Back in August, Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota Peggy Flanagan attended the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago to show her support for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. “We have 76 days to work really hard to make sure that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are elected,” said Flanagan at the time. “I have had just the absolute honor of working shoulder to shoulder with Governor Walz for the last six years; Kamala Harris came out and said that she’s committed to protecting treaty rights and tribal sovereignty, and wants to make sure that every native child has an opportunity.”
Flanagan’s speech was impactful, and many watching couldn’t help but take note of her striking fashion choices that night. Wearing a black and white Jamie Okuma Parfleche blazer and skirt, and a pair of Copper Canoe Woman statement earrings, Flanagan spotlighted contemporary Indigenous designers on the national stage (Flanagan is a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe). “I really want those earrings,” one viewer noted, while another simply exclaimed, “She is fabulous!”
In the months that have followed, as the presidential election race has continued to accelerate, Flanagan has continued this intentional approach to dressing for the campaign trail. Whether speaking at rallies or canvassing for citizens to get out and vote, Flanagan has been using what she wears for a much deeper purpose—to draw attention to some of the nation’s finest Indigenous designers, and on a larger level, to draw awareness to the Indigenous community as a whole. (In certain swing states, such as Arizona, the Indigenous vote is crucial.)
It’s no secret that what politicians wear in the public domain is always strategic. Whereas Kamala Harris and Dr. Jill Biden have both embraced patriotic style—keeping to classic shades of red, white, and blue to demonstrate their love for their country—Flanagan has chosen colorful garments, including traditional ribbon skirts, as well as statement earrings (her signature piece) made of dentalium shells, beads, or turquoise; She has taken a distinctive approach that champions the unique beauty and craftwork found within her own Native community. The celebratory and upbeat feel of her ensembles is also fitting given that, if Walz is elected as vice president this week, Flanagan will assume her new role as the Governor of Minnesota—thus making history as the first Indigenous woman to become Governor in the country. What she has worn thus has has nodded to this potentially historic moment.
Flanagan isn’t the only politician to take such a thoughtful approach to fashion, either. Throughout their times in office, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Kansas Representative Sharice Davids have done so as well. For Haaland’s swearing-in ceremony back in 2021, she donned a vibrant traditional ribbon dress from Reecreations, moccasins, and dragonfly earrings made by the Laguna Pueblo metalsmith Pat Pruitt. For Flanagan, however, her joyful approach to style reflects how she is feeling in this very moment. “As the first Native American and woman of color elected statewide in Minnesota,” she wrote on Instagram, “I am overwhelmed with gratitude and hope.”
