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New Mexico State Senator Angel Charley (D) represents District 30. She resides in the Pueblo of Acoma and is a citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna. She is also a descendant of Navajo and Zuni people.
SANTA FE, What inspired you to run for Senator?
I think it’s not until you have the idea reflected back to you, at least for me, that made this feel really possible. I’ve always been an advocate and an organizer. I’ve been on the outside of these walls and other places where decisions about my community were being made; protesting, testifying, calling for accountability… And at a certain point, you begin to realize we need people on the inside as well. And so that really has been my journey. A couple of years ago, the organization that I ran, the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, passed in the state legislature the codification of the Indian Child Welfare Act, now in New Mexico, called the Indian Family Protection Act. We did this because this piece of critical legislation for our native women and children was under attack at the Supreme Court. The coalition, with a group of other organizations and advocates, all came together and started to work on ensuring that New Mexico continues to provide these protections for our families. And it was that process that really made me realize how accessible this space could be. And if we had people in these positions who were willing to do a lot of that behind the scenes work, especially those who are impacted directly by these decisions, that we could have really good legislation. It was during that process that we did things like expanding the definition of families– so that foster placement children could have more options, and be placed in their communities… Things like that– people only from our communities can advocate for. That process made me realize this is a place where we belong, too.
How have your professional and cultural backgrounds shaped your approach to leadership and policy making?
I’ve always been an advocate and an organizer. I think the very first time I remember knowing about or thinking about policy and the impact on my community was in high school. I thought about the disproportionate number of native people who serve in the military and then go into Iraq. I just remember thinking, this is an issue I’d like to know more about and speak on. And so I started to get involved and found organizations to volunteer for. My transition into office came from serving as the executive director of the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women. Plus, I had all of the life experience of somebody who has interacted with the system, I grew up in a home that wasn’t always safe. I knew that there were options within these systems to help me and help us. And so that journey really helped me and shaped me along the way.
In terms of culture, I grew up in Laguna on the Pueblo, and particularly for Senate District 30, the district that I get to represent, we’ve never had a native person in this seat before. We’ve never had a woman in this seat before. But there are five tribes, five sovereign nations, within this district and our tribes have done so much work to ensure that Senate District 30 is not only a political landscape they could get behind, but it is a cultural landscape that they can get behind. And so much work was already done before me. You know, this was years of organizing and intention from tribal leaders, advocates, and people who know the system better than I know right now. And it’s also important for me to mention that I’m not the first native woman or person to run for this seat, but those who came before me helped clear the path by refining strategy for us to get here. And so, you know, when we make it to these places…It’s never by ourselves. It’s because of our community.
Senate Bill 191 proposes $10 million for the NM Crime Victim Reparation Commission to go towards community-based domestic violence programs.How would this money make a difference in practice?
Our domestic violence and sexual assault organizations are chronically underfunded as it is right now. The need for services far outweighs what we can provide in the state of New Mexico and across the country, but that’s particularly true in tribal communities. New Mexico only has two tribal rent shelters, and oftentimes our citizens have to leave tribal lands to access resources or safe housing. I know that it’s not a matter of if our women, our people, from my community experience domestic or sexual violence, more often it’s when they experience domestic or sexual violence. So I just want to ensure that when our survivors are ready to access services, that they are available to them and are culturally responsive. And that they meet the needs of survivors who are ready to seek help. And that’s what this funding is going to do. It’s going to go directly towards supporting programs that are working in the best interest of some of our most vulnerable populations.
Senate Bill 258 proposes public schools must provide comprehensive sexuality education as part of their health education curriculum for middle and high school students. Why do you think this is an important curricular requirement?
I’m so excited to sponsor this legislation. This is actually my very first piece of legislation in office that I’m sponsoring. I’m doing this because I believe this is a violence prevention initiative. The more we know about these issues, the more safety it provides for everybody. I know that this is the education we need in our schools and for our young people, so they have access to this language and understanding so that we create safer communities for ourselves. When we give young people the language and create that accessibility, it opens up understanding. I think that’s really what we need in today’s culture.
Senate Bill 260 proposes $50 million to the Department of Environment to clean up abandoned and neglected contaminated sites throughout the state. Why is this important to your constituents?
New Mexico is home to hundreds of unclean, contaminated mines. This $50 million appropriation, it’s not enough, but it’s a first step in correcting some of those wrongs. The communities that I represent have been disproportionately affected by extractive industries, and this legislation seeks to address some of that. You know, I have constituents, family members, who have health impacts from working at these locations over the years, or just being downwind from these locations, and so, you know, it’s just time to clean them up– and have some accountability.
In your opinion, why do you think it’s taken so long?
You know, change is slow. I think that’s part of it. I also think representation matters, and when you have somebody in office who understands what these impacts are like, who really understands the lived experiences of those who’ve been affected– that oftentimes is the change that we need. We do benefit from oil and gas royalties in our state, and to a certain extent, those have been protected over the years, but it doesn’t have to be “an and-or.” We can have accountability when we’re seeing the industry increase funding to our state. But we need people who are willing to champion those ideals and have those conversations with colleagues and begin to socialize what this means. And so I’m excited to be able to co-sponsor that legislation.
A lot of people are scared right now from the many changes since Trump took office. What do you want your constituents to keep in mind while all of this is happening?
Yeah…Right now in New Mexico, we have protections for abortion. We have protections for our tribal communities in statute. We are a state that is committed to protecting our people, and that’s one of the reasons I’m here– to be a voice for our communities. I’m going to just… continue to fight in this…administration we find ourselves in. You know, we need people with courage who can speak truth to power, and people who are centering the dignity and humanity of the people being targeted right now. They are the most vulnerable populations, they’re marginalized communities. We need people in these spaces that have those lived experiences. And I do. And so, I will always continue to fight for us.
*** Senator Charley is also cosponsoring the Turquoise Alert Act to implement statewide alerts for when Indigenous people go missing.***
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