Native American Congresswomen Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland Make History and Earn A Seat At The Table

The 2018 Congressional midterm elections were historic for many reasons: voter turnout reached its highest peak since 1914, more money was spent on election campaigns than ever before, and the face of Congress changed drastically as record numbers of individuals from marginalized communities ran for, and won, offices. Two Native American women were elected to Congress for the first time in history: Sharice Davids of Kansas’ Third Congressional District, and Deb Haaland, who represents New Mexico’s First.

Davids and Haaland have similar backgrounds — both women were raised by veterans, earned law degrees, and have demonstrated a commitment to Native American communities. But their individual journeys to Congress highlight the meaningful impact that indigenous women can have in politics. By tackling LGBTQ+ and environmental issues, Haaland and Davids are showing that marginalized groups (who are often ignored or forgotten at the end of the campaign trail) can be a focus of politicians in office.

Davids, who is an enrolled member of Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, was raised by a single mother who served in the U.S. Army. Davids attended several colleges, including Haskell Indian Nations University, before completing degrees at both Johnson County Community College and the University of Missouri-Kansas City; she then earned her Juris Doctorate at Cornell Law School in 2010. That might sound like the typical list of credentials for a future politician, but throughout her college and law school years, Davids also dedicated herself to another passion: mixed martial arts. She competed at the amateur level for seven years before pursuing a professional MMA career in 2013. “I had been so passionate about martial arts for so long that I felt that I wanted to at least try,” she told The Guardian last year.

Although Davids’ professional MMA career ended in 2014, she took her fighting spirit into the political ring. She spent two years working in mergers and acquisitions at a multinational law firm before being “‘called’ to use her skills differently.” Davids traveled to and lived on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which is well-known for its economic and social struggles, and directed economic and development initiatives in the community. In 2016, she participated in the esteemed White House Fellows program under President Obama with the aim of learning how to better implement federal policy on Native reservations.

“Part of what we should be thinking about, whenever legislation is passed, is, ‘how does this affect all varieties of communities?’” she told The Washington Post in August 2018. “When there are more voices at the table and people with different experiences, we will be better equipped to figure out who hasn’t been part of this conversation.”

As the first lesbian Native American Congresswoman, she is also deeply invested in having “LGBT people sitting in the room while decisions are being made,” and is keenly aware of the difficulties queer indigenous people face. (Such as housing discrimination against same-sex couples, which she encountered in South Dakota.) Davids now sits on the Committees on Small Business and Transportation and Infrastructure and serves in several caucuses, including the Congressional Native American Caucus and LGBT Equality Caucus. She plans to tackle issues such as voter suppression and disenfranchisement, as well as healthcare and education.

“Too many of us have gone through our entire lives not feeling seen and not feeling heard,” she said at a political rally after her win. That is a belief her new colleague Deb Haaland shares.

Haaland, whose mother served in the Navy and whose father received a Silver Star from the Marines, is an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Laguna. She earned her bachelor’s degree and JD in Indian Law from the University of New Mexico, and later served as the tribal administrator for the San Felipe Pueblo community. During the same time period, in 2012, Haaland started her political career when she served as the Native American vote director for President Obama’s reelection campaign. She told the Albuquerque Journal that her personal experiences as a single mother gave her insight into the lives of many voters.

“I know what it’s like to have to apply for food stamps,” she said. “I know what it’s like to get to the front of the grocery store and have to put groceries back because you don’t have enough money to pay for them.”

Haaland’s commitment to Native American causes goes beyond the San Felipe Pueblo. She currently sits on the Committee on Natural Resources, but also demonstrated a willingness to put herself at risk — legally and physically — when she participated in the 2016/2017 Standing Rock protests. As Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, Haaland led the charge urging Wells Fargo to divest from the Dakota Access Pipeline project and made sure that her presence was felt in person.

“That land was Indian land long before it wasn’t,” she said in an interview with Public Radio International. “We need to make sure that Indian tribes have a seat at the table, that they have a voice in how this land is getting developed and in how things are moving forward. I really feel strongly that environmental review should include a voice for tribes in any area.”

Haaland also supports indigenous women through her advocacy for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement. After more than 2,500 indigenous women were reported as missing in the first six months of 2018, Haaland became determined to bring this epidemic of violence against Native women to attention in Congress. Just this month, she spoke at the first hearing on the issue at the House of Representatives, and condemned Representative James Sensenbrenner’s proposal to exclude key protections for indigenous women in a future Violence Against Women Act.

“For any congressional leader to attempt to take away protections for not only women but indigenous women, at a time when we are just beginning to understand how deep-rooted and serious of an issue the severe lack of protections are for native women, is an abomination,” she said.

Davids and Haaland are not only incredible for simply winning their elections, but also because they achieved those successes on their own terms. They have chosen to stand out and be proud of their backgrounds — queer, female, indigenous — with activism that truly speaks to public service. Haaland said it best in an interview with Truthout, “I really want folks to know, other Native women to know, that you don’t have to have heavy political connections to serve your community. You can volunteer. You can work hard and have opportunities to represent your community.”