For the first time women with Native American roots entered Congress: what will they do

For the first time, women with Indian roots — Debra Haaland from New Mexico and Sharis Davids from Kansas — came to Congress.

In New Mexico, Haland will replace Michel Luian Grisham, who vacated the seat after becoming governor and Davids replacing Republican Kevin Yoder.

Debra Haaland is one of the candidates for the congressional seat of the Democratic Party in the state of New Mexico in the southwest United States. She is also a spokeswoman for the officially recognized Laguna Pueblo tribe. She hopes to become the first Native American to go to Congress, writes "Radio Liberty».

Despite the fact that Haaland has been a member of the Democratic Party for more than 20 years, this year she is running for a public political position for the first time. Part of donations to the campaign, Haaland received at public dinners or informal meetings organized by friends and acquaintances. But, according to Haaland, she collected most of the money, calling people around, talking to them about the campaign, politics and the future of the state.

“When I speak directly to voters, it gives me confidence. Some even told me: “You know, a candidate has never called me personally. Thank you for that. I'm very glad I was able to talk to you." This is how I build relationships with people,” says Haaland.

Haaland is not going to forget his roots. Together with campaigners, she regularly writes letters to various tribes and visits them personally. That’s what she believes is that she will be able to fully represent the interests of the indigenous peoples of the United States.

Representative of the LGBT community

Another Indian tribal representative is Sheris Davis from Kansas. She is the first candidate from this state to represent the interests of the LGBT community. Davis herself is an open lesbian.

Despite the fact that she also visits various reservations during her campaign, she focuses on supporting sexual minorities at the legislative level.

“When a representative of the LGBT community is present during discussions [of bills], is present in the negotiation room on equal terms, only then will it be possible to shift the focus. “I think it’s important to include the lived experiences and perspectives of LGBT people in conversations that will impact our lives,” Davis told The New York Times.

The mid-term elections, 2018, were marked by a record number of female candidates for the United States, and unprecedentedly many of them managed to win. For the first time in the House of Representatives also have fallen Muslim women - Rashida Tlaib in Michigan and Ilhan Omar in Minnesota.

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