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As the 2024 election season involves a close, we’re in for a yr of historic firsts – at the national and local levels. If Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz won the White House this yr, the nation’s highest-ranking Native American woman would develop into Minnesota’s governor. This woman is Peggy Flanagan.
Praised as one of Minnesota’s rising stars and now highest rating Peggy Flanagan, an Indigenous woman elected to executive office, is a politician, community organizer and Indigenous activist from the White Earth Nation. She has served as Minnesota’s lieutenant governor since 2019 and is currently next in line to develop into governor if Tim Walz becomes vice chairman.
What does all this mean? History could have been made this November and helped catapult the first Native woman — and, by extension, long-overlooked Native issues — into the broader American public discourse. It’s also perfect timing because we’re approaching Native American History Month in November.
While this text covers politics, entrepreneurs across the spectrum can learn something about positioning diverse leaders in the right spaces and supporting their work and development throughout their tenure.
Flanagan needed allies like Walz and others who would raise her voice and put her in positions where she could make an impact. We can all learn more about what it means to be a higher ally to those that are “first” in our space. Here are three allyship strategies I like to recommend to my diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) consulting clients.
Let diverse leaders lead
In recent years, many recent things have appeared in the political sphere. The first black president was Barack Obama in 2008, followed by Colorado’s first openly gay governor Jared Polis in 2019 and potentially the first woman and Southeast Asian president Kamala Harris in 2024.
All these great innovations had one thing in common: they’d allies and partners who allowed them to take the initiative and shine. Peggy Flanagan has been a distinguished leader in the DEI field for a long time. In 2017, she helped found the first company in Minnesota People of Color and Indigenous Caucus (POCI). She has worked tirelessly to enhance educational, health and economic outcomes for Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) in her state.
Additionally, she was a fearless advocate for indigenous rights. While serving as a legislator, she sponsored a first-of-its-kind task force on missing murdered indigenous women (MMIW), a phenomenon occurring across the country in which indigenous women experience violence and disappear shortly thereafter. Local police authorities in many states often do not search for missing Native women or investigate their disappearances. Unfortunately, MMIW cases often remain unresolved. This signifies that when we allow diverse leaders to guide, they will do powerful things by raising awareness about issues that will have never even crossed our minds. Our job as allies is to uplift these leaders and amplify their work.
Beware of the performative alliance
While many people need to take credit for knowing the pioneers in politics and DEI and are pleased with having supported them on their strategy to the top, the truth is that it might be a lonely journey for many leaders who have needed to make their dreams come true on their very own . They sponsored their laws and wrote it themselves with their teams. They sat in rooms with decision-makers, where they worked hard to encourage their colleagues to participate in their daring recent initiatives. They were involved in many thankless events where they carried the burden of organizing, leading and managing results alone.
Many people need to take credit for the work done by BIPOC, saying they “were” at the event or “wholeheartedly supported” the work of such-and-such leaders. Yet all the work has often been done by BIPOC people, and yet allies are nowhere to be found. Performative allyship can often look like pretending to be an ally when it is politically or socially advantageous to do so, but not in times when real commitment, work and sacrifice are required – and the cameras and spotlights are turned off. Avoid falling into the trap of lifting up leaders like Flanagan when it’s most convenient You not for leaders and their affairs.
Be a partner of success
What is most helpful for the emerging leaders you would like to support is greater than just that to speak you stand behind certain things, but you truly show up and prove it. Support bills that improve the health, education and rights of indigenous people. Talk about Flanagan’s work in the public domain, ensuring colleagues who may have an interest in these issues know about it. Donate to organizations and nonprofits that support the work Indigenous leaders are doing for change. It’s not enough to say, “I’m for indigenous rights,” or to say your ground if you have not actually done the work, put in the time, or put your money where your mouth is.
Final thoughts
No matter what happens in November, the variety of leaders like Peggy Flanagan will proceed to grow. When one person rises to a higher position, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ officials who have been waiting for their moment to shine can finally step up as well. The future is vivid for a recent generation of U.S. leadership that higher represents the country’s diversity while inspiring more just, equitable and inclusive policies at local and national levels.