August 28, 2026

On August 28, 2026, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, the Spirit Lake Tribe, and individual Native American plaintiffs in North Dakota moved for leave to file an amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota in  Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Howe. This filing follows a May 2026 U.S. Supreme Court decision sending the case back to the lower courts for reconsideration under a new legal standard.

The amended complaint alleges that North Dakota’s 2021 legislative map unlawfully dilutes Native voting power and violates the U.S. Constitution because it was enacted with discriminatory intent and sorts voters by race without sufficient justification.

This is not the first time the federal court has considered whether the map discriminates against Native voters. In November 2023, following a four-day trial, the court found that the 2021 North Dakota legislative map deprives Native American voters “an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice,” in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

The court also noted the stark disparity in Native representation under the challenged map:  “[U]nder the 2021 redistricting plan, Native Americans hold zero seats in the Senate and two House seats. Either of the [Tribes’] proposed plans would yield one Senate seat and three House seats.”  The court concluded that, although not dispositive, this “obvious disparity” provided further evidence that the map diluted Native votes.  

“We have been fighting this map for five years, and we already proved at trial that it discriminates against Native voters. The Supreme Court changed the rules, but it did not change the facts. A fair map that follows North Dakota’s own criteria brings our Tribes together and gives Native voters a real voice. We proved this map discriminates once, and we will prove it again under the new standard,” said Spirit Lake Tribe Chair  Lonna Jackson-Street.

“North Dakota intentionally packed and cracked Native voters to weaken our political voice.  We will show that this is about race, not party politics, and that the State’s own mapmaking rules support a fair district that brings our reservations together. The standard has changed, but the discrimination has not — and we are ready to prove it,” said  Turtle Mountain Chippewa Chair Jamie Azure.

The Native American Rights Fund (NARF), Campaign Legal Center (CLC), and the Law Offices of Bryan Sells represent the plaintiffs in the VRA suit. Robins Kaplan LLP represents the Spirit Lake Tribe and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.

Read more about Native voters’ and Tribes’ fight against discriminatory voting maps in North Dakota.

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