Native American Women Make History
Crystalyne Curley, Peggy Flanagan, and Deb Haaland break barriers as first woman president of Navajo Nation, first Native American woman in Senate, and first Native American woman governor
In a historic election, Native American women have made significant strides in tribal, state, and federal elections. Crystalyne Curley was elected the first woman president of the Navajo Nation, a tribe with the largest land base of any federally recognized tribe, spanning 27,000 square miles in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.
Peggy Flanagan became the first Native American woman elected to the Senate, marking a milestone victory for Native American women in federal politics. Deb Haaland also made history by becoming the first Native American woman to win a state governorship.
The Navajo Nation, which is second in population to the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, has had a modern, centralized government led by men since its establishment under federal pressure over a century ago. Curley's election marks a significant shift in the tribe's leadership.
These victories are part of a larger trend of Native American women taking on formal political power. According to Jordan James Harvill, a Cherokee Nation citizen and strategist with the advocacy group Advance Native Political Leadership, decades of political organizing are bearing fruit as more Native women run for and win office.
## Why it matters The election of Curley, Flanagan, and Haaland is a significant turning point for Native American women, who have rarely held formal political power despite their leadership in their families and communities. This shift is expected to have a lasting impact on the representation and empowerment of Native American women in politics.
The Navajo Nation, with its large land base and significant population, is an important entity in the United States. The election of a woman president is a significant step towards greater representation and diversity in the tribe's government. Similarly, the election of Flanagan and Haaland to federal and state offices marks a significant milestone in the representation of Native American women in mainstream politics.
As Curley noted, her election is a win for all Navajo women, and is expected to pave the way for future generations of Native American women in politics. The impact of these elections will be closely watched in the coming months and years, as Native American women continue to break barriers and take on leadership roles in their communities and beyond.
