Paving the way for Indigenous women leaders

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan uses her platform to create a world where Native women of the future can expand their leadership positions

This story is part of a partnership between Bethel University’s journalism program and ICT.

Models strutted down the runway at Quincy Hall for Native Nations Fashion Night in late April, showcasing the talents of Indigenous fashion designers, models, hairstylists and makeup artists.

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan was right there in the mix.

Flanagan, whose spiritual name is Speaks with a Loud and Clear Voice Woman, has been in the middle of things since long before she was elected in 2018 alongside Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.

A woman. A citizen of White Earth Nation. The first Native woman in the nation to serve as a state’s lieutenant governor.

“I’m small, but mighty,” Flanagan told a crowd gathered a few days later on May 6 in Minnesota’s Capitol for American Indigenous Day to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act and to honor Indigenous culture.

She greeted the crowd in the Ojibwe language, welcoming and thanking everyone for attending.

“It’s always a good day when there are lots and lots of Native folks walking around the Capitol and we start with a drum on the front steps,” Flanagan said. “This is how it’s supposed to be.” 

Building relationships

Flanagan was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2015, when only two other Native people served in the Minnesota State House – Susan Allen, Rosebud, and Steve Green, White Earth Ojibwe.

By then, she and Walz had been friends for years. In 2005, when Walz was getting ready for his successful run for the U.S. Congress, Flanagan trained him on how to run for office at Camp Wellstone – an organization founded to carry on the work of Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone, who died in a plane crash in 2002.

From there, a friendship sparked. 

Eventually, Flanagan began doing work at the Children’s Defense Fund Minnesota, focusing on issues such as childcare and paid family or medical leave. Seeing the work that she’d done, Walz, a congressman planning to run for governor, pulled Flanagan into his office to discuss who would be a good candidate for a lieutenant governor – someone who could stand by him and help craft policy.

“I want to tell you who I’m thinking of for lieutenant governor,” Walz said. “You.” 

“Shut up,” Flanagan said. “No way. For real?” 

Instead of agreeing right away, she needed to think about the opportunity.She was just starting to build relationships and credibility in the Legislature, but she knew that an Indigenous woman running for lieutenant governor was much needed.

“I want to tell you who I’m thinking of for lieutenant governor,” Walz said. “You.” 

“Shut up,” Flanagan said. “No way. For real?” 

Instead of agreeing right away, she needed to think about the opportunity.She was just starting to build relationships and credibility in the Legislature, but she knew that an Indigenous woman running for lieutenant governor was much needed.

So she ran with Walz, and the issues they raised on the campaign trail — centering equity, investments and communities — piqued the interest of Minnesota voters. 

And on Nov. 6, 2018, they won.

A letter to her daughter

Flanagan has since built a national following.

In July 2016, when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was running against Donald Trump for president, Flanagan spoke to the Democratic National Convention — the first Native woman to have done so.

Her speech was a letter to her daughter, Siobhan, who was three-and-a-half years old at the time.

“When she grows up, she wants to be president,” Flanagan told the crowd gathered in Philadelphia for the convention. “So I wrote her this letter.”

She wrote that politics isn’t always fun, that people can be mean and say nasty things about women and Native Americans – people like them. But she also wanted her daughter to be proud of who she is and grow up with her people’s values: honoring elders, showing gratitude to her warriors and cherishing children as a gift from their Creator. 

She finished off the speech by telling her daughter that someday, Flanagan would vote for her for a public office.

Flanagan understands the responsibility of creating a world where young Native women can have the potential to someday be in a position of leadership as well – a reality that is more hopeful than for previous generations.

In a recent interview, Flanagan said her daughter helped her keep her perspective after she was elected lieutenant governor, citing a conversation she had once with her daughter in the car. Her daughter told her that because she worked in the same building, but had a different job title, she didn’t see the new job as a big deal.

“My daughter keeps me humble,” Flanagan said. “But it also was this beautiful moment where she has just grown up seeing Native women in elected leadership.” 

It’s a message she continues to deliver. On May 6, Minnesota’s Indian Affairs Council hosted American Indian Day on the Hill – a nearly three-hour event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act on June 2, 1924.

The day included a welcome song by the drumming group “Bear Runner,” a fry-bread lunch, an honoring of elders ceremony and a speech from Flanagan.

She planted the seed for more Native representation in the future, so that there are people in office who understand Native life experiences, treaty rights and tribal sovereignty, so that Native people are “seen, heard, valued, protected and believed.”

Jessica Taylor, an advisor for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons council, was among the many Native women in attendance. Hanging around her neck was a beaded necklace of an Indigenous woman with a red handprint over her mouth, representing the missing and murdered Indigenous women. She wears it everywhere, knowing she’s advocating for them.

Taylor praised the changes Flanagan is spearheading in office, including the return of land to the Yellow Medicine people of the Upper Sioux community after 161 years, creating the first caucus dedicated to issues affecting Indigenous people, and developing protocol that would train first responders, healthcare workers and the press on missing and murdered Indigenous women. 

“It feels safe to be an Indigenous woman in Minnesota,” Taylor said.

Taylor was adopted as a baby into a White family, but she has recently started becoming connected to her Native roots – Mdewakanton-Dakota. To her, Flanagan’s embodiment of Native culture while defeating patriarchal roles in leadership has been nothing but inspiring. 

“If she can do it, we can do it,” Taylor said. 

Looking ahead

On the evening of April 25 at Quincy Hall in the arts district of Minneapolis, Flanagan sported outfits on the runway by Rebecca Mousseau, a Spirit Lake Dakota Nation fashion designer.

Flanagan wore two designs by Mousseau — a flashy, black velvet dress and another green-and-black ensemble.

Flanagan also addressed the attendees at Native Nations Fashion Night, highlighting the celebration of Indigenous culture and the Native designers and models in attendance.

On most days, however, Flanagan can be seen in the Minnesota Capitol Building in St. Paul, wearing ribbon skirts and big earrings – showing Native girls what a lieutenant governor looks like.

Dateline:

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.