In tandem with a feature-length story by Newsweek correspondent Rebecca Nelson titled Native American Women Made History in the Midterms. Here’s Why It Took So Long, Laguna Pueblo Congresswoman-elect Deb Haaland appears on this week’s cover of Newsweek magazine.
In the article Nelson tells the story of Haalands journey to Standing Rock and how she decided that Native people needed a voice to represent them.
“People went there and saw this coming together of all these tribes in this inspirational atmosphere, and it created a sense of entitlement, that it’s our time to do something,” says Mark Trahant, the editor of Indian Country Today.
Then Nelson cites the results of the 2018 midterm elections.
On Tuesday, she made history, becoming one of the first Native American women elected to Congress, along with Sharice Davids in Kansas (a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation and a Democrat). It’s been a long time coming. Though Native Americans are nearly 2 percent of the population, they account for just 0.03 percent of elected officials.
Nelson’s article also cites the other candidates who made good to include Sharice Davids, and Peggy Flanagan. She also speaks about current and former political leaders that are Native American.
In August Nelson traveled to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and spoke to a Pueblo elder.
When I ask Ricardo Campos, a 65-year-old Native American who lives in Albuquerque, what Haaland’s candidacy means to him, he clasps his hands together and looks at me. “It’s a long time coming,” he tells me, tears running down his face.