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A WIN FOR THE HARRIS-WALZ TICKET WOULD ALSO MEAN THE COUNTRY’S
FIRST NATIVE AMERICAN FEMALE GOVERNOR  
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Graham Lee Brewer
August 9, 2024
AP News
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_ If Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota
Gov. Tim Walz, are elected this fall, not only would a woman of color
lead the country for the first time, but a Native woman would govern a
state for the first time in U.S. history too. _

Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan delivers a speech after being
sworn in for her second term during her inauguration, Monday, Jan. 2,
2023, in St. Paul, Minn., AP Photo/Abbie Parr

 

If Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov.
Tim Walz, are elected this fall, not only would a woman of color lead
the country for the first time, but a Native woman would govern a
state for the first time in U.S. history too.

Peggy Flanagan, the lieutenant governor of Minnesota and a citizen of
the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, is poised to serve as the state’s
next governor should Walz step down to accept the role of vice
president of the United States. Her rise to power has been watched
closely by Indigenous peoples in Minnesota and across the country who
see her as a champion of policies that positively affect Native
Americans.

In recent years, Minnesota has integrated tribal consultation into
numerous aspects of the state government, created one of the
country’s first state offices for Missing and Murdered Indigenous
Relatives and strengthened its laws protecting Native children in the
adoption system. Many Indigenous leaders point to Flanagan as the
driving force behind these changes, as well as a significant rise in
respect for tribal sovereignty and autonomy in state policy.

Flanagan has been the highest-ranking Native American statewide
official in the U.S. since she was elected as lieutenant governor in
2018. That position is often performed behind the scenes, but Walz and
Flanagan have said they chose instead to govern as partners. Their
administration has bolstered government-to-government relationships
with tribal nations in Minnesota and many in Indian Country see
Flanagan as a key figure in a new era of politics with Native women at
the forefront.

President Joe Biden made a difficult decision to step down
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let Harris take his place as the Democratic presidential nominee,
Flanagan said.

“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 said.

Her rise to the governor’s office would solidify her place among
Indigenous female leaders including Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland,
Congresswoman Shaurice Davids and a growing list of Native women in
statehouses. Thirty-six state women lawmakers nationwide who identify
as Native American were elected to office in 2023, a record, according
to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

When Flanagan was first elected to the state House in 2015, there were
far fewer Native women in seats of power.

“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 said. “Representation matters.”

The number of Native women in the Minnesota Legislature has doubled
since she took office, from two to four, and Flanagan said having more
people from under-represented populations is the “secret sauce” to
better 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
said.

Flanagan first met Walz when she worked at an organization that did
grassroots training for progressive political candidates. She helped
prepare Walz, a social studies teacher, for his first congressional
race and the two became close friends and political allies. He later
chose her as his running mate, supporting her numerous efforts to
strengthen the voices of Indigenous peoples in the state government.

Walz was the first Minnesota governor to make diplomatic trips to the
11 tribal nations in the state. An executive order he passed in 2019
requires state agencies to consult with tribal governments, take
training to improve those relationships and hire liaisons to work
directly with tribal partners.

Louise Matson, executive director of the Division of Indian Work, a
nonprofit that supports Native Americans living in urban areas,
attributes those gains to the influence of Flanagan.

Flanagan was raised in Minneapolis, an urban hub for Indigenous
activism including the American Indian Movement, and those who know
her well say she has always focused on creating better outcomes for
Native people, particularly children.

Matson, also a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, worked with
Flanagan more than 20 years ago when, as a new college graduate, she
got her first job advocating for Native families in the public
education system. Matson recalled she was determined and not 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 said.

Just a few years later, Flanagan ran for a position on the Minneapolis
Board of Education. That’s where she met Robert Lilligren, another
member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and the first Native person
elected to the Minneapolis City Council. Lilligren said she reached
out to him for campaign advice.

“I was like: ‘This woman could be governor someday. Hell, she
could be president someday.’ I mean, she was just that
impressive,” Lilligren said.

He said the work Flanagan did on Walz’s executive order requiring
tribal consultation within state departments underscored her political
influence and tenacity. The order has increased Indigenous visibility
and respect for tribal sovereignty, he said. “That is because
Peggy’s there.”

Flanagan’s father, the late White Earth activist Marvin Manypenny,
spent many years agitating for Native land rights, including by
holding his own tribe’s government to task. He often said Native
people have the inherent right to govern themselves, and she
incorporates that into much of the work she does today.

“He was a troublemaker and rabble rouser, and an expert in our
tribal constitution,” she said. “He taught me to take up space at
the table and to tell the truth, even if it makes people
uncomfortable.”

_GRAHAM LEE BREWER reports for the AP’s Race and Ethnicity team,
focusing on Indigenous communities and tribal nations. He is a citizen
of the Cherokee Nation and is based in Oklahoma._

* elections
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* Minnesota
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* Tim Walz
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* Native Americans
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* Women
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* Indigenous peoples
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