This is a list of Native Americans with documented tribal ancestry or affiliation who are in the U.S. Congress.
All entries on this list are related to Native American tribes based in the continental United States. There are Native Hawaiians who have served in Congress, but they are not listed here because they are distinct from North American Natives.
Only two Native Americans served in the 115th Congress: Tom Cole (serving since 2003) and Markwayne Mullin (served from 2013 until 2023), both of whom are Republican Representatives from Oklahoma. On November 6, 2018, Democrats Sharice Davids of Kansas and Deb Haaland of New Mexico were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and the 116th Congress, which commenced on January 3, 2019, had four Native Americans. Davids and Haaland are the first two Native American women with documented tribal ancestry to serve in Congress. At the start of the 117th Congress on January 3, 2021, five Native Americans were serving in the House, the largest Native delegation in history: Cole, Mullin, Haaland and Davids were all reelected in 2020, with Republican Yvette Herrell of New Mexico elected for the first time in 2020. The number dropped back down to four on March 16, 2021 when Haaland resigned her House seat to become Secretary of the Interior.
On August 16, 2022, Mary Peltola, a Yup'ik woman, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Alaska, becoming the first person with documented Native Alaskan ancestry to serve in Congress. This returned the number of the Native delegation to five, with a partisan split of three Republicans and two Democrats. This also marked the first time that a Native American, Native Alaskan, and Native Hawaiian (Kai Kahele) simultaneously served in Congress.
Following the November 2022 elections, incumbents Cole (R-OK), Davids (D-KS) and Peltola (D-AK) all retained their seats, while Cherokee Republican Markwayne Mullin retired from the House and was elected to the Senate: Mullin became the first Native senator since the retirement of Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) in 2005, and his House seat was won by Choctaw Republican Josh Brecheen. [1] In the same election, Yvette Herrell lost her seat due to redistricting, which drew litigation over alleged political gerrymandering; [2] as such, Native Americans in the 118th Congress remain five, four in the House and one in the Senate. The partisan split is three Republicans and two Democrats. The states represented by Native members of Congress also dropped from four to three with Herrell's defeat in New Mexico.
Entries shaded in blue refer to current members of the U.S. Congress.
Denotes incumbent
Picture | Senator (lifespan) | Tribal ancestry | State | Party | Term start | Term end | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hiram Revels (1827–1901) [3] [4] | Lumbee | Mississippi | Republican | February 23, 1870 | March 4, 1871 | Retired | |
Charles Curtis (1860–1936) [5] | Kaw, Osage, Potawatomi | Kansas | Republican | January 29, 1907 | January 3, 1913 | Was not reelected after Democrats won control of the Kansas Legislature in 1912 | |
March 4, 1915 | March 4, 1929 | Resigned after being elected Vice President | |||||
Robert Owen (1856–1947) | Cherokee | Oklahoma | Democratic | December 11, 1907 | March 4, 1925 | Retired | |
Ben Nighthorse Campbell (born 1933) | Northern Cheyenne | Colorado | Democratic (1993–1995) | January 3, 1993 | January 3, 2005 | Retired | |
Republican (1995–2005) | |||||||
Markwayne Mullin (born 1977) | Cherokee | Oklahoma | Republican | January 3, 2023 | Incumbent |
The histograph below sets forth the number of Native Americans who served in the United States Senate during the periods provided.
Starting | Total | Graph |
---|---|---|
March 4, 1789 | 0 | |
February 23, 1870 | 1 | ❚ |
March 4, 1871 | 0 | |
January 29, 1907 | 1 | ❚ |
December 11, 1907 | 2 | ❚❚ |
January 3, 1913 | 1 | ❚ |
March 4, 1915 | 2 | ❚❚ |
March 4, 1925 | 1 | ❚ |
March 4, 1929 | 0 | |
January 3, 1993 | 1 | ❚ |
January 3, 2005 | 0 | |
January 3, 2023 | 1 | ❚ |
Denotes incumbent
Picture | Representative (lifespan) | Tribal ancestry | State | Party | Term start | Term end | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Richard H. Cain (1825–1887) [6] [7] [8] | Cherokee | South Carolina | Republican | March 4, 1873 | March 4, 1875 | Retired | |
March 4, 1877 | March 4, 1879 | ||||||
John Mercer Langston (1829–1897) [9] [10] | Pamunkey | Virginia | Republican | September 23, 1890 | March 3, 1891 | Lost Reelection | |
Charles Curtis (1860–1936) | Kaw, Osage, Potawatomi | Kansas | Republican | March 4, 1893 | January 28, 1907 | Resigned to become U.S. Senator from Kansas | |
Charles Carter (1868–1929) | Chickasaw | Oklahoma | Democratic | November 16, 1907 | March 4, 1927 | Lost renomination | |
William Hastings (1866–1938) | Cherokee | Oklahoma | Democratic | March 4, 1915 | March 4, 1921 | Lost reelection | |
March 4, 1923 | January 3, 1935 | Retired | |||||
Will Rogers Jr. (1911–1993) | Cherokee | California | Democratic | January 3, 1943 | May 23, 1944 | Resigned to join the U.S. Army | |
William Stigler (1891–1952) | Choctaw | Oklahoma | Democratic | March 28, 1944 | August 21, 1952 | Died in office | |
Ben Reifel (1906–1990) | Rosebud Lakota | South Dakota | Republican | January 3, 1961 | January 3, 1971 | Retired | |
Clem McSpadden (1925–2008) | Cherokee | Oklahoma | Democratic | January 3, 1973 | January 3, 1975 | Retired to run unsuccessfully for the nomination to the 1974 Oklahoma gubernatorial election | |
Ben Nighthorse Campbell (born 1933) | Northern Cheyenne | Colorado | Democratic | January 3, 1987 | January 3, 1993 | Retired to run successfully for the 1992 United States Senate election in Colorado | |
Brad Carson (born 1967) | Cherokee | Oklahoma | Democratic | January 3, 2001 | January 3, 2005 | Retired to run unsuccessfully for the 2004 United States Senate election in Oklahoma | |
Tom Cole (born 1949) | Chickasaw | Oklahoma | Republican | January 3, 2003 | Incumbent | Longest serving Native American in the House [11] | |
Markwayne Mullin (born 1977) | Cherokee | Oklahoma | Republican | January 3, 2013 | January 3, 2023 | Retired to run successfully for the 2022 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma | |
Sharice Davids (born 1980) | Ho-Chunk | Kansas | Democratic | January 3, 2019 | Incumbent | First LGBT Native American elected | |
Deb Haaland (born 1960) | Laguna Pueblo | New Mexico | Democratic | January 3, 2019 | March 16, 2021 | Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior | |
Yvette Herrell (born 1964) | Cherokee | New Mexico | Republican | January 3, 2021 | January 3, 2023 | Lost Reelection [12] | |
Mary Peltola (born 1973) | Yup'ik | Alaska | Democratic | September 13, 2022 | January 3, 2025 | First Alaska Native elected to Congress | |
Josh Brecheen (born 1979) | Choctaw | Oklahoma | Republican | January 3, 2023 | Incumbent |
The histograph below sets forth the number of Native Americans who served in the United States House during the periods provided.
Starting | Total | Graph |
---|---|---|
March 4, 1789 | 0 | |
March 4, 1873 | 1 | ❚ |
March 4, 1875 | 0 | |
March 4, 1877 | 1 | ❚ |
March 4, 1879 | 0 | |
September 23, 1890 | 1 | ❚ |
March 3, 1891 | 0 | |
March 4, 1893 | 1 | ❚ |
January 28, 1907 | 0 | |
November 16, 1907 | 1 | ❚ |
March 4, 1915 | 2 | ❚❚ |
March 4, 1921 | 1 | ❚ |
March 4, 1923 | 2 | ❚❚ |
March 4, 1927 | 1 | ❚ |
January 3, 1935 | 0 | |
January 3, 1943 | 1 | ❚ |
March 28, 1944 | 2 | ❚❚ |
May 23, 1944 | 1 | ❚ |
August 21, 1952 | 0 | |
January 3, 1961 | 1 | ❚ |
January 3, 1971 | 0 | |
January 3, 1973 | 1 | ❚ |
January 3, 1975 | 0 | |
January 3, 1987 | 1 | ❚ |
January 3, 1993 | 0 | |
January 3, 2001 | 1 | ❚ |
January 3, 2003 | 2 | ❚❚ |
January 3, 2005 | 1 | ❚ |
January 3, 2013 | 2 | ❚❚ |
January 3, 2019 | 4 | ❚❚❚❚ |
January 3, 2021 | 5 | ❚❚❚❚❚ |
March 16, 2021 | 4 | ❚❚❚❚ |
September 13, 2022 | 5 | ❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 3, 2023 | 4 | ❚❚❚❚ |
Delegate–elect | Congressional district | Tribe | Year Designated | Party | Congress | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kimberly Teehee (born 1968) | Cherokee delegate | Cherokee Nation | 2019 | Democratic | 116th 117th 118th | Appointed by Chuck Hoskin Jr. in August 2019 and approved unanimously by committee. Teehee was not seated during the 116th Congress or in any subsequent Congress. | ||
Victoria Holland | Cherokee delegate | United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians | 2021 | 117th 118th | Appointed by committee in 2021. Holland was not seated in the 117th Congress and has not been seated in any subsequent Congress. |
Thomas Jeffery Cole is the U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 4th congressional district, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party and serves as the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Before serving in the House of Representatives, he was the 26th Secretary of State of Oklahoma from 1995 to 1999.
Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district is one of five United States congressional districts in Oklahoma and covers approximately one-fourth of the state in the east. The district borders Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas and includes a total of 24 counties. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+29, it is the most Republican district in Oklahoma, a state with an all-Republican congressional delegation.
New Mexico is divided into three congressional districts, each represented by a member of the United States House of Representatives.
Mary Sattler Peltola is an American politician and former tribal judge serving as the U.S. representative from Alaska's at-large congressional district since September 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as a judge on the Orutsararmiut Native Council's tribal court, executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Bethel city councilor, and member of the Alaska House of Representatives.
Troy Harry Teague is an American former oilman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 2nd congressional district, from 2009 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Markwayne Mullin is an American businessman and politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Oklahoma since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in a special election in 2022 to serve the remainder of Jim Inhofe's term. Mullin is the first Native American U.S. senator since Ben Nighthorse Campbell retired in 2005. He is also the second Cherokee Nation citizen elected to the Senate; the first, Robert Latham Owen, retired in 1925. Before being elected to the Senate, Mullin served as the U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2023.
Stella Yvette Herrell is an American politician and realtor who served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 2nd congressional district from 2021 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, she served four terms as a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives for the 51st district from 2011 to 2019.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Oklahoma occurred on November 8, 2016. Voters determined five candidates to serve in the U.S. House, one from each of the state's five congressional districts. The primaries were held on June 28.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Oklahoma were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the five U.S. representatives from the state of Oklahoma, one from each of the state's five congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. Primary elections were held on June 26 and runoff elections were held two months later on August 28. The state's U.S. House delegation Republican majority changed from 5–0 to 4–1. As of 2023 this is the only time since 2010 that Democrats won any house race in Oklahoma.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the three U.S. representatives from the state of New Mexico, one from each of the state's three congressional districts. The elections coincided with the gubernatorial election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 8, 2022, as part of the 2022 United States elections during incumbent president Joe Biden's term. Representatives were elected from all 435 U.S. congressional districts across each of the 50 states to serve in the 118th United States Congress, as well as 5 non-voting members of the U.S. House of Representatives from the District of Columbia and four of the five inhabited insular areas. Numerous other federal, state, and local elections, including the 2022 U.S. Senate elections and the 2022 U.S. gubernatorial elections, were also held simultaneously. This was the first election after the 2020 redistricting cycle.
Debra Anne Haaland is an American politician serving as the 54th United States secretary of the interior. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the US Representative for New Mexico's 1st congressional district from 2019 to 2021 and as chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party from 2015 to 2017. Haaland, a Native American, is an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe.
Xochitl Liana Torres Small is an American attorney and politician who is the 15th and current United States deputy secretary of agriculture, acting as "chief operating officer" for the department. She was nominated by President Joe Biden in February 2023, and was confirmed by the senate on July 11.
The 2018 New Mexico House of Representatives election took place as part of the biennial United States elections. New Mexico voters elected state representatives in all 70 of the state house's districts. State representatives serve two-year terms in the New Mexico House of Representatives.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the three U.S. representatives from the state of New Mexico, one from each of the state's three congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Oklahoma were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the five U.S. representatives from the state of Oklahoma, one from each of the state's five congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the three U.S. representatives from the state of New Mexico, one from each of the state's three congressional districts. The elections coincided with the New Mexico gubernatorial election and various state and local elections. The Democratic party gained the 2nd Congressional seat, gaining unitary control of New Mexico's Congressional delegation for the first time since 2018 and improving the advantage in the House delegation for New Mexico from 2–1 in favor of Democrats to 3–0.
A special election was held on June 1, 2021, to fill the vacancy in New Mexico's 1st congressional district created by Representative Deb Haaland's resignation from the United States House of Representatives to become the Secretary of the Interior in Joe Biden's administration.
The 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico were held on November 5, 2024, to elect the three U.S. representatives from the State of New Mexico, one from all three of the state's congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2024 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections. The primary elections occurred on June 4, 2024.
Native American women have played significant roles in politics, both within their tribal nations and in broader American political life. Their involvement spans from traditional governance systems to participation in local, state, and national levels of government in the United States. These contributions have been shaped by historical, cultural, and legal factors, particularly the intersection of Native sovereignty and U.S. political structures.