Ponka-We Victors, the first Native American woman in the Kansas House of Representatives, decided to run in the election when the previous representative helped her file as the lone Democratic primary candidate 10 hours before the deadline. At her swearing-in ceremony, Victors wore her great-grandmother’s regalia to recognize her heritage in the Ponca tribe.
“That’s the best I have,” Victors said in a lecture on Wednesday evening. “I had no idea this was going to make national news, this picture, I would’ve taken a better picture. I could’ve smiled more or something.”
As a child, Victors said she spent hours at the Indian Health Service, four hours away from her house, because of an ear pain, only to be given a mild pain reliever.
“I always thought, ‘This isn’t fair. Why can’t I just go to the hospital right here?’” Victors said. “But I didn’t know back then that it was going to cost my parents a lot of money. I always questioned, ‘Why do we have to live in these conditions?’”
Victors became involved in politics in small ways. In middle school, she sent a letter to the Kansas governor, and later interned for former Kansas representative Delia Garcia while in college, which she called a life-changing experience.
Currently, the Kansas House of Representatives has 92 Republicans and 33 Democrats.
“Right there, I already have some barriers stacked up against me,” Victors said. “One, I’m a woman, two, I’m a Democrat in a red state and three, a minority.”
While Victors said that Democrats sometimes advise her not to talk to the opposing party, she continues to in hopes of seeing concrete and bipartisan change.
Victors said that Native Americans are often ignored in the legislative process.
“Sometimes, it gets hard sitting at the table because I’m the only minority woman, but I’m also one of the youngest too, so it can get a little intimidating when I’m sitting in the discussion,” Victors said. “But I always try to fight for what’s right.”
As a legislator, she hopes to raise awareness about Native American issues and identity, and urged people to get involved in local politics and hold their representatives accountable.
Victors’ name, Ponka-We, means “Ponca woman” in her native language and was also her grandmother’s name. She said she is inspired by her great-grandfather, Standing Bear, who argued before the U.S. District Court in 1879 that Native Americans were also people under the law.
“I always remember if my grandpa could do it way back and he didn’t even know English, then I can do it too,” Victors said.
Victors and her brothers embraced their heritage growing up, and she continues to eat the traditional food of her tribe and speak the Ponca language.
“I practice my beliefs and traditions, on the weekends I participate on my ceremonies and tribal dances,” Victors said.
Ma’Ko’Quah Abigail Jones ’14, who worked as an intern for Victors, said that Victors has demonstrated the need for Native Americans to get involved in the political system.
“I think Representative Victors proves that if tribes get involved with their state, things can go a lot easier for them,” Jones said. “They don’t have to fight jurisdictional things, and they don’t have to be pushed aside.”
Jones recalled Victors’s efforts to personally connect with her constituents.
“When constituents were writing, she would take the time to write them back or when people stopped by, she would take the time out of her schedule to talk with them, to address their needs,” Jones said. “You don’t get that at the federal level.”
The lecture, titled “Native Politics in a Tea Party Era,” was sponsored by the Native American studies program.
