If Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, are elected this fall, not only would a Black woman lead the country for the first time, but a Native woman would also govern a state for the first time in US History.
Peggy Flanagan, lieutenant governor of Minnesota and citizen of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, is prepared to serve as the state’s next governor if Walz steps down to accept the role of U.S. vice president. Her rise to power has been closely watched by indigenous people in Minnesota and across the country, who see her as an advocate for policies that positively affect Native Americans.
In recent years, Minnesota has integrated tribal consultation into many aspects of state government, created one of the nation’s first state offices for Missing and Murdered Native American Relatives, and strengthened its laws protecting Native children in the foster care system. Many indigenous leaders point to Flanagan as the driving force behind these changes, as well as a significant increase in respect for tribal sovereignty and autonomy in state politics.
Flanagan has been the highest-ranking Native American state official since she was elected lieutenant governor in 2018. That role is often held behind the scenes, but Walz and Flanagan said they chose to govern as partners. Her administration strengthened government-to-government relations 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 to descend and let Harris take her place as the Democratic nominee for president, Flanagan said.
“He created space for a black woman to lead. And to be honest with you, frankly, that’s what Tim Walz did for me,” she said.
Her rise to governor would solidify her place among Native women leaders, including Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Congresswoman Shaurice Davids and a growing list of Native women in state legislatures.
Thirty-six female state legislators across the country 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 positions of power.
“For my daughter and so many other young Native people across the country, their reality now is completely different from how I grew up,” Flanagan said. “Representation is important.”
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 underrepresented populations is the “secret sauce” to governing better.
“It allowed us to speak on our own behalf on the floor and really be in a place where, frankly, decisions had to be made with us at the table in a way that had never happened before,” she said.
Flanagan met Walz when she worked at an organization that provided grassroots training for progressive political candidates. She helped prepare Walz, a social studies teacher, for his first run for Congress 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 people in state government.
Walz was the first Minnesota governor to make diplomatic trips to the state’s 11 tribal nations. An executive order he approved in 2019 requires state agencies to consult with tribal governments, receive training to improve those relationships, and hire liaisons to work directly with tribal partners.
Louise Matson, executive director of the Division of Indian Labor, a nonprofit that supports Native Americans living in urban areas, attributes these gains to Flanagan’s influence.
Flanagan was raised in Minneapolis, an urban center 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, especially children.
Matson, also a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, worked with Flanagan more than 20 years ago when, just out of college, she got her first job as an advocate for Native families in the public school system. Matson recalled that Flanagan was determined and not afraid to face challenges.
“I don’t know if she always felt this confident, but I loved the fact that she walked right into this job having to navigate a system that wasn’t always friendly to our people,” Matson said.
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 elected to the Minneapolis City Council. Lilligren said she reached out to him for campaign advice.
“I thought, ‘This woman could be governor one day. Hell, she could be president someday. I mean, she was just stunning,” Lilligren said.
The work Flanagan did on Walz’s executive order requiring tribal consultations within state departments underscored his political influence and tenacity. The order increased Indigenous visibility and respect for tribal sovereignty, Lilligren said.
“That’s because Peggy is there,” he said.
Flanagan’s father, the late White Earth activist Marvin Mannypenny, spent many years agitating for indigenous land rights, which included holding his own tribe’s government accountable. He often said that Native people have an inherent right to govern themselves, and Flanagan said he incorporates that into much of the work he does today.
“He was a troublemaker and agitator, and an expert on our tribal makeup,” she said. “He taught me how to take up space at the table and tell the truth, even if it makes people uncomfortable.”
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Graham Lee Brewer is a member of the AP’s Race and Ethnicity team based in Oklahoma City.
