we must do this, but it is being done so for the best interest of the members of the Navajo Nations safety and wellbeing. I do not speak for or on behalf of the Navajo Nation, so individuals should feel free to contact the Nation to offer their assistance. The donations we receive will be used to hire Navajo Nation members, so you are not only empowering the people, but at the end of the day you are putting food on the table to feed their families in a place where jobs were hard to come by even before the pandemic.
Although the Plaintiffs are still fighting the fight in Arizona, you have already helped them achieve a great victory in letting America know of the intentional hardships being placed before them and yet they are still trying to vote. These Plaintiffs should be looked upon as heroes for their relentless pursuit of a true democracy.
It is with our deepest regret that we have to turn down your offers to travel to the Navajo Nation to help, but we hope you understand our reasoning and forgive us for our discission.
Pila maya pelo (Thank you)
Mitakuye Oyasin (We are all related)
Barb & OJ Semans Sr.
Co-Executive Directors
Four Directions
