In this interview, Errin sits down with Kim Teehee, a lawyer and politician who is looking to become the first Cherokee delegate in Congress. The two discuss the promises and pitfalls of governmental representation, the fight to preserve the Cherokee language and Kim’s role model Wilma Mankiller.
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On today’s episode
Our host
Errin Haines is The 19th’s editor-at-large and writer of The Amendment newsletter. An award-winning journalist with nearly two decades of experience, Errin was previously a national writer on race for the Associated Press. She’s also worked at the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post.
Follow Errin on Instagram @emarvelous and X @errinhaines.
Today’s guest
Kim Teehee is director of government relations for Cherokee Nation and senior vice president of government relations for Cherokee Nation Businesses. In 2019, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. named Teehee as the tribe’s first delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. She previously served President Barack Obama as the first-ever senior policy advisor for Native American Affairs in the White House Domestic Policy Council for three years.
Teehee also served as senior advisor to the U.S. House of Representatives Native American Caucus co-chair, Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI) for nearly 12 years. As senior advisor, she established an impressive record of accomplishments on a wide array of Native American issues. Teehee received her B.A. in Political Science from NSU and her J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law.
Follow Kim Teehee on X @DelegateTeehee.
Episode transcript
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Kim Teehee:
Every community of color looks to have representation on the bench in the agency in different appointments. And even though, you know, the Native American population is so small in this country, the fact is we don’t have enough representation. We’ve made great strides and every rung on that ladder we’ll just, we can build on it. And so I think our time is coming to be even more spread across the federal family and have more representation.
Errin Haines:
Hey, y’all, welcome to The Amendment, a weekly conversation about gender, politics, and power from The 19th News and Wonder Media Network. I’m your host, Errin Haines. Representation matters. We believe that a truly representative government is crucial to keeping our democracy healthy. It’s literally why The 19th exists as a newsroom, where we also know that equal representation isn’t always a given in the U.S.. This country was built on stolen land. Native Americans were then forced to assimilate into a government that wreaked violence on their people and broke promise after promise. And today, Indigenous people are still suffering from this history of oppression. But amidst this difficult and destructive history, there are glimmers of hope for the future. Some people are working within the political and legal systems to repair historical wrongs, and one of those people is Kim Teehee, who could become the first delegate for the Cherokee Nation in Congress. Today we’re talking to her about what it would mean to take on this title and to represent the people our country has long tried to silence. Welcome Kim.
Teehee:
Thank you for having me, Errin.
Haines:
Well, I’m so glad that you were able to join The Amendment and for us to have this conversation. I just wanna start by situating us in the history. So you are seeking to be a delegate in Congress, in part because the Cherokee people were promised a non-voting delegate seat in the U.S. House almost 200 years ago. Yes, I said 200 – through the 1835 Treaty of New Echota. So what should people know about that treaty and what does that treaty mean to you.
Teehee:
Errin, what’s important to know about the 1835 treaty is that that treaty is actually our removal treaty. The United States took the first steps of implementation of that treaty when they forcibly removed our people. After that treaty ceded 7 million acres of land to the United States, that treaty was actually negotiated by a small faction within the Cherokee Nation, and it was done so illegally. But the United States Senate ratified that treaty. The president of the United States at the time, Andrew Jackson, signed that treaty and it is still considered the law today. And as a result, those people who signed were executed. But that treaty is still considered the law today. It’s still a valid treaty. And that particular provision section, I think article eight is what is gives the Cherokee Nation the right to have a delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Haines:
That’s so interesting. Of course, part of that treaty was enforced, the part that that took the Cherokee Nation literally off their land. But the part where it said, “shall have a non-voting delegate” 200 years later that still has not been realized. What does it mean to you that this promise has yet to be fulfilled?
Teehee:
Well, Errin, I think it’s also important that in the 19th century, it wasn’t just removal and our people were forcibly removed. You know, after removal, Congress continued to enact law after law after law, really dismantling and undermining our ability to really govern effectively ourselves and sinking us deeper into poverty. And it wasn’t until, frankly, the 1970s in my lifetime, that Congress started having yet another role in reversing those policies deploying federal resources that were so badly needed to Tribal communities so that we could tend to the needs of our citizens. And even electing our Chief, that right was taken away through acts of Congress and restored by Congress in the 70s. And so what it means to me personally is that one, is what a message it would send to this country if the United States, the House of Representatives keeps the word of that treaty right.
Teehee:
I think what it also says, given that we lost a quarter of our population of mostly elders and children on that forced march, it would give some small measure of justice to those who lost their lives on that forced march. But importantly too, representation matters. You know, Indian Country as a general proposition have too few champions in Congress. The ones we have, we hold on so dear, but it’s too few. And as you know, there’s so many issues that crosscut so many different committees and such that there is room at the table for another voice.
Haines:
Yeah, I think that that’s such a great point that you’re making. I mean, talk about yes you are here as a member of the Cherokee Nation but who would you seek to represent as a delegate in Congress?
Teehee:
Well, importantly, the treaty is between the United States and Cherokee Nation. So in our own Tribal constitution requires that the principal chief appoint the delegate, and that the Tribal council, our legislative body, confirms that delegate. I’m blessed to have been confirmed twice unanimously by our Tribal council. And so I would represent Cherokee Nation, the government. I would represent the governmental interest of the nation,you know, because the elected leaders of the nation appointed me to do that. And so in that regard, I would be a little bit different than the delegates of U.S. territories because I’m representing the governmental interest. But at the same time we have citizens over 460,000 Tribal citizens across the country and abroad. And so the members of Congress would still represent their constituents and the Tribal citizens within their congressional districts. I would represent the governmental interest of the nation. In a lot of ways this position is akin to maybe like a U.S. ambassador. An ambassador that’s appointed by the executive branch, the legislative body, having to confirm that position and that position then representing the interests of the government before another nation. In our case, in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Haines:
Yeah, it just makes me wonder, I think back, even to when there would be a first African American member of Congress or first woman, you know, elected to Congress, that there were so many people – even though that elected official had a certain constituency – so many other people who were looking to that representative to also keep them in mind and stand up for their interest. And I just wonder if that’s something that you’re kind of thinking about as it looks like this role is something that you’re about to step into.
Teehee:
Absolutely. You know, I feel Cherokee Nation is blessed that we have this position, this delegate position, you know the floodgates won’t open here. There are only two other treaties that pertain to other Tribes that exist in this country that have similar provisions. But our language is the most clear. That shall word means that it was written as a mandate, not a discretionary right. So of course, I know that sitting at the table when we have so few champions, means that I would be a voice for other Tribes across the country. And those Tribes have signaled their support through the organizations that they’re members of. So we have worked over during this whole time of the Covid Pandemic garnering bipartisan support, gaining support from most of the major Indian Tribal organizations across the country through the resolutions and other constituents, uh, and citizen people, not even, it’s not all just Cherokees who are asking for this Congress to seat the delegate.
Teehee:
It’s also people who are non-Indian who feel this sense of commitment that the United States made to my Tribe and this desire to honor this treaty and to have the delegate seated. But I certainly am mindful of the fact that, you know, I, while representing the Cherokee Nation, would also be a voice for so many Tribes across the country, you know, and look, I’ve spent nearly a dozen years working for the U.S. House of Representatives as a committee staffer. I spent nearly four years in the Obama White House. And in both of those positions, I was the first, you know I’ve had some experience being the first and knowing that I have to pave the way for others to follow, and setting a standard and, and being very outputs driven. So I am, I feel in a lot of ways, this position, how historic it is for Cherokee Nation, but I also feel like I am perfectly suited to do this job because I’ve had the experiences that I’ve had to try to get these things across the finish line.
Haines:
You talked about your previous governmental positions working at the DNC pivoting to Congress in 1998. Then you become the senior advisor and sole staffer for the first Native American caucus in the House. How would this role be different from the other jobs that you’ve had in the government representing the interest of Indigenous communities?
Teehee:
Well, certainly having been a staffer for a number of years, I absolutely have such respect, great respect for the staff who do all the behind the scenes work for their members of Congress. You know, what this position means is that I would be able to work outside of that staffing role. Right? Right now, I’m on the outside externally as Cherokee Nation. I’m not even a congressional staffer, which is effective in its own right. Because of all the staff work that goes on to get bills enacted into law. But what it would provide is that member level engagement. We know that members meet on a day-to-day basis. We know that they get deals done on the floor of the house. We know that they have leadership meetings, member-only leadership meetings. We know that there is so much that has to happen at the member level that presently we don’t have access to. I think adding one more slot who can serve that role and engage on a member-to-member level who’s had the experiences that I’ve had as a Hill staffer, as somebody who’s worked for a Tribal nation too and who is very process driven, I think would be great benefit to my nation. And to Tribes as a whole.
Haines:
Well, you mentioned being a first in those previous roles before. What is the road to becoming the first Cherokee Congressional delegate, particularly as a woman delegate? What does that look like and what are some of the major obstacles that you are facing?
Teehee:
Well, I can tell you Cherokee Nation culturally is a matrilineal society. We have clans and our clans are determined by the women. And I am Wolf Clan, for example. And that clan historically has been helped leadership positions within our Tribe. And so I’d like to say that deeply rooted in me is a bossy woman. It’s something that, that we’re used to. But I also have been mentored by the late Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller.
Teehee:
And so I feel like I’ve had good role modeling. I think the journey to getting the delegate seated is one in which we continue to educate members of Congress about the delegate, about this valid treaty right. And one in which we continue to advocate that all is required is the U.S. House of Representatives to engage in a straight up and down vote. Yes or no. That’s all it takes. It doesn’t take an act of Congress. The Senate is not required to act because they did so, albeit nearly 200 years ago. But it still created the supreme law of the land especially after the President signed that treaty. So only the House needs to vote. So that’s what it looks like. And so what we have tried to do is to continue to educate Congress about the delegate, the historical aspects of the U.S. policy between the United States and Cherokee Nation and Indian Tribes. And then try to correct this path of actions that, you know, undermined us so much long ago and try to put us on a good path.
Teehee:
And resetting the U.S. relationship with Indian Tribes. Look, I, even when I worked as a Hill staffer so many years ago, I think we’ve had the most diverse Congress, the most women serve in Congress. and the most Native Americans in my lifetime to have served in Congress at any single time. You know, for the very first time, there are other firsts, not just me in the Obama years, but we have a Native American Cabinet Secretary, Secretary Deb Haaland. So we have four native women federal judges, and that’s awesome. And I think when we take all of these pieces, if you look at Indian policy and law as a puzzle, each of these pieces matters because. And if we look at it as a ladder, every rung from the time that I served in Congress to the White House, it set some standard for another president to try to go farther.
Haines:
Well, I can definitely hear the Wolf Clan energy that you are bringing to that effort and what you would bring to this role. And it makes me really want to talk to you about your background some more, your mission to become a delegate in Congress. How was that informed by your personal story?
Teehee:
Well, I was not on a mission to become the delegate to Congress. I actually had an opportunity to come home after nearly 20 years in Washington, D.C. to oversee a government relations team for both our businesses and our Tribal government. And when the current Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., came to me with his first 100 day agenda on what he wanted to accomplish and how he saw government relations playing a role in his goals. One of the things he said was, “I wanna appoint a delegate to Congress” and I’m just taking notes, thinking okay. And I’m already kind of thinking through what that could mean process-wise. And then he told me, “I wanna nominate you to be the delegate to Congress.” And I just sat in silence for a moment and I was so grateful. And it made me realize too, Errin, many years ago when I was Wilma Mankiller’s intern and I thought I would go in a different direction than law and policy.
Teehee:
I was actually thinking, you know, medicine. And it wasn’t until I interned for Wilma when I found my passion for serving our citizens in such a way that really was meaningful to them. And one of the things that Wilma encouraged me to do was to go to law school, because she said, states are starting to assert more rights on transactions that take place on Indian lands that are leading to lawsuits. It’s creating more complicated law in the federal courts and more complicated case law. And it would really benefit me to go to law school if I wanted to do Indian affairs. And that’s what I did. And what she said back then in the early 90s is just as true today. And what she also said is, I should take some time to go to Washington D.C. to know what it’s like to work for Congress, to know what it’s like to get something through the finish line and to work in the administration too. So you have an appreciation for how policy is formed, how to implement, execute, and develop policy, and then bring all those skill sets home.
Haines:
I mean, just listening to that journey which is incredible and Wilma Mankiller’s influence on your life. I mean, maybe you didn’t end up going into medicine but look at you, you’re in this role now where you do have the opportunity to be a healer in a different way, in a way that you, you never saw coming, between your Tribe and, and this country. That is really remarkable to think about.
Teehee:
Absolutely, it is. I feel like because I’ve been a first staffer in so many different roles, my job has always been to educate as a result of educating. And that leads to action. Those things are healing. It tells the community that they matter, that there are resources available for them that are flowing through us as a Tribal nation that can assist them. And we are doing that at such a high level. Part of the policies at this country was to place Tribes in very remote rural settings, and oftentimes in places where the rest of the country have forgotten. And our mission is to make sure that those communities are not forgotten, because sometimes those communities still include clusters of Cherokee-speaking, first language speakers. I’m the daughter of two parents who I’m still blessed to have with me. They are 80 this year who are first language Cherokee speakers. And that’s rare in our country. And that’s rare for Cherokee Nation.
Haines:
Yes. And just the idea of policy for the purposes of healing and repair, it’s such an approach that you don’t hear nearly enough and a way that we can think about policy in this country and what that means. You mentioned your parents as first language Cherokee speakers. I wanna talk about that because we had a recent article at The 19th that noted that even though there are about 400,000 Cherokee people living in the US, only 2000 can speak Cherokee fluently. So that is so rare for your parents. Most of those speakers over the age of 40. I know that reviving the Cherokee language is a big focus of your campaign. So how would you seek to preserve and spread the Cherokee language as the nation’s congressional delegate?
Teehee:
Well, I think we would continue to amplify what we are doing at Cherokee Nation. You know, we’ve had so much praise internationally and among Tribes here in the United States for all the innovative ways that we are going about preserving our language and teaching a whole generation of Cherokee second language speakers. Unfortunately, during Covid we lost, a lot of elders who speak Cherokee as a first language. And so that just really deepened our desire and hastened our desire to do more, to get more resources out there, and to be very proactive when it comes to our language. We have an immersion school in Tahlequah,Oklahoma, which is our headquarters. We have another school in the community. We’re gonna develop more communities. We have tiny homes next to our main immersion school. The idea being that those homes would be occupied by Cherokee first language speakers so that they can better refine students language skills when it comes to the Cherokee language.
Teehee:
We were able to get an act of Congress passed as well, called the Durban Feeling Native Languages Act. Durban Feeling was the modern-day Sequoya, who was the inventor of our alphabet, our syllabary, and we really revere him. And so the fact that we have a Tribal law and now a federal law. And so what that federal law does is it authorizes a study and eventually will lead to more funding. So I think that Cherokee Nation is really taking this effort so that we don’t lose the language, and that we continue to preserve it and protect it. But Tribes all across the country are fighting to keep their language intact. I mean, that’s the thing, that’s one of the anchors of who we are culturally, right? We have our ceremonies, we have our practices, we have our ways.
Teehee:
I told you I was from a matrilineal society, but language is the thing that also uniquely separates us from other Tribal nations in this country.
Haines:
I’m wondering if there’s a phrase or a saying that your parents taught you or one that you just have yourself, that you could say in Cherokee, that really just kind of embodies maybe how you live or just who you are.
Teehee:
You know, one is the term gadugi, which is the working together and on behalf of the entire community, that sort of encapsulates everyone. You know, one thing also is we get our Cherokee names from our mother’s side of the family. And my grandmother named me my name. A Cherokee name is Ka-hee. And so, you know, how we introduce ourselves, you know, I would say osiyo da-qhah-do-v hi-a Ka-hee Teehee, which is, “hello, I am Kimberly Tehee.” I would use that as my Cherokee name. Interestingly, because we have such a strong connection to our community and culture, we don’t really say goodbye to people. You know, we say, “until we see you again.” So as you and I depart today, I would end with telling you donadagohvi that just simply means until we see each other again.
Teehee:
One of the other things I think is critical to this discussion about language is why we lost the language in the first place. You know, there were federal policies that were put in place in the 19th century that whose job it was was to assimilate Indians into mainstream society. This notion of kill the Indian, save the man. Indian boarding schools that were funded by the Department of the Interior and elsewhere were designed to really take native languages out of those people. You know, my parents also attended Indian boarding school, and they were discouraged from speaking the Cherokee language. Of course, my mom says, you know, at the time that she’s living through that, you don’t think about it because she went to boarding school having come from an impoverished, broken home. So she was more focused on the fact that she had a clean bed, she had meals every day, she had clothes.
Teehee:
But she also was surrounded by people who were from different Tribes, and so they all could speak English, and that’s how they communicated. But that also left the generation, my generation, without the ability to be conversant in Cherokee. My dad used to say that it’s a White man society and I don’t want my kids to struggle the way he did. And the United States, you know, absolutely should deploy more resources to Tribes, to help them rebuild their language and protect ’em and preserve them.
Haines:
Well, you certainly make the case for why this is a language worth preserving. Why, uh, it is so important, uh, to reclaiming the Cherokee Nation’s legacy culture. And again, just to continue to go towards the healing that we have been discussing in this conversation, I also wanna ask you about another policy that I know you care about and that is about the missing and murdered Indigenous women. Because more than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime. More than half have experienced sexual violence. In fact, murder is the third leading cause of death for Native American women. What is the government not understanding or getting wrong about this issue and how could you address that issue as a congressional delegate?
Teehee:
Well, we’re still dealing with what the U.S. government did wrong. You know, there were great gaps in how to address violence on Indian reservations. And so I speak about ladders and the rungs and the ladders. You know, when I was in the Obama White House, I recall that then candidate Obama had created a candidate’s platform on Native Americans. One of the things that he said was he wanted to address the jurisdictional gap that exists in Indian country. What he was referring to is the inability of Tribes to prosecute non-Indians for crimes against Indians on Indian reservations. That restriction was a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision. And so, as Tribes try to develop their economies, they rely heavily on gaming, casinos, other industries, hospitality, hotels, in order to bring more revenue to tender the needs of their people.
Teehee:
But what that also does is it invites non-Natives onto the reservation. And when you don’t have the jurisdictional tools to address crimes that occur, then that’s a gap. And so, a way that we address that gap was in the Violence Against Women Act in 2013. That gives Tribes limited abilities to prosecute a perpetrator of a crime, domestic violence crime against an Indian woman on an Indian reservation. And we were able to help Congress with the enactment in 2022 to expand those authorities. And this has bearing on murdered and missing indigenous people as well, because the Tribes need to have those tools to prosecute and to investigate these crimes. At the same time, the federal government does as well. You know, even though we’ve done a lot to improve Tribal justice systems through the Tribal Law and Order Act, which also helped improve public safety is administered on Tribal lands and giving Tribes additional tools, and then the Violence Against Women Act, and then the Not Invisible Act, there was a Savannah Act law.
Teehee:
There were a lot of laws put in place now to help Tribes prosecute, to help Tribes and the federal government get more resources to work together. We worked in the state of Oklahoma with other Tribes to get a law passed called Ida’s Law. The idea was to put a special Tribal liaison in the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, whose focus would be on murdered and missing Indigenous peoples cases. And so, working with that investigator on these cases, I mean, the caseloads are massive part of this effort, combined effort of all these laws that I just mentioned link also to federal appropriations, because you can have the authorization, but you need the funding to back up those resources. And there has to be great collaboration that must exist between the federal government and the Tribes, and the data collection and in the investigation. So certainly we’re dealing with this crisis, and the numbers are still high, but we’re slowly getting there step by step. And I think we’ll get there. But there has to be an amazing focus put on these statistics because until the numbers go down, then our efforts are not enough.
Haines:
So, once again, a situation where you have authorization but need that commitment to really follow through. To make change. Listening to you, I certainly hear a lot about how you have been able to be effective on the inside, how you see the roles that you’ve had as being able to try to make change on behalf of Cherokee Nation. But I guess I am also kind of struck by what feels like an inherent contradiction. Seeking representation in this governing body that has historically really denied the existence of your people. And so, I wanna talk about that a little bit, because I mean, we talked, you just mentioned, the U.S. federal government is complicit in the violence that Native Americans have experienced for centuries. And so I’m just wondering, how do you reconcile that knowledge with your campaign to become a congressional delegate?
Teehee:
Well, I think the first thing that we have to do is to educate. We have to educate decision makers, lawmakers about the past, about Congress’s role in the past. I mean, these are laws that were enacted to undermine my Tribe and other governments. These are laws, federal laws, that created this boarding school system. I was born in Chicago, Illinois because of a federally funded relocation program designed to take Indians out of their rural communities, put you in mainstream society in hopes of acculturating you. That was a federal policy, that still notion of, kill the Indian, save the man. So the idea is to continue to educate. And certainly having the delegate seated in the House of Representatives, I believe would help for those policies never to be acted again. We’ve gotta remember that history and never forget it. We’ve gotta acknowledge the United States role in creating sad chapters in how this country treated Native Americans. In the millions of acres of lands lost as a result of, of greed. And the fact that it left Tribes in such dire straits and so many Tribes are still struggling.
Haines:
Yeah, what I’m hearing you saying is for this role to be made real, it really is a role about accountability, and a role that does not let our country off the hook for the promises that were made to Cherokee Nation. I wanna ask you what you think the benefits are of working for justice and representation through this government that did historically deny you those very protections or rights? I’m just thinking even about trust and how that relationship is repaired. How it can be, if it can be reimagined.
Teehee:
I think it can be reimagined. You know, I look at Secretary Deb Haaland at the Department of the Interior. That is the most impactful example of this discussion, of this question that you just asked. Why? Because so often it was the Secretary of the Interior that was tasked with implementing, developing and executing these policies that did such harmful things to the Tribes, including the political termination of Tribes. And now she’s overseeing the federal agency that once had to do that. So what she’s done is she’s put focus on language. She’s put focus on treaties, on boarding schools, on Tribes having more capability of managing their resources with the federal government, creating pathways to correct these previous wrongs, to acknowledge that there are things that have to be put in place to correct these wrongs and to ensure that as long as she’s in office, that those things don’t happen again.
Teehee:
And I see that as a great example of the work I’ve done in the past, of the work that she’s doing presently, and the work of the champions that we have in Congress. Number one, never forget. Number two, we have to educate about the past in order for the history to stop repeating itself. Number three is put real resources behind those efforts to ensuring that those things don’t happen again. And so I see that as my role is acknowledging the relationship and being in a position of influence on the U.S. government side of things to make sure that we develop and implement the kind of policies and laws that will continue to assist Tribes instead of hurting them.
Haines:
And what you’re saying, the context that you’re providing around Interior Secretary Haaland’s role, both from a historic standpoint and, and also a representation standpoint that just feels very important to mark here. I’m just wondering, do you feel like, just going forward for the purposes of continued healing and repair, particularly as it relates to policy, is that Interior Secretary role a role that you think should be held by Native folks going forward?
Teehee:
This is a great first step to having a Native American be in a President’s cabinet. We’ve never had that before. And I do think that it’s important that whoever holds that position, because within the Department of the Interior is the Bureau of Indian Affairs, there has to be some understanding that that particular federal agency uniquely handles people, Native Americans, and otherwise it’s a lot of resources in U.S. territories. They handle insular affairs as well. But I look forward to the day, Errin, when we have a Native American U.S. Attorney General, when we have a Native American who is the U.S.DA Secretary, the Transportation Secretary, that we’re not just putting Native Americans in positions that serve Native Americans. Yes, we need that too, but we also need to be represented in other positions that are historically not just focused on Native Americans. That’s why I hope also that in my lifetime, you know, we will see the first ever Native American nominated and confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court
Haines:
Absolutely qualified and bringing their, that particular lens to policy, to our governing, to our democracy. What would that look like? It would really be something to see.
Teehee:
Absolutely every community of color looks to have representation on the bench in the agency in different appointments. And even though, you know, the Native American population is so small in this country, the fact is we don’t have enough representation. We’ve made great strides and every rung on that ladder we’ll just, we can build on it. And so I think our time is coming to be even more spread across the federal family and have more representation.
Haines:
Well, I hear you starting to make the case, but I’ll just ask you directly, what do other activists politicians miss when they sidestep or circumvent the system?
Teehee:
You know, one of the things that I was taught by my mentor, Chief Mankiller, was to at every step that I take on that ladder, that I’m bringing others with me, that I’m creating a smoother path for those young people. So mentoring. As we rise in our positions in this country, we need to be, I feel we need to feel a sense of responsibility and commitment to mentoring others so that, we’ll, we’re building a new generation of people who, uh, can, you know, continue, uh, what we’ve done. And so I certainly feel that’s the case now. I think, you know, making sure that, you know, those who are role models today, like Secretary Haaland, like Congressman Tom Cole, who’s a Chickasaw citizen, Chairman of the House Rules Committee that has jurisdiction over the delegate issue, who supports this issue. But making sure that we continue to elevate those people who are in those positions and that we continue to show other young people and future generations what’s possible. My hope is that we don’t have a small table to sit at, that our table gets bigger and a lot more chairs around it with people who care about our issues.
Haines:
Well, Kim Tehee, thank you so much for talking to me about your plans to really bring the spirit of gadugi to Congress. And until I see you again, thank you so much.
Teehee:
Thank you so much, Errin. Donadagohvi.
Haines:
And now for this week’s asterisk. So the post-Dobbs reality is continuing to unfold. Two years after the landmark Supreme Court decision that ended federal protections for abortion, the latest developments have come out of Arizona and Florida, where state courts are weighing in on pregnant people’s access to reproductive care. Now, we know this is an issue that is gonna have political consequences in November because it’s an election year priority for millions of Americans. But here’s what I want to talk about, how we’re talking about this issue. So in the wake of the Arizona decision, president Biden’s campaign launched a powerful ad featuring Amanda Zurawski. This is a Texas woman who sued the state after almost dying from a miscarriage. Many of the stories since the June 2022 decision have focused on some of the most dire consequences of a lack of access to care, and have also featured the harrowing stories of mostly White women, making them the face of our national landscape without Roe.
Haines:
So today is the last day of Black Maternal Health Week, started in 2018 to raise awareness and push for action to improve the health of Black mothers. I wanna take this opportunity to argue that women of color, and particularly Black women, are actually the face of this health care and economic crisis, and we should be centering their stories more. Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy related causes than White women. They’re also more likely to get an abortion. Black women are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than White women. And most Black women live in the South, in states where restrictive abortion bans have made it nearly impossible to conveniently access care for the pregnant people living there. Look, abortion is on the ballot this year, but that means something different for Black women who have long been in the fight for reproductive justice and bodily autonomy. Telling more of their stories and reflecting their reality is how I think we can and should leave a more honest and accurate record of this moment.
The Amendment is a co-production of The 19th News and Wonder Media Network. It is executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, Terry Rupar, and Faith Smith. Our head of development is Emily Rudder. Julia B. Chan is the 19th editor in chief. The amendment is edited by Jenny Kaplan, Grace Lynch, and Emily Rudder, and was produced by Adesuwa Agbonile, Grace Lynch, Brittany Martinez and Taylor Williamson with production assistance from Luci Jones. Our amazing theme music was composed by Jlin.
