List of Native Americans in the United States Congress

See also: List of Native American politicians

This is a list of Native Americans with documented tribal ancestry or affiliation in the U.S. Congress.

Map of all congressional districts represented by Native Americans in the 117th Congress by October 2022.

All entries on this list are related to Native American tribes based in the contiguous United States. There are Native Hawaiians who have served in Congress, but they are not listed here because they are distinct from North American Natives.

Only two Native Americans served in the 115th Congress: Tom Cole (serving since 2003) and Markwayne Mullin (serving since 2013), both of whom are Republican Representatives from Oklahoma. On November 6, 2018, Democrats Sharice Davids of Kansas and Deb Haaland of New Mexico were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and the 116th Congress, which commenced on January 3, 2019, had four Native Americans. Davids and Haaland are the first two Native American women with documented tribal ancestry to serve in Congress. At the start of the 117th Congress on January 3, 2021, five Native Americans were serving in the House, the largest Native delegation in history: Cole, Mullin, Haaland and Davids were all reelected in 2020, with Republican Yvette Herrell of New Mexico elected for the first time in 2020. The number dropped back down to four on March 16, 2021 when Haaland resigned her House seat to become Secretary of the Interior.

On August 16, 2022, Mary Peltola, a Yup'ik woman, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Alaska, becoming the first person with documented Native Alaskan ancestry to serve in Congress. This returned the number of the Native delegation to five, with a partisan split of three Republicans and two Democrats. This also marked the first time that a Native American, Native Alaskan, and Native Hawaiian (Kai Kahele) simultaneously served in Congress.

In historical terms, the Cherokees are the most numerous tribe to send members to Congress, constituting a full half (9) of the total 18 Native Americans elected to the U.S. House.

Senate

Picture	Senator (lifespan)	Tribal ancestry	State	Party	Term start	Term end	Notes
	Hiram Revels (1827–1901)	Lumbee	Mississippi	Republican	February 23, 1870	March 4, 1871	Retired
	Charles Curtis (1860–1936)	Kaw, Osage, Potawatomi	Kansas	Republican	January 29, 1907	January 3, 1913	Was not reelected after Democrats won control of Kansas Legislature in 1912
					March 4, 1915	March 4, 1929	Resigned after being elected Vice President
	Robert Owen (1856–1947)	Cherokee	Oklahoma	Democratic	December 11, 1907	March 4, 1925	Retired
	Ben Nighthorse Campbell (born 1933)	Northern Cheyenne	Colorado	Democratic (1993–1995)	January 3, 1993	January 3, 2005	Retired
				Republican (1995-2005)

Histograph

The histograph below sets forth the number of Native Americans who served in the United States Senate during the periods provided.

Starting	Total	Graph
March 4, 1789	0
February 23, 1870	1	*
March 4, 1871	0
January 29, 1907	1	*
December 11, 1907	2	**
January 3, 1913	1	*
March 4, 1915	2	**
March 4, 1925	1	*
March 4, 1929	0
January 3, 1993	1	*
January 3, 2005	0

House of Representatives

  Denotes incumbent

Picture	Representative (lifespan)	Tribal ancestry	State	Party	Term start	Term end	Notes
	Richard H. Cain (1825–1887)	Cherokee	South Carolina	Republican	March 4, 1873	March 4, 1875	Retired
					March 4, 1877	March 4, 1879
	John Mercer Langston (1829–1897)	Pamunkey	Virginia	Republican	September 23, 1890	March 3, 1891	Lost Reelection
	Charles Curtis (1860–1936)	Kaw, Osage, Potawatomi	Kansas	Republican	March 4, 1893	January 28, 1907	Resigned to become U.S. Senator from Kansas
	Charles Carter (1868–1929)	Chickasaw	Oklahoma	Democratic	November 16, 1907	March 4, 1927	Lost renomination
	William Hastings (1866–1938)	Cherokee	Oklahoma	Democratic	March 4, 1915	March 4, 1921	Lost reelection
					March 4, 1923	January 3, 1935	Retired
	Will Rogers Jr. (1911–1993)	Cherokee	California	Democratic	January 3, 1943	May 23, 1944	Resigned to join the U.S. Army
	William Stigler (1891–1952)	Choctaw	Oklahoma	Democratic	March 28, 1944	August 21, 1952	Died in office
	Ben Reifel (1906–1990)	Lakota Sioux (Rosebud Sioux)	South Dakota	Republican	January 3, 1961	January 3, 1971	Retired
	Clem McSpadden (1925–2008)	Cherokee	Oklahoma	Democratic	January 3, 1973	January 3, 1975	Retired to run unsuccessfully for the nomination to the 1974 Oklahoma gubernatorial election
	Ben Nighthorse Campbell (born 1933)	Northern Cheyenne	Colorado	Democratic	January 3, 1987	January 3, 1993	Retired to run successfully for the 1992 United States Senate election in Colorado
	Brad Carson (born 1967)	Cherokee	Oklahoma	Democratic	January 3, 2001	January 3, 2005	Retired to run unsuccessfully for the 2004 United States Senate election in Oklahoma
	Tom Cole (born 1949)	Chickasaw	Oklahoma	Republican	January 3, 2003	Incumbent	Longest serving Native American in the House
	Markwayne Mullin (born 1977)	Cherokee	Oklahoma	Republican	January 3, 2013	Incumbent	Announced retirement to run for the 2022 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma
	Sharice Davids (born 1980)	Ho-Chunk	Kansas	Democratic	January 3, 2019	Incumbent	First LGBTQ Native American elected
	Deb Haaland (born 1960)	Laguna Pueblo	New Mexico	Democratic	January 3, 2019	March 16, 2021	Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior
	Yvette Herrell (born 1964)	Cherokee	New Mexico	Republican	January 3, 2021	Incumbent
	Mary Peltola (born 1973)	Yup'ik	Alaska	Democratic	September 13, 2022	Incumbent	First Alaska Native elected to Congress

Histograph

The histograph below sets forth the number of Native Americans who served in the United States House during the periods provided.

Starting	Total	Graph
March 4, 1789	0
March 4, 1873	1	*
March 4, 1875	0
March 4, 1877	1	*
March 4, 1879	0
September 23, 1890	1	*
March 3, 1891	0
March 4, 1893	1	*
January 28, 1907	0
November 16, 1907	1	*
March 4, 1915	2	**
March 4, 1921	1	*
March 4, 1923	2	**
March 4, 1927	1	*
January 3, 1935	0
January 3, 1943	1	*
March 28, 1944	2	**
May 23, 1944	1	*
August 21, 1952	0
January 3, 1961	1	*
January 3, 1971	0
January 3, 1973	1	*
January 3, 1975	0
January 3, 1987	1	*
January 3, 1993	0
January 3, 2001	1	*
January 3, 2003	2	**
January 3, 2005	1	*
January 3, 2013	2	**
January 3, 2019	4	****
January 3, 2021	5	*****
March 16, 2021	4	****
September 13, 2022	5	*****

References

• Stubben, Jerry D. (2006). Native Americans and Political Participation: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-57607-262-2.