Congress Has Full Native American Representation for the First Time in 230 Years

California House Speaker Nancy Pelosi administers the House Oath of Office to Alaska Congresswoman Mary Pertola during a swearing-in ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.

Rep. Mary Pertola’s election to the U.S. House of Representatives has made history in several ways.

With her recent swearing-in, it became official for the first time in more than 230 years. A Native American, an Alaska Native and a Native Hawaiian are all members of the House of Representatives – the first time that Native Americans are fully represented, according to Rep.

Kaiali’i Kahele of Hawaii said. Six Native Americans now serve as representatives in the House of Representatives.

Kahele shared the history-making moment on social media this week with a photo of himself, Pertola and Kansas Rep. Cherise Davids, a member of Ho-Chunk Nation.

Pertola, the first Alaska Native and woman to be elected to the House of Representatives, will succeed Rep. Don Young, who died in March.

“This is a historic moment,” said Lani Twiss, an associate professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Throughout history, Teves said, Native Americans have been disenfranchised in many ways.

“Having diverse Native communities represented shows the growing power of Native people across the United States and around the world,” she said.

Getting more Native representatives into Congress has been a slow process for years. Just four years ago, Davids and now Interior Secretary Deb Harland became the first two Native American women to be elected to Congress. Kahle is only the second Native Hawaiian to represent her home state.

In the long run, that representation could have a big impact on the political power of Native American communities, Teves said.

“People need representation, and young people need to see people like themselves who are from their communities,” she said.

Among other things, she noted, having members from indigenous communities means that issues important to those communities – such as climate change and violence against indigenous women – get more play in Congress.

I think it represents a growing movement of Indigenous resurgence and awareness of injustice and the desire to not only correct the past but to have our voices heard,” she said. “

However, this level of representation may be short-lived. Pertola still needs to win re-election in November, and Kahle will end his final term in Congress in 2023.

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