Environmental activist and former vice presidential candidate Winona LaDuke, left, with Tawna Sanchez, a Democratic candidate for the Oregon Legislature. Sanchez is a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. Photo from Tawna Sanchez for Oregon HD-43 / Facebook
#NativeVote16 – A win in Oregon; ‘We did it’
By Mark Trahant
Trahant Reports
TrahantReports.Com On Thursday night Tawna Sanchez posted on Facebook: “We did it, we won!” She won the primary election (and most likely the general) to represent Northeast Portland in the Legislature. There are 90 members of the Oregon Legislature; 60 in the House and 30 in the Senate. (So if you are counting: That means Sanchez’ one seat equals 1.1111 percent or roughly equal to the Native American population in the state.) “Over the past two decades, the Oregon Legislature has one to look less and less like the people it represents,” wrote Ian Kullgren in The Oregonian. ” State lawmakers are “overwhelmingly white — 19 percentage points whiter than the state overall.” Exactly why this seat is so important, not just to Indian Country, but to Oregon and its future. (Previous: A record year for Native candidates?) To me it’s cool that Sanchez will represent Portland neighborhoods in the Legislature. This has long been an important urban Indian city in the Northwest. (I have fond memories of visiting the late George P. Lavatta would tell me all about why Portlandwas so important to Indian Country.) Sanchez will be at least the second Native American to serve in the Legislature. Sanchez is Shoshone-Bannock, Ute, and Carrizo descent. The first Natie American woman in the Oregon Legislature was Jacqueline Taylor who represented Clatsop County during the 1990s. Taylor was a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Mark Trahant is an independent journalist and a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. To read more of his regular #NativeVote16 updates, follow trahantreports.com On Facebook: TrahantReports On Twitter: @TrahantReports.
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