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 function 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 Individuals.
Lately, Minnesota has built-in tribal session into quite a few points of the state authorities, created one of many nation’s first state places of work for Lacking and Murdered Indigenous Kinfolk and strengthened its legal guidelines defending Native kids within the adoption system. Many Indigenous leaders level to Flanagan because the driving drive behind these modifications, in addition to a major 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 stated they selected as an alternative to manipulate as companions. Their administration has bolstered government-to-government relationships with tribal nations in Minnesota and plenty 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 determination to step down and let Harris take his place because the Democratic presidential nominee, Flanagan stated.
“He created area for a girl of shade to guide. And to be actually trustworthy with you, fairly frankly, that’s what Tim Walz did for me,” she stated.
Star Tribune by way of Getty Photos by way of Getty Photos
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 listing 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 response to the Middle for American Ladies 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 thus many different younger Native individuals throughout the nation, their actuality proper now could be completely completely different than how I grew up,” Flanagan stated. “Illustration issues.”
The variety of Native ladies within the Minnesota Legislature has doubled since she took workplace, from two to 4, and Flanagan stated having extra individuals from under-represented populations is the “secret sauce” to higher governing.
“It allowed us to have the ability to communicate on our personal behalf on the ground, and to essentially be in a spot the place, frankly, selections needed to be made with us on the desk in a approach that had simply by no means occurred,” she stated.
Flanagan first met Walz when she labored at a company 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 turned shut mates 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 government 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 immediately with tribal companions.
Louise Matson, government director of the Division of Indian Work, a nonprofit that helps Native Individuals dwelling in city areas, attributes these features to Flanagan’s affect.
Flanagan was raised in Minneapolis, an city hub for Indigenous activism together with the American Indian Motion, and those that know her nicely say she has at all times targeted on creating higher outcomes for Native individuals, 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 school graduate, she acquired 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 at all times felt that assured, however I liked that she simply jumped proper into this job having to navigate a system that hasn’t at all times been pleasant to our individuals,” Matson stated.
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 stated she reached out to him for marketing campaign recommendation.
“I used to be like: ‘This lady might be governor sometime. Hell, she might be president sometime.’ I imply, she was simply that spectacular,” Lilligren stated.
The work Flanagan did on Walz’s government 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 stated.
“That’s as a result of Peggy’s there,” he stated.
Flanagan’s father, the late White Earth activist Marvin Mannypenny, spent a few years agitating for Homeland rights, which included holding his personal tribe’s authorities to process. He usually stated Native individuals have the inherent proper to manipulate themselves, and Flanagan stated she incorporates that into a lot of the work she does at the moment.
“He was a troublemaker and rabble rouser, and an knowledgeable in our tribal structure,” she stated. “He taught me to take up area on the desk and to inform the reality, even when it makes individuals uncomfortable.”
Graham Lee Brewer is an Oklahoma Metropolis-based member of AP’s Race and Ethnicity workforce.