A member of the Libertarian National Committee is asking the body to consider creating a path for First Nations or Indigenous American affiliates within the Libertarian Party as a future goal, pitching the idea as one way the party can take initiative on tribal sovereignty issues.
Alex Flores, the LNC’s Region 9 representative, raised the idea Sunday in a public Business List thread about future goals for the national committee to consider pursuing. The discussion surrounding goals was first raised during an LNC meeting earlier that day. Flores wrote that he had previously discussed the idea with several members and had also mentioned it during his election as a regional representative.
“My goal is to establish a ‘state level’ recognized affiliate to pave the way for Tribes to be recognized and represented from their own jurisdiction as opposed to the states their reservations happen to fall within,” Flores wrote.
Flores acknowledged that his suggestion could make for a deeper conversation separate from the goals discussion, asking other members for assistance with the idea. He called the party a “perfect vehicle” to help drive issues of sovereignty, which he wrote could in turn help its wider goal to “set the world free in our lifetime.”
It’s not immediately obvious how such a group would operate under the party’s current affiliate language. The Libertarian Party’s bylaws define state-level affiliates around states, U.S. territories, and Washington, D.C., and allow no more than one state-level affiliate in any one state, creating some ambiguity over how a tribal jurisdiction would fit into that structure. As currently written, that could mean a First Nations or tribal organization would need to operate as an outreach group or sub-affiliate within an existing state party unless the bylaws are interpreted or amended to allow another route.
The topic of Indigenous representation within the party has been brought up by some Libertarians in the past, including through the creation of a member-organized First Nations Caucus, which was founded to support “liberty and rightful representation” for Indigenous sovereign nations within the United States. Internet archives of the group’s website, which is no longer online, show that it focused on education, Indigenous representation, and opposition to federal policies it regarded as harmful to tribal sovereignty. Older party materials also identify Flores as one of the caucus’s founders.
The affiliate proposal was one of several ideas raised as the national committee considers its most crucial future goals. Other suggestions in the thread included fielding at least 500 candidates nationwide this November, reaffirming official support for Defend the Guard legislation, raising $4.4 million in annual revenue, and recruiting 66,000 members. The committee is expected to narrow those ideas into shared goals for a future email ballot.
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