Record number of Indigenous lawmakers elected

WASHINGTON, D.C.-On election day 2020 in the United States, a record number of six indigenous people were elected to positions in the U.S. House and Senate.

The U.S. House expanded by two on Election Day: Yvette Herrell, who is Cherokee and prevailed in New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District, and Kai Kahele, a Native Hawaiian who won that state's 2nd District.

They will join four Native Americans who won reelection: Reps. Deb Haaland of New Mexico, who's Laguna; Sharice Davids of Kansas, who's Ho-Chunk; Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, who's Cherokee; and Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who's Chickasaw.

Half of the six are Democrats and half Republican. The winners were among a dozen Indigenous major-party candidates running in top-of-the-ticket races. About 100 Indigenous candidates were on general election ballots across the country, most seeking seats in state legislatures. The U.S. Senate has not had a Native American member since Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado retired in 2005.

Historically, four Native Americans have served in the Senate and 17 have served in the House of Representatives, including Charles Curtis, from the Kaw Nation in Kansas, who also served as the first vice president of color.

Native Hawaiians are not among the more than 570 federally recognized Native American tribes, though they've sought the designation.

In 2019, Cole and Haaland became co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Native American Caucus, which "seeks to educate members of Congress and encourage an open dialogue about issues affecting Native Americans," according to Cole.

The caucus, which also includes dozens of non-Natives, worked to pass two bills to help address the epidemic of missing and slain Native American women. Haaland and Cole said the focus in the upcoming session will be COVID-19's impact on Native communities, chronic shortfalls in federal funding for tribes, broadband internet access, further addressing missing and slain Indigenous women and land put into trust for tribes.

Richard Monette, who teaches federal Indian law at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, pointed out to the Associated Press that Indigenous lawmakers, while they may not be ignored, they may be pigeonholed.

"I think that, in the end, the scale tips toward being more good than bad," Monette, who is also a former chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, also told the AP. "That's fair to say, but I will say this is complex."

Herrell, for example, said she's proud of her heritage but didn't tout it in her campaign.

"I really prefer to call myself an American," she told The Associated Press. "I'm a New Mexican, and it's not about labels, it's not about race. It's about people and representing all of our values, all of our shared likes and even dislikes and coming together."

"We all make decisions based on two things: our life experiences and the way we were raised," Mullin said in a statement. "With more Native Americans in Congress, we can make a bigger impact and better educate our colleagues about Native issues."