Irene Folstrom, a staffer at the National Congress of American Indians, is running for State Legislature in Minnesota.

Folstrom is a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. If she is elected, she said she will be the first Native American in the Legislature in about a decade.

As part of her campaign, Folstrom has received support from the Indigenous Democratic Network. INDN's List was started by Kalyn Free, a Choctaw Nation member who ran for U.S. Congress in 2004 but lost. She has raised about $200,000 to help Indian Democrat candidates.

Get the Story:
Woman hopes to buff up Indian political clout (Gannett News Service 11/28)

Relevant Links:
Indigenous Democratic Network - http://www.indnslist.org

Related Stories:
INDN's List draws top Democrats to camp (10/19)
Howard Dean, Al Franken at INDN's List boot camp (10/12)
Editorial: Indian candidate starts outreach (06/08)
Kalyn Free: DNC treats tribes like 'ATM machine' (02/14)
Group seeks to put more Indians in public office (2/10)
Choctaw Nation denies endorsement of non-Indian (01/19)
Choctaw chief won't back tribal member for Congress (1/16)
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