Minn. official fights for the underserved
As the daughter of a hard-working single mother and Native American rights activist father, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan grew up wanting to connect with and help others. She’s made a career of doing just that. As a member of the White Earth Nation of Ojibwe, Flanagan has used her platform to highlight Indigenous issues and focus resources on Minnesota communities and constituencies that have been historically underserved.
Flanagan made history in 2019 as the first minority woman elected to the statewide office in Minnesota and the country’s highest-ranking Native woman elected to executive office. In 2023, Flanagan was elected chairwoman of the Democratic Lieutenant Governor’s Association, becoming the first Indigenous woman to lead a party committee.
Her first taste of politics was in college when she worked for former Sen. Paul Wellstone’s reelection campaign. She then was elected to serve on the board of Minneapolis Public Schools from 2005 to 2009. Flanagan returned to carry on the work of the late senator and joined Wellstone Action where she trained activists, candidates and politicians, later serving as the executive director for the Children’s Defense Fund.
In 2015, Flanagan was elected to the
Minnesota House of Representatives, where she was one of three Indigenous members to serve in the body at the time. In 2017, she became part of the group that formed the Minnesota House Native American Caucus.
Flanagan is USA TODAY’s Woman of the Year for Minnesota.
This story has been edited for length and clarity.
Question: Who paved the way for you?
Answer: My grandmas, my greatgrandma, my mom, my aunties and my aunties who are not my aunties by blood. Marlene White Rabbit Helgemo, who passed away a little over a year ago always said to me, “We’re just going to speak it into existence.” She was one of my biggest cheerleaders and supporters, and I’m so grateful for her.
I would say that my dad really paved the way, and his willingness to be a rabble-rouser and challenge the system. Sometimes when I feel like I want to make myself small, I try to remember how strong he was and how he was unafraid to speak up, even if it made people very uncomfortable.
Do you have a proudest moment?
My proudest moment is certainly when I had my daughter. I was like, ‘Oh! Nice to meet you, there you are. I’ve known you my whole life, and here you are.’ It was this moment where I felt like I was surrounded by all of these former generation of women and ancestors, like this is why we are here, to bring human life into the world.
The other time is when we increased the minimum wage and indexed it to inflation. That was powerful.
I would say the most important of all the things we’ve accomplished was when we increased (Minnesota Family Investment Program) cash assistance by $100, and there hadn’t been an increase since my family had been on MFIP in 1986.
How do you define courage?
Moving forward. Moving forward while being afraid.
Do you have a principle or a mantra that you live by?
I think it’s my vocation, making sure that people are being heard, valued, and protected and believed. I would also say that my faith is also important to me. Matthew 25, how am I doing right by people who are most vulnerable?
Who do you look up to?
Oh, so many people. Sandy White Hawk, who is incredible. She does a lot of work around adoptees in the community and serves on the board of the Native American Boarding School Healing Initiative. Sharon Day, who runs the Indigenous Peoples Task Force, is a water walker, and is just so clear all of the time about what her role is in the community, and she is incredibly kind and also challenges me to be my best self.