ABOUT TIME!!! If anyone 'belongs' in Congress, it's a Native American!
Too bad I gave up my U.S. citizenship on Friday and won't be able to vote the first time a U.S. election DESERVED my vote – I'm 73.
PS: Wishful thinking. No Regrets!
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Who cares? This is the worst form of identity politics. Stop reducing all of us to stereotypes!
This is LONG overdue!
The shock that this article brings to me is the realization that here we have another, absolutely blatant, evidence of the depth of institutional racism in this bigoted country. Although it's history is bad enough, the state of New Mexico at least has Indians (Native Americans if you prefer) in the state legislature, not one else does, as far as I know. But that there has never yet been one in Congress is an embarrassment beyond measure. To be even half way decent, this country would guarantee at least a position or two in the Senate each for Indians and Blacks.
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native americans NOT! the tribes were here before there was an "america" and under genocidal attack as soon as there was.
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There's never been a Native American congresswoman? That's wrong on so many levels. Wishing Deb Haaland lots of luck in her quest. I hope you make history!
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It sounds like Dems want more native Americans in office but only if they vote Dem
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Show me a party who wants anything but more members of that party in office.
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We do have a Native American woman in the Senate, though. Just ask Elizabeth Warren.
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It's nice to see some "real" native American women running for elected office.
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"There's Never Been a Native American Congresswoman"
Are you implying that Senator Elizabeth Warren is not a member of Congress?
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I am definitely not in favour of quotas of any kind. However, it is quite appalling that there has been no female Native American representing constituents in Congress. They were there in America first.
What about the great senator from Massachusetts?
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Thinking this is problematic....
Here is a heretical question: Who cares what her identity group is? Wouldn't it be nice if that was not part of the discussion, that her stance on policies, her personal integrity and her proposed plans for governing were the focus of the headlines?
For instance, the native American candidate from Alaska is a Trumpista who supports polluting the environment to save low-level jobs, while the featured one supports solar power. Those positions are diametrically opposed, yet they are both native Americans. Are we supposed to vote for both (figuratively) because they are "historical" candidates, or are we supposed to first assess how their philosophies and policies would affect our future?
May the best candidates win!
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Asking who cares about a person's identity group is like saying I don't see race! It is important, particularly when it comes to First Nation candidates. Let's not forget what our government perpetrated on the indigenous peoples of this land we colonized.
I find it peculiar that someone can advocate ignoring race while simultaneously pointing out that no race of people is monolithic. Of course there are First Nation candidates who are Republicans. And no, you don't vote for someone based on race only. The article clearly didn't advocate that. Neither did the candidates.
What's the deal with the "" around the word historical? The number of First Nation people/women running for office is the highest number ever, making it historical.
Your question wasn't heretical. It was racist and/or prejudiced.
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Tell those Republicans that tax cuts do not work, never ever has.
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The simple lesson is: vote. Alaska would be Blue if 70% of its Native American population voted. I wish Democrats would pour more money into voter registration and recruit local community organizers from Native American tribes. Pay 100 NM Native Americans $20 an hour to register people and get out the vote.
Annual cost of $4 million to turn a state Blue is nothing compared to the millions Tom Stier is spending on feel good ads about impeaching Trump, and the $$$ the DNC spends. Has there ever been an accounting of what the DNC ‘s budget is and what it spends its money to buy? Bear in mind Hillary spent close to a billion dollars to lose the presidency. I’m constantly being dunned by Democrat emails asking me to “chip in” with a few dollars for the DNC. For what?
Tell me how many new voters you van register and how many you can get to the polls. Tell me how many states you can get to UN-gerrymander congressional districts. How many states to move state election days to Saturday. My checkbook is open.
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The First Nation must fight to keep alive their traditional ways along side enjoining themselves with the government that systematically destroyed their culture. That is no easy task, but one that is long overdue for these indigenous people and hopefully it will empower more of their tribal brethren to lend their own voices to the national dialogue.
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From "Grant" by Ron Chernow: President U.S. Grant had a "full-blooded Seneca, Ely S. Parker, was one of Grant's military secretaries during the war and commissioner for Indian Affairs during his presidency, the first time a Native American had been elevated to such a lofty government post."
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I expect Ms. Clahchischilliage's platform she calls, "fighting the environmentalists”, is raising some eyebrows in American Indian communities. Honoring nature and protecting the environment were central, spiritual values of American Indians.
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A nice sentiment, but unfortunately not true.
If you want to see the destruction done to the environment done by indigenous communities, come to Mexico. Wholesale deforestation and contamination.
Wealthy nations can afford to be concerned about protecting their environment. Poor ones cannot.
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Honoring nature is wonderful, but so are 1,600 jobs for the people of the district.
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Is the NYT sure that all the new Native Americans running for office are Democrats? Some may actually be Republicans!
The article actually covers that point. Did you read it?
From this article: "Many of these candidates are running on a liberal platform fueled by opposition to the Trump administration, as Ms. Haaland is. But others are Republicans who don’t fit that mold at all.
One is Andria Tupola, a Native Hawaiian lawmaker running for governor of Hawaii on a promise of tax cuts and small government. Another is Sharon Clahchischilliage, who was a co-chairwoman of Mr. Trump’s Native American coalition in 2016 and is running for re-election to the New Mexico House on a platform she calls “fighting the environmentalists.”
"Ms. Clahchischilliage is a fierce advocate for a coal-fired power plant that employs many Navajo people. She is hoping Mr. Trump will halt the threatened closing of the plant. Keeping it open, she said, could save 1,600 jobs.
“What I love about Trump is that he understands,” she said. “He gets it. He is asking: What regulations need to change?”
Try reading the story, where your question is answered.
What??? Is the Times quietly and implicitly conceding that Elizabeth Warren is not a Native American woman?
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Bravo and good luck to these women . I hope they are running with vested interests in representing their constituents . Women or men coming in now have got to be polar opposites of the GOP in now, or don't bother. We are over flowing with opportunists in this for their financial benefits. And they like telling us how to live, where to live how to educate ourselves. And in doing so as not to infringe on anything that they feel should be theirs.
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Coal is NOT the future,look beyond the obvious orfall by on behind . Need more jobs besides Casinos and coal, how about coding and technology?
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Outstanding to see so many Native Americans running for office, especially for the fact that they span the political spectrum.
Though a liberal at heart, I'm conflicted as to the degree to which Native Americans, as effectively institutionalized wards of the U.S. State, have become complacent with their status or lack thereof.
The NY Times has missed a larger opportunity here to look into how wealthier tribes have fared (i.e. those with ties to oil and casino monies), and how they have dealt with the politics of their success.
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The author states "To be sure, Native Americans are just 2 percent of the population.." As if only their own people would vote for them. I bet he wouldn't say that about the Jewish population which is also something like 2%. Just because Native Americans are 2% doesn't mean they can't represent more than 2%. Jewish people in gov't represent more than just the jews. Hopefully the represent a large slice of the pie.
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Why has it taken so long? These are proud first Americans who deserve to be in Congress. They are fighting for their land and dignity
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when i first saw this discussed online a few weeks ago i was quick to make a small donation to her campaign. it takes money to get elected - please consider putting your money where your mouth its - every little bit is sure to help.
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Bravo! We need Native Americans— women and men— in Congress and in other public offices.
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Wouldn't it be a wonderful irony if our Native American Indians saved the environment?
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they are
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We are excited to have a highly qualified Native American running for governor in Idaho - Paulette Jordan.
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Wonderful news - I grew up in northern Idaho. Go Paulette Jordan!
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There is a long history of Native leaders in elected office at all levels in Alaska. Your fine article left out the leaders.
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No Native voters until 1924, and not prominent until the 1950s? Partially true, but partially not. There were Natives with the right to vote in the 18th century, and who did vote, though whether all Natives were full Citizens, or merely citizens of their "nation-within-a-nation" was unsettled until 1924.
More importantly, though, Charles Curtis was Vice President from 1929-1933. He grew up speaking Kansa and lived on a reservation as a child. Why is this man so forgotten? I think partially the answer is that he believed that Native folks did best when they assimilated into the American mainstream, and, especially on the left, that particular ideal, and some of the laws he fought for on Native issues, are not well supported.
Nonetheless, how odd to write an article about Native political representation and not mention that the US had a Native VP almost 100 years ago!
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Because he wasn’t a she living in our newly divided country where the standard of validity is tied to level of perceived oppression.
Diane Humetawa is a former US Attorney from Arizona, is now a Federal District Judge, and was a leading candidate to replace Judge Scalia. I worked with her in the US Attorney's Office. She was competent, but hardly outstanding. Politicians got behind her to support a true underdog who would not shake up the system. Considering the abject poverty on the reservations, the fact that Ms. Humetawa is so vanilla is a disappointment. There seems to be an unspoken deal -- we'll promote you if you agree not to turn on us.
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More coal-powered fuel plants for the Navajo! More strip mining jobs too! Clear-cut the forests, more jobs!
Who comes up with these people? Such a sad decline from the TV commercials from decades ago where the indigenous Americans were depicted deploring the spoilage of the environment.
I worked at numerous emergency rooms as a physician subcontracted to the IHS. I'm not intimately familiar with the history of Democrats versus Republicans when it comes to the shameful mistreatment of the country's true natives. But given the GOP's stance towards "immigrants" (meaning non-white "others"), people of color (ditto, they don't look like Europeans), and those mired in poverty who haven't managed to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, . . . , I'd paraphrase J.C. Watts. His son J.C. Watts Jr. was a quarterback for the University of Oklahoma who went on to become the first African-American elected to the House of Representatives from south of the Mason-Dixon line since Reconstruction.
"An African-American (sic native American) voting Republican is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders."
Amazing how there's always one in every underrepresented and disadvantaged ethnic group voting for their oppressors.
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Did you even bother to read the article. Deb is advocating for green jobs to replace dirty coal. She is a hardworking advocate for all low income New Mexicans in many walks of life (including children and seniors). Please, read the full article and support her campaign.
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I believe drdeanster was talking about Sharon Clahchischilliage, who the article describes as "a fierce advocate for a coal-fired power plant that employs many Navajo people."
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Even though the person is speaking about another Native American woman, I understand her position, even though I don't agree with it. In the 1980s, I audited coal mines, on Navajo lands, in the Four Corners region of New Mexico. The workers were Navajos in a region of high unemployment and poverty. The area needs other jobs besides coal.
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New Mexico did not allow Indians to vote until 1948 when Miguel Trujillo, also a member of Laguna Pueblo and a WWII Marine vet, sued the state and successfully overturned the section of the state's 1912 constitution which denied Indians the vote. New Mexico now has several Indian legislators in the state legislator--and I know Deb Haaland will become the first Native American woman in Congress!
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It's about time that the first people of this land got a say in what's going on.
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Go, Native Americans!
Immigrants being a suspect lower life form, according to trumpist philosophy -- and policy -- and all the rest of us being of immigrant stock, it is high time we had incontrovertibly genuine Americans in government.
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This is great news!!
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I would like to see Native Americans elected to political office, but am having trouble understanding Deb Haaland’s position on illegal immigration. On her web site, she says she wants to support "people who play by the rules". Illegal immigrants have not played by the rules. Yet, she says she wants our country to offer a path to citizenship to every one of them.
We did this in 1986, in the expectation that it would end illegal immigration. The amnesty had the opposite effect. It opened the floodgates. We now have at least 4 times as many illegal migrants as were here in ’86.
The world’s poor and uneducated want to move here. Our grant of amnesty suggested that they, too, could take the gamble of coming, illegally. It signaled that there was a good chance that they would be allowed to stay, and would eventually be offered a path to citizenship.
The U.S. is already $20 trillion in debt. We need to focus our resources on educating / retraining and otherwise helping our own poor and working class citizens, not on migrants who illegally manage to move here. We cannot offer another amnesty as Deb Haaland wants to do.
She does not say what we should do to end illegal migration. Perhaps she believes in open borders. Does she expect our country to become one political entity with Mexico and Central America?
I would support Native Americans who run for office on realistic programs, not on one that grants another amnesty.
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We, the people, elected representatives who wrote rules on immigration. Illegal migrants have broken these rules, by moving here and by staying here. Their own countries have become corrupt because people there do not play by their rules. The migrants want to live in a country that follows rules, but the first thing they do is break our rules by moving here illegally. Then they go about working our system to get all kinds of subsidies from our government. They should go home and improve their own countries instead of bringing their culture of rule-breaking here.
There is no hard data on how many crimes are committed by illegal immigrants. Some research papers claim that illegal immigrants commit fewer crimes, (and at least one claims the opposite,) but each of these papers is based on assumptions that only show the authors’ biases.
Some prosecutors have decided not to charge illegal immigrants with the full extent of their crimes because they do not want the illegal immigrants to be deported. The prosecutor in King County, Wa. has decided to ignore their smaller crimes and to lessen charges he brings against them for larger ones. For example, he decided to charge a DACA recipient who had been driving with a blood alcohol level of over twice the legal limit only with negligent driving. (See the KUOW radio report "Deported after DUI? King County says that’s not fair").
U.S. politicians and companies who break laws are investigated and charged.
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i wish deb the best of luck and hope that she succeeds in the great battle against racial discrimination.
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Exciting times for America. Trump may hold the highest seat in the house, but is the American people who rocks the party.
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Any senator born in America is a native American. Deb Haaland is both that and an Indian. She is probably a socialist also, people who believe others owe them something for nothing.
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'Something for nothing' may be the most tired phrase imaginable when it comes to Native Americans. We owe them for their LAND, which by lying, mis-information, ill-translated treatings, and outright stealing, whites took only a few decades ago. Now most white people benefit from the ill-gotten gains. My parents will convey a house and property to me, but it is from land originally stolen from Native Americans. So Ironic.
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Reply to bob. Just would like you to explain how you decided "she is probably a socialist also". I am trying to grow by listening with out preconceptions. It is difficult for me to understand your reasoning, can you help me out ?
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Any tiny a bit of evidence that suggests Haaland is a socialist, bob (even if that is so terrible)?
Apparently the current US president's company hasn't paid taxes for (20) years (because of an eariler $1b loss), and he is a self proclaimed billionaire. I'd call that corporate socialism gone mad. But, of course that is OK because he is an old white man and a republican. He is entitled in a way that a native american woman, (and democrat), who wasn't born into a very wealthy family, is not.
Good luck to all these candidates, (although I don't think coal mining hasn't got much of a future, even with more support).
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I can't believe it has been fewer than 100 years since Native Americans were given the right to vote. Slowly but surely, they are finally getting their voices heard in government positions. I appreciate this article's exploration of the depth of Native Americans and how they have a wide range of political views, just like all other populations in the United States. We often only see a one-dimensional picture of Native identity. I would like to learn more about which Native Americans in congress grew up on reservations and the barriers they faced socially and financially.
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Native Americans did not become citizens until the Indian Citizenship Act was passed in 1924. Until then, the tribes were treated as sovereign nations. The Fourteenth Amendment's citizenship clause originally excluded Native Americans. The argument was that, while there were born within the borders of America, they were not under the jurisdiction of the United States. Since they were regarded as foreign nationals, Native Americans couldn't vote. Since they weren't represented, they weren't weren't taxed.
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You do know that women didn’t get the vote until 1920?... just saying.
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I couldn't be more excited for Deb Haaland and I wish her the best of luck. Congress needs representation like this, and to watch marginalized peoples step up and run for office is incredibly reassuring.
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Please stop it with the identity politics. It's part of the reason Donald Trump got elected.
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This isn’t identity politics. It’s Native Americans representing Native Americans.
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And please stop throwing all these white male former Marine candidates at us. Not interested!
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You go into politics to represent the American people not an ethnic group.
Sad to hear there has never been a Native American congresswoman before, however it's nice to see that may change soon. Having a Native American congresswoman will help further increase representation of our diverse population. Compared to a lot of other democracies our legislator is not very diverse, in large part because we have a majoritarian electoral system. I would love to see Congress allow states to elect their representative by proportional representation to increase congresses diversity.
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Deb Halland did not grow up on a reservation. She grew up on military bases. Her father Major J.D. “Dutch” Haaland, who was not Native American, was a highly decorated Marine officer from Minnesota. She gets her Native American ancestry from her mother. Her mother was a Navy nurse who met Dutch Haaland while they were both stationed at Treasure Island, a Navy facility in San Francisco Bay. Deb grew up moving from base to base with her parents. In the early seventies, Dutch served at the Marine Corps Reserves station in Albuquerque. After his retiring, he returned to Albuquerque.
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This is a positive step. Whether Republican or Democrat, Native Americans can best advocate on issues that affect their own local communities. That is what representative democracy is for, after all. For all localities and communities to have a voice in government.
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Since no one, least of all the media, seems too interested in the issues facing Native Americans it behooves them to run for office. Ideally, the much underreproted abuses that occurred and are occurring at places like the Standing Rock North Dakota during the pipeline protests will encourage more Native Americans to run for office and access the levers to power. They may be only 2 % of the overall US population compared to about 10% for Blacks and 5% for Asians but the right way to look at Native American under representation in politics is at the state or local level in states where they make up a siginficant portion of the population. States such as Alaska, Oklahoma, New Mexico, North Carolina, Arizona, Texas, and California, with relatively large Native American populations should have more Native American political leaders. The admirable energy and organizational skills of the Standing Rock protestors in the face of disgraceful violence, a mute media and state coercion demonstarated the potential they have to be much needed agents of change.
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Native people are an intrinsic part of our nation. Their heritage and traditions enrich us as a people and they should be present at every level of our government.
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Native American men have federal office, Native American women hold city and state offices. Haaland may be the first Native American woman elected to Congress, but she is half with and half Native American.
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The role of Native Americans in American society has long been marginalized, under represented, and even oppressed despite the 5.2 million+ Native Americans living on tribal lands within the U.S.
Across the states Native American reservations are some of the poorest communities in the country, a situation that has been exacerbated by current and previous political figures. It's great to see this vibrant community finally starting to get the voice and representation that it deserves!
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You are forgetting about Elizabeth Warren!
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We already have one: Elizabeth Warren (aka Pocahontas)
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She basically has admitted she's not Native American given that she refuses to agree to a simple DNA test. I don't think many voters ever had believed her in any event.
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Actually not having a DNA test isn’t a proof of anything. This is the same Birther logic that Trump espoused.
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An entire article on Native American service in government, and the author doesn't recognize Ben Nighthorse Campbell... at all.
His contributions to Colorado and national history would help frame this conversation.
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Because Ben Nighthorse Campbell was a man. Brush up on your identity politics by reading the comments to this article. Only then will you understand why Campbell, etc all are not worthy of mention.
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Hey - according to the one drop idea - we already have a Native American senator.
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great news. about time they were taken seriously
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Finally, the Native American communities are getting a voice, however small at the moment. And they are getting that voice through their own determination and hard work, certainly not by anything "given" to them. But then, it's only been what, about 550 years or so since their world was accosted...what's their rush, right?
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There's also a Native American woman running for governor in Idaho. Paulette Jordan is a Democratic state representative and hoping to get her party's nomination for governor. She's a member of the Coeur d'Alene tribe Here's a link to her page on the Idaho Legislature web site: https://legislature.idaho.gov/legislators/membership/2017/id3144/
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Paulette Jordan is running for Governor of Idaho. She is covering the state with events and meetings. Lots of excitement.
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That's good. All people of all races, creeds, religions, genders etc. should be encouraged to run.
What we don't need is some advocacy group coming out and saying that since Native Americans make of x percent of the population there should be a quota of x percent Native Americans in Congress or because women make up 52% of the pop. there should be a quota of 52% female congresswomen whether they are qualified or not.
Also since app. 70-80% of Congress is male, there would be a max. quota of them of 48%.
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As a person with personal connections to the New Mexico legislation, I love seeing an article about people as driven as Deb Haaland. The article shows the vastness of native peoples and specifically females that are paving their own way into American government systems. Its disheartening to believe Ms. Haaland or Ms. Juneau have to prove to their communities that they can represent more than their tribes. These are women of color that have gone through more and have been effected by more policy than most white men in these positions.
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The Navajo Generating Station in northwest Arizona May have to close because the energy it generates is expensive, and the city of Los Angeles opted out. Reducing regulations to save the plant is a lie. It’s been outflanked by cleaner home grown technologies. How about we replace it with solar and wind farms? The Navajo people have these sources in abundance.
No, trump wants to lie his way into history.
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Hundreds of Native Americans marched to protest the closure of the Navajo Generating Station. Closing the plant means the loss of more than 800 jobs held by members of the Navajo or Hopi tribes. The plant provided power for Arizona, Nevada, and California, not just the Navajo, but natural gas power plants are replacing coal power.
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Wait a minute! A coal plant gets the support of a “native” American because of jobs, and the comments overwhelmingly support said native while commenters dutifully recite “native” americans’ Mythical relationship to the natural environment?
The more indigenous representation in the federal gov't, the better. 2% of the total pop is nontrivial, and the more people realize they have not gone anywhere and are still right where they have always been (since time immemorial) the better.
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Prior to 1900, native peoples dealt with a single federal agency: Department of War. We never hear about that, just that the right to vote came in 1924.
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I would like to see Winona LaDuke run for Congress. She has been a champion of not only Native American rights but also human rights. She is tough, fierce with a great sense of humor and beautifully articulate for a national stage.
Ms. LaDuke easily blends with many cultures, a graduate of Harvard and she ran a good campaign as a VP running mate of Ralph Nader in 2000. She can speak to issues for the entire country.
She works for the White Earth people in Minnesota and not would be a perfect time for Winona LaDuke to represent the good people of Minnesota in Congress.
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It is only a natural extension that those members of society that make up a certain percentage, should have that percentage represented in government in the same numbers. It can be women in general, or minorities or whomever.
Having said that, there are still going to be lines in the sand for actual ideas that work for all of the people. Do not vote for someone ( no matter how much they have been disenfranchised ) if they have bad ideas.
Here is a quote; '' What I love about Trump is that he understands,” she said. “He gets it. He is asking: What regulations need to change? ''
No, the President does not get it and the person running for office does not get it either. Coal is an outdated and polluting form of energy. Employing 1600 people is too high a cost to destroying the environment that will bring all of us down. The votes should be for candidates that have plans to educate those 1600 people for other jobs and have plans for training to do them.
Vote accordingly.
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Thanks for the disappointing, but critical information regarding stance on natural resources. This is why I always read the comments.
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Those who say Trump gets it rarely get Trump.
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I agree that coal is an outdated technology but eliminating 1600 jobs on the Navajo Reservation is no drop in the bucket. The government played a role in building dependency on coal and needs to play a role in building alternatives. How about investment in solar or wind farms?
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YAY, FINALLY a REAL American! Technically, everyone else has little claim to this Country - you are all "immigrants", and very lucky that Trump's wall does not yet affect YOU.
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Yes, I noticed that Ms. Haaland is shown demonstrating on behalf of immigrants, which strikes me as particularly generous, given her community's history.
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The “native Americans” were themselves migrants - from Asia.
That's a difficult fact for many to digest, they think Indians grew out of the earth right here in the America's and hold some sacred ownership of the land. All Nomad civilizations has fallen to settled agricultural civilizations for millennia. That's Nature Folks, not an evil white guy.
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I have long thought the absence of Native Americans from any form of high political office as a disgrace and a sad reflection on the U.S. I hope this will change very soon. The way Native Americans have been treated is sickening. I hope that one day the world will see a Native American President in the U.S.
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