If Vice President Kamala Harris and her working mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are elected this fall, not solely would a lady of shade lead the nation for the primary time, however a Native lady additionally would govern a state for the primary time in U.S. historical past.
Peggy Flanagan, the lieutenant governor of Minnesota and a citizen of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, is poised to function the state’s subsequent governor ought to Walz step down to simply accept the position of U.S. vice chairman. Her rise to energy has been watched carefully by Indigenous peoples in Minnesota and throughout the nation who see her as a champion of insurance policies that positively have an effect on Native People.
Lately, Minnesota has built-in tribal session into quite a few facets of the state authorities, created one of many nation’s first state workplaces for Lacking and Murdered Indigenous Family and strengthened its legal guidelines defending Native kids within the adoption system. Many Indigenous leaders level to Flanagan because the driving drive behind these adjustments, in addition to a big rise in respect for tribal sovereignty and autonomy in state coverage.
Flanagan has been the nation’s highest-ranking Native American statewide official since she was elected as lieutenant governor in 2018. That place is commonly carried out behind the scenes, however Walz and Flanagan have mentioned they selected as a substitute to control as companions. Their administration has bolstered government-to-government relationships with tribal nations in Minnesota and lots of in Indian Nation see Flanagan as a key determine in a brand new period of politics with Native ladies on the forefront.
President Joe Biden made a tough resolution to step down and let Harris take his place because the Democratic presidential nominee, Flanagan mentioned.
“He created space for a woman of color to lead. And to be really honest with you, quite frankly, that’s what Tim Walz did for me,” she mentioned.
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Her rise to the governor’s workplace would solidify her place amongst Indigenous feminine leaders together with Secretary of Inside Deb Haaland, Congresswoman Shaurice Davids and a rising record of Native ladies in statehouses.
Thirty-six state ladies lawmakers nationwide who establish as Native American have been elected to workplace in 2023, a file, in line with the Heart for American Girls and Politics at Rutgers College.
When Flanagan was first elected to the state Home in 2015, there have been far fewer Native ladies in seats of energy.
“For my daughter, and for so many other young Native people across the country, their reality right now is totally different than how I grew up,” Flanagan mentioned. “Representation matters.”
The variety of Native ladies within the Minnesota Legislature has doubled since she took workplace, from two to 4, and Flanagan mentioned having extra folks from under-represented populations is the “secret sauce” to raised governing.
“It allowed us to be able to speak on our own behalf on the floor, and to really be in a place where, frankly, decisions had to be made with us at the table in a way that had just never happened,” she mentioned.
Flanagan first met Walz when she labored at a corporation that did grassroots coaching for progressive political candidates. She helped put together Walz, a social research trainer, for his first congressional race and the 2 grew to become shut associates and political allies. He later selected her as his working mate, supporting her quite a few efforts to strengthen the voices of Indigenous peoples within the state authorities.
Walz was the primary Minnesota governor to make diplomatic journeys to the 11 tribal nations within the state. An govt order he handed in 2019 requires state businesses to seek the advice of with tribal governments, take coaching to enhance these relationships and rent liaisons to work straight with tribal companions.
Louise Matson, govt director of the Division of Indian Work, a nonprofit that helps Native People residing in city areas, attributes these good points to Flanagan’s affect.
Flanagan was raised in Minneapolis, an city hub for Indigenous activism together with the American Indian Motion, and people who know her nicely say she has all the time centered on creating higher outcomes for Native folks, significantly kids.
Matson, additionally a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, labored with Flanagan greater than 20 years in the past when, as a brand new faculty graduate, she bought her first job advocating for Native households within the public training system. Matson recalled Flanagan was decided and never afraid to face challenges.
“I don’t know if she always felt that confident, but I loved that she just jumped right into this job having to navigate a system that hasn’t always been friendly to our people,” Matson mentioned.
Only a few years later, Flanagan ran for a place on the Minneapolis Board of Training. That’s the place she met Robert Lilligren, one other member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and the primary Native particular person elected to the Minneapolis Metropolis Council. Lilligren mentioned she reached out to him for marketing campaign recommendation.
“I was like: ‘This woman could be governor someday. Hell, she could be president someday.’ I mean, she was just that impressive,” Lilligren mentioned.
The work Flanagan did on Walz’s govt order requiring tribal session inside state departments underscored her political affect and tenacity. The order has elevated Indigenous visibility and respect for tribal sovereignty, Lilligren mentioned.
“That is because Peggy’s there,” he mentioned.
Flanagan’s father, the late White Earth activist Marvin Mannypenny, spent a few years agitating for Place of birth rights, which included holding his personal tribe’s authorities to process. He usually mentioned Native folks have the inherent proper to control themselves, and Flanagan mentioned she incorporates that into a lot of the work she does at this time.
“He was a troublemaker and rabble rouser, and an expert in our tribal constitution,” she mentioned. “He taught me to take up space at the table and to tell the truth, even if it makes people uncomfortable.”
Graham Lee Brewer is an Oklahoma Metropolis-based member of AP’s Race and Ethnicity crew.
