By Lee Egerstrom

The recent Democratic National Convention opened with all of America learning about Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. It ended with a new team chosen for run for the highest offices in the land and with America learning more about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and his family.

What all of America probably learned from the convention is that Minnesota is rather special.

When Vice President Kamala Harris chose Governor Walz to be her running mate, it didn’t take national media long to undercover other historic quirks about Minnesota and the forthcoming election.

To summarize, if the Harris-Walz ticket wins the November election, Harris would become the first woman and only second person of color to serve as president.

Walz would then need to resign his Minnesota post. Flanagan, a White Earth Nation member, would take over and become the first Native American woman to serve as governor of any state.

Media reported comments from Wisconsin Menominee delegates from Wisconsin, Chippewa delegates from North Dakota, and a smattering of other Native American delegates from across the nation sharing excitement about the Democratic ticket and potential elevation of Flanagan.

North Dakota State Rep. Jayme Davis, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, called Flanagan “a rock star.”

“I know it can’t be easy, but she has so much support, and we just love seeing her,” Davis was reported as saying after a meeting of the Indigenous Caucus at the convention.

Flanagan made the rounds to groups and brought her Native American heritage to everyone’s attention from the get-go. She served as one of four co-chairs of the convention.

She introduced herself to all the delegates on open night as a member of the White Earth Nation. “My name in the Ojibwe language is Ejee Wei-Woddam Ukwe. Or in English, ‘Speaks with a Clear and Loud Voice Woman’,” she said.

She further added, “The role of our clan is to never leave anyone behind.”

Flanagan stressed at meetings during the week that theme, or commitment, has guided the Walz–Flanagan administration in Minnesota.

In an interview with Cathy Wurzer of Minnesota Public Radio on Aug. 21, she said:

“You know, the governor wanted to make tribal-state relations a top priority, and he wanted Minnesota to be a model that other states could look to.” We’ve absolutely done that. So that is work that will continue.”

That will continue “either way, in a new role (as governor) or in my current role,” she said.

A national political figure making the rounds with Walz, Flanagan and others involved with Native American issues was Interior Secretary Deb (Debra Anne) Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe in New Mexico.

Haaland, whose family tree on her father’s side has roots in Minnesota, is a trailblazer for Native Americans like Flanagan. While Minnesotans ponder Flanagan becoming the first female Native American governor, it is valuable to remember others who have broken through biases, fought  discrimination and kicked open doors to take leadership roles in American society.

Like Deb Haaland, for instance. President Joe Biden nominated then-congresswoman Haaland to the Interior post. This made her the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary in charge of a government department, and only the second Native American to serve in the Cabinet.

A lone previous Cabinet officer was Vice President Charles Curtis, a Kaw Nation citizen from Kansas, who served with President Herbert Hoover from 1929 to 1933. That means Curtis was a Republican. That, too, offers reminders about peculiarities in American politics.

Over the years, prominent Native Americans have been active leaders in both major political parties. Reasons vary by states and regions, and are often shaped by specific Indigenous issues, enforcement of settlement and land issues, and commitments to civil rights and racially-sensitive divisions in public policy.

Vice President Curtis had been a Congressional leader before his election. He served as the Senate Majority Leader from 1924 to 1929.

In our current time, another Native American woman like Haaland has climbed to new heights. Marilynn Roberge Malerba, a lifetime chief of the Mohegan Tribe in Connecticut, is now the Treasurer of the United States.

She is the first female Mohegan chief in modern times. President Biden nominated her as Treasurer in 2022. That means an Indigenous American actually signs recently released U.S. currency.

Native leaders like them over the decades have helped pave paths for current and future Indigenous Americans. They include:

Ely S. Parker (Tonawanda Seneca), an aide to General Ulysses Grant in the Civil War, became an engineer and worked on the Erie Canal, and served as Grant’s Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

Parker was the first Native American to serve in that post. He is also known for another historical achievement. He drafted the Confederacy’s surrender statement to end the Civil War.

Benjamin Reifel (Lakota, also Lone Feather) was a five-term Republican congressman from South Dakota. He had a long career with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and served a stint as interim director.

Arvo Ouoetone Mikkanen (Kiowa), a Democrat, served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Western Oklahoma. He served as a law clerk, civil law practitioner, judge, tribal prosecutor, law professor and instructor on Indian affairs law. He also served as chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes from 1991 to 1994.

Karina Lynn Walters (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), is a social epidemiologist, health scholar and psychotherapist who serves as director of the Tribal Health Research Office at the National Institutes of Health.

Keith M. Harper (Cherokee Nation), was named U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council by President Barack Obama, and he served from 2014 to 2017 as the U.S. representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.,

Kimberly TeeHee (Cherokee), currently a delegate-designate to the U.S. House of Representatives from the Cherokee Nation, served as a senior policy advisor for President Obama and is considered an advisor on Indian affairs to President Biden and Vice President Harris.

Not surprisingly, many of the high-placed Native Americans in the federal government held the position of Assistant Secretary of Interior for Indian Affairs. They include:

Ada Deer (Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin), was the 6th Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. She lived in Minneapolis later to be close to Menominee people. She served President Bill Clinton and was the first woman to hold that Interior Department position. She lost a close election that would have made her the first Native woman member of Congress,

David W. Anderson, (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Choctaw descendant), was the 9th assistant secretary. He lives in Edina and is best known as “Famous Dave” in these parts and around BBQ fests. He served under President George W. Bush.

Others included Ross O. Swimmer (Cherokee) from Oklahoma, 4th assistant secretary for President Reagan. Kevin Gover (Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma), was 7th assistant secretary under President Clinton. He is currently Under Secretary for Museums and Culture at the Smithsonian Institution. Neal A. “Chief” McCaleb (Chickasaw Nation from Oklahoma) served as 8th assistant secretary under President George W. Bush. Carl J. Artman III (Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin), 10th assistant secretary under President George W. Bush. Larry J. Echo Hawk (Pawnee Nation) was an Attorney General in Idaho and the 11th assistant secretary serving under President Obama. Kevin K. Washburn (Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma) was the 12th assistant secretary under President Obama. He is currently dean of the University of Iowa Law School. Finally, Alaskan Native Tara MacLean Sweeney (Inupiaq), was 13th assistant secretary serving President Donald Trump.

A listing of high-placed Native Americans who served in federal, state and prominent other positions can be found at:  Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Native_American_politicians.

The post Excitement about Flannagan’s possible rise to Gov. first appeared on The Circle News.