Mary Peltola — who defeated Sarah Palin in a special election — is sworn in as the first Alaska Native in the House of Representatives: ‘It has taken 233 years for the US Congress to be fully represented’

U.S. Congress is now represented by Indigenous people.

Congressman Kaiali‘i Kahele

Peltola is the first Alaska Native elected to Congress and was sworn in on Tuesday.
Rep. Kaiali’i Kahele and Rep. Sharice Davids welcomed Mary Peltola to Congress in a tweet.
“It has taken 233 years for the US Congress to be fully represented,” said Kahele.

It was a historic day as Rep. Kaiali’i Kahele and Rep. Sharice Davids welcomed Mary Peltola to the US House of Representatives. 

Peltola is the first Alaska Native elected to Congress and was sworn in on Tuesday. She defeated Sarah Palin in a special election in August. Peltola is also the first woman to ever represent Alaska and the first Democrat to do so since 1972.

Hawaii Rep. Kahele tweeted, “it has taken 233 years for the U.S. Congress to be fully represented by this country’s Indigenous peoples.”

—Congressman Kaiali‘i Kahele (@RepKahele) September 14, 2022

Kahele is the second Native Hawaiian to be elected to Congress. Davids — a Democrat from Kansas — is the first openly LGBT Native American elected to the House of Representatives.