Could We Have The First Native American Woman Governor? DEI Expert Weighs In On What Allyship Should Look Like If History Is Made.

Because the 2024 election season involves a detailed, we’re encountering a yr of historic firsts — nationally and domestically. If Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz had been to win the White Home this yr, the highest-ranking Native American lady within the nation would change into the governor of Minnesota. That lady is Peggy Flanagan.

Lauded as one in every of Minnesota’s rising stars and presently the highest-ranking Native lady elected to government workplace, Peggy Flanagan is a politician, group organizer and Indigenous activist from the White Earth Nation. She has been serving because the lieutenant governor of Minnesota since 2019 and is presently subsequent in line to imagine the governorship if Tim Walz turns into vp.

So what does this all imply? Historical past may very well be made this November and assist catapult the primary Native lady — and consequently, long-overlooked Native points — into broader American public discourse. It is good timing, too, as we strategy Native American Historical past Month this November.

Although we’re zooming in on politics on this piece, entrepreneurs throughout the spectrum can study one thing about positioning diverse leaders in the precise areas and supporting their work and development all through their tenure.

Flanagan wanted allies like Walz and others to elevate her voice and put her into positions the place she might make an affect. We will all study extra about what it means to be a greater ally for many who are the “firsts” of their house. Listed below are three methods round allyship I like to recommend to my diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consultancy purchasers.

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Let various leaders lead

There have been many firsts within the realm of politics in recent times. There was the primary Black president, Barack Obama, in 2008, then the primary brazenly homosexual governor, Jared Polis, from Colorado in 2019, and probably, the primary lady and Southeast Asian president, Kamala Harris, in 2024.

All these nice firsts had this in frequent: that they had allies and companions that allow them take the lead and shine. Peggy Flanagan has been an impressive chief within the realm of DEI for many years. In 2017, she helped kind Minnesota’s first People of Color and Indigenous Caucus (POCI). She labored tirelessly to enhance training, well being and financial outcomes for Black, Indigenous and Folks of Colour (BIPOC) in her state.

As well as, she has been a fearless advocate of Indigenous folks’s rights. Whereas serving as a legislator, she sponsored a first-of-its-kind job pressure centered on Lacking Murdered Indigenous Ladies (MMIW), a phenomenon taking place throughout the nation the place Indigenous ladies expertise violence and go lacking shortly thereafter. Native police municipalities in lots of states typically do not seek for lacking Indigenous ladies or examine their disappearances. Sadly, MMIW circumstances normally go unsolved. All that’s to say that once we let various leaders lead, they will do highly effective issues by elevating consciousness about points that will have by no means crossed our minds. As allies, our job is to elevate these leaders up and amplify their work.

Watch out for performative allyship

Whereas many individuals need to take credit score for figuring out the trailblazers in politics and DEI and take pleasure in having supported them on their method up, the reality is that it may be a lonely journey for a lot of leaders who needed to actualize their goals on their very own. They sponsored their laws and wrote it themselves with their groups. They sat in rooms with decision-makers the place they labored arduous to get colleagues on board with their daring new initiatives. They attended many thankless occasions the place they carried the burden of organizing, main and managing the outcomes alone.

Many individuals need to take credit score for the work BIPOC has been doing by saying they had been “there” on the occasion or “assist” so-and-so leaders’ work wholeheartedly. However nonetheless, BIPOC people are sometimes the individuals who did all of the work, and nonetheless, the allies are nowhere to be discovered. Performative allyship can typically appear to be claiming to be an ally when it is politically or socially advantageous however not throughout instances when true grit, work, and dedication are required — and the cameras and spotlights are off. Keep away from falling into the entice of lifting up leaders like Flanagan when it is most handy for you and never for the leaders and their causes.

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Be successful accomplice

What’s most useful for rising leaders whom you want to assist isn’t solely to say you stand behind sure causes however to really present up and show it. Help payments that enhance Indigenous well being, training and rights. Talk about Flanagan’s work within the public area, thereby making certain colleagues who may be enthusiastic about these points are conscious of them. Donate to organizations and nonprofits that bolster the work that Indigenous leaders are doing to maneuver the needle on change. It is not sufficient to say, “I am for Indigenous folks’s rights,” or to do a land acknowledgment when you have not truly finished the work, spent the time, or put your cash the place your mouth is.

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Ultimate ideas

It doesn’t matter what occurs this November, leaders like Peggy Flanagan are on the rise. When one individual strikes on to a better workplace, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ officers who’ve been ready for his or her second to shine can lastly rise, too. The longer term is brilliant for a brand new technology of management within the U.S. that higher represents the variety of the nation whereas inspiring extra simply, equitable and inclusive insurance policies at native and nationwide ranges.