Kolby KickingWoman
ICT
WASHINGTON — Some of the most powerful and influential women in Indian Country gathered Wednesday for the 27th Annual National Indian Women “Supporting Each Other” Honor Lunch during the National Congress of American Indians Executive Council Winter Session.
Over the course of a little over 90 minutes, love and laughter was shared in what has become an event that many look forward to.
It began in 1994 when the first female president of NCAI, Veronica Homer, Colorado River Indian Tribes, brought together a small group of Native women in Washington, D.C. to discuss the “need to promote, honor and recognize the accomplishments of Native Women Leaders during the NCAI Conferences and related activities.”
Over the years, a number of women have been honored including Sharice Davids, Ho-Chunk; Denise Juneau, Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Tribes, and a descendant of the Blackfeet Tribe and the Tlingit and Haida Tribesand Nedra Darling, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and Cherokee, to name a few.
This year, Marilynn Malerba, Mohegan Tribe, and Shannon Holsey, Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, were the honorees.
Before the two were given their awards and honor blankets, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, White Earth Band of Ojibwe, gave the keynote address.
Flanagan spoke of the women, “the aunties,” who brought her into this circle. She shared her love and appreciation for them and thanked them for the support they have shown her over the years.
Those women include Julie Johnson, Cecilia Fire Thunder, Rachel Joseph and others.
“There are people in this room, that you all had a vision for us to be connected, to be that support for one another,” Flanagan said.
She went on to say that her generation of women are ready to take the torch and continue to blaze the trail for those that will come after them.
Aside from being lieutenant governor, Flanagan said one of her most important roles is being one of the co-founders of Advance Native Political Leadership.
“This is work that was very much inspired by all of the aunties in this room,” she said. “It is creating a more formal network and support to this work that has been happening since time immemorial.”
She noted 118 Native candidates that ran for office in 2022, the most ever, and 78 won their races. Additionally, women won at a higher rate than men, “which should come as a surprise to no one in this room,” Flanagan said.
In both of their respective speeches, Malerba and Holsey spoke of the support systems they’ve had in their lives and how they wouldn’t be where they are today without them.
“The only reason that I’m standing before you today is because I’ve been blessed by tribal leaders, family and professional mentors who have nurtured me, supported me and most importantly, believed in me every step of the way,” Malerba said.
She is chief of the Mohegan Tribe and last year became the first Native and first Native woman to serve as U.S. Treasurer. Malerba started her career in nursing and it is there she said she found her voice.
One of her favorite quotes is from Mark Twain that says, “To succeed in life you need two things, confidence and ignorance.” Both of which Malerba believes she has.
An enduring symbol in Mohegan culture is the trail of life, a linear curvy line from east to west that represents the ups and downs of life, with dots along it representing the people one meets.
“I am forever grateful for the people who have shared my journey with me,” Malerba said. “Women create life and in doing so ensure the world will go on. We must honor the legacy that we have been given by creating a world that we can be proud of.”
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‘Nothing can stop us’
Both Malerba and Holsey said they were humbled to be honored at the lunch among the heroes and sheroes they’ve looked up to and been inspired by.
Halsey shouted out all Native women and what they continue to accomplish. Specifically, she cited how powerful it was to watch Malerba be sworn in as treasurer and Fawn Sharp at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Native women are cycle breakers and deserve to be celebrated for their tenacity, she said.
“Native women are amazing people and they belong in all spaces and they can do anything that they choose to be,” Halsey said. “While personal circumstances can be wide ranging, one thing is for sure that women are resilient and they’re courageous.”
The biggest successes in her life have come on the heels of failure and Holsey’s father always told her, “if you’re not hitting a few guard rails, you aren’t going fast enough,” which got a laugh from the crowd.
“The world said ‘be invisible, but she heard invincible.’ The question isn’t who’s going to let us, the question is who’s going to stop us?” Halsey said. “Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, hurt, talent, guts; that’s what little girls are made of. The heck with sugar and spice, that’s something you cook with.”
She encouraged all the women to continue to show up, be courageous, keep paving the way forward and claim their power.
“It’s like frybread and women, if you don’t let them rise, it’s not going to turn out well.”
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