The recent midterm elections resulted in significant political advances for Native American women across multiple levels of government. Voters elected the first Native American woman to serve as a state governor, with Deb Haaland, a Laguna Pueblo citizen and former interior secretary under President Joe Biden, winning the New Mexico gubernatorial race. Additionally, Peggy Flanagan, a member of the White Earth band of Ojibwe and current Minnesota lieutenant governor, was elected to the U.S. Senate, making her the first Native woman to serve in that chamber in its 237-year history. In tribal elections held the same day, Crystalyne Curley became the first woman elected to lead the Navajo Nation, while Tina Abrams secured the presidency of the Seneca Nation, marking the first female leader in the modern history of that state’s largest tribe.
According to Advance Native Political Leadership and news outlet ICT, voters nationwide elected at least 75 Native women, non-binary, and Two Spirit candidates during the midterms. Jordan James Harvill, a Cherokee Nation citizen and strategist with Advance Native Political Leadership, characterized the results as “a seismic shift that is happening in our communities.” This election cycle set records with 363 Indigenous candidates running for office across local, state, and federal positions, with at least 180 securing victories. Among House winners was Claire Valdez, a Ysleta del Sur Pueblo citizen from New York, who will join fellow Native American representative Sharice Davids of the Ho-Chunk Nation.
The political momentum reflects a longer historical trajectory. Native Americans gained voting rights nationwide only in the 1960s, and the first Native American women elected to Congress—Haaland and Davids—were only elected in 2018. In 2020, Haaland’s appointment as interior secretary marked her as the first Indigenous cabinet secretary. The results have inspired additional Native American political participation, with candidates citing the visibility of established figures as instrumental in their decisions to seek office. Haaland acknowledged the historic significance of her gubernatorial victory while emphasizing her campaign focus, stating she hopes to demonstrate that hard work and leadership potential transcend socioeconomic background and origin.
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