Date of Award
4-2018
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Dr. Patrick Donnay
Abstract
In light of the recent tensions between Native American tribes and non-tribal elected leaders over such issues as environmental protection and treaty violations, caused in part by the United States' disproportionately Caucasian electoral representation, I aim to bring light the obstacles that Native Americans face in electoral politics. I analyze state legislative elections in which Native American candidates win. Using the data from the 2016 National Census and from University of North Dakota, Professor Mark Trahant. I hypothesize that the reason many Native American candidates win is because they are tied to non-native elements of the community. The two candidates that stuck out to me are Minnesota State Representatives, Peggy Flanagan and Susan Allen. They are in primarily Caucasian districts with large ties to the political parties in their districts and tend not to emphasize native issues. I argue that the way for native candidates to win is to appeal to non-natives and to make their political issues more mainstream.
Recommended Citation
Peralta, Opalina, "How Do Native American Women Win Elections in Non-Native Districts?" (2018). Political Science Theses and Capstones. 47.
https://pines.bemidjistate.edu/capstone-polisci/47
Included in
American Politics Commons, American Studies Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Latina/o Studies Commons, Native American Studies Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Social Justice Commons, Women's Studies Commons
