This story was originally published on May 29, 2024. MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Models strutted down the runway at Quincy Hall for Native Nations Fashion Night in late April, showcasing the talents of Indigenous fashion designers, models, hairstylists and makeup artists.
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan was right there in the mix.
Flanagan, whose spiritual name is Speaks with a Loud and Clear Voice Woman, has been in the middle of things in Minnesota since long before she was elected alongside Democratic Gov. Tim Walz in 2018. A woman.
A citizen of White Earth Nation. The first Native woman in the nation to serve as a state’s lieutenant governor. “I’m small, but mighty,” Flanagan told a crowd gathered at Minnesota’s Capitol on May 6 for American Indigenous Day, which commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act and honors Indigenous culture.
She greeted the crowd in the Ojibwe language, welcoming and thanking everyone for attending. “It’s always a good day when there are lots and lots of Native folks walking around the Capitol and we start with a drum on the front steps,” Flanagan said. “This is how it’s supposed to be.
” Building relationships Flanagan was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2015, when only two other Native people served in the Minnesota State House — Susan Allen, Rosebud, and Steve Green, White Earth Ojibwe. By then, she and Walz had been friends for years. In 2005, when Walz was getting ready for his.