List of Native Americans in the United States Congress facts for kids

This map shows the areas in the U.S. that Native Americans represented in Congress at the start of the 118th Congress. One of Oklahoma's senators is also Native American.

This article is about Native Americans who have served in the United States Congress. These are people who are part of Native American tribes from the mainland United States. It's important to know that Native Hawaiians have also served in Congress, but they are different from Native Americans and are not included in this list.

In recent years, more Native Americans have been elected to Congress. For example, in the 115th Congress (which started in 2017), there were only two Native American members: Tom Cole and Markwayne Mullin, both from Oklahoma.

Things changed in 2018 when Sharice Davids from Kansas and Deb Haaland from New Mexico were elected. They became the first two Native American women to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. This meant that the 116th Congress (starting in 2019) had four Native American members.

By the start of the 117th Congress in 2021, there were five Native Americans serving in the House, which was the most ever! Tom Cole, Markwayne Mullin, Sharice Davids, and Deb Haaland were all re-elected. Yvette Herrell from New Mexico was also elected for the first time. However, the number went back down to four when Deb Haaland left the House to become the Secretary of the Interior, a very important job in the President's cabinet.

In 2022, Mary Peltola, a Yup'ik woman, was elected to represent Alaska in the House. She was the first person with Native Alaskan ancestry to serve in Congress. This brought the total number of Native American and Native Alaskan members back up to five. At that time, for the first time ever, a Native American, a Native Alaskan, and a Native Hawaiian (Kai Kahele) were all serving in Congress at the same time.

After the elections in November 2022, Tom Cole, Sharice Davids, and Mary Peltola kept their seats. Markwayne Mullin moved from the House to the Senate, becoming the first Native American senator since 2005. His old House seat was won by Josh Brecheen, who is also Native American. Yvette Herrell lost her seat because of changes to voting areas. So, the 118th Congress still has five Native American members: four in the House and one in the Senate. They represent three different states.

Serving in the Senate

     This color means the person is currently serving.

Picture	Senator (lifespan)	Tribal ancestry	State	Party	Term start	Term end	Notes
	Curtis, CharlesCharles Curtis (1860–1936)	Kaw, Osage, Potawatomi	Kansas	Republican	January 29, 1907	January 3, 1913	Was not reelected.
					March 4, 1915	March 4, 1929	Left to become Vice President.
	Owen, RobertRobert Owen (1856–1947)	Cherokee	Oklahoma	Democratic	December 11, 1907	March 4, 1925	Retired.
	Campbell, Ben NighthorseBen Nighthorse Campbell (born 1933)	Northern Cheyenne	Colorado	Democratic (1993–1995)	January 3, 1993	January 3, 2005	Retired.
				Republican (1995–2005)
	Mullin, MarkwayneMarkwayne Mullin (born 1977)	Cherokee	Oklahoma	Republican	January 3, 2023	Incumbent

How Many Served in the Senate?

This chart shows how many Native Americans served in the U.S. Senate during different time periods.

Serving in the House of Representatives

     This color means the person is currently serving.

Picture	Representative (lifespan)	Tribal ancestry	State	Party	Term start	Term end	Notes
	Curtis, CharlesCharles Curtis (1860–1936)	Kaw, Osage, Potawatomi	Kansas	Republican	March 4, 1893	January 28, 1907	Left to become a U.S. Senator for Kansas.
	Carter, CharlesCharles Carter (1868–1929)	Chickasaw	Oklahoma	Democratic	November 16, 1907	March 4, 1927	Did not win re-election.
	Hastings, WilliamWilliam Hastings (1866–1938)	Cherokee	Oklahoma	Democratic	March 4, 1915	March 4, 1921	Lost re-election.
					March 4, 1923	January 3, 1935	Retired.
	Rogers Jr., WillWill Rogers Jr. (1911–1993)	Cherokee	California	Democratic	January 3, 1943	May 23, 1944	Left to join the U.S. Army.
	Stigler, WilliamWilliam Stigler (1891–1952)	Choctaw	Oklahoma	Democratic	March 28, 1944	August 21, 1952	Died while in office.
	Reifel, BenBen Reifel (1906–1990)	Rosebud Lakota	South Dakota	Republican	January 3, 1961	January 3, 1971	Retired.
	McSpadden, ClemClem McSpadden (1925–2008)	Cherokee	Oklahoma	Democratic	January 3, 1973	January 3, 1975	Retired to run for governor.
	Campbell, Ben NighthorseBen Nighthorse Campbell (born 1933)	Northern Cheyenne	Colorado	Democratic	January 3, 1987	January 3, 1993	Retired to run for the Senate.
	Carson, BradBrad Carson (born 1967)	Cherokee	Oklahoma	Democratic	January 3, 2001	January 3, 2005	Retired to run for the Senate.
	Cole, TomTom Cole (born 1949)	Chickasaw	Oklahoma	Republican	January 3, 2003	Incumbent	Has served the longest in the House among Native Americans.
	Mullin, MarkwayneMarkwayne Mullin (born 1977)	Cherokee	Oklahoma	Republican	January 3, 2013	January 3, 2023	Retired to run for the Senate.
	Davids, ShariceSharice Davids (born 1980)	Ho-Chunk	Kansas	Democratic	January 3, 2019	Incumbent	First openly LGBT Native American elected.
	Haaland, DebDeb Haaland (born 1960)	Laguna Pueblo	New Mexico	Democratic	January 3, 2019	March 16, 2021	Left to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
	Herrell, YvetteYvette Herrell (born 1964)	Cherokee	New Mexico	Republican	January 3, 2021	January 3, 2023	Lost re-election.
	Peltola, MaryMary Peltola (born 1973)	Yup'ik	Alaska	Democratic	September 13, 2022	Incumbent	First Alaska Native elected to Congress.
	Brecheen, JoshJosh Brecheen (born 1979)	Choctaw	Oklahoma	Republican	January 3, 2023	Incumbent

How Many Served in the House?

This chart shows how many Native Americans served in the U.S. House of Representatives during different time periods.