#followfriday: 4 Indigenous Matriarchs in Politics to Follow

By Holliston Logan
This week for #followfriday we bring to you 4 Indigenous Matriarchs in Politics - these fierce, outspoken, and resilient women have been making monumental changes and leading important conversations through their work in politics. Actively working in systems designed to oppress and control your people is no easy undertaking, and one that we applaud these Matriarchs for bravely trailblazing. What other Indigenous Matriarchs in politics do you recommend we check out? Leave a comment on our Instagram!
Mumilaaq Qaqaaq

Betty Nippi-Albright

Jody Wilson Raybould
Jody Wilson-Raybould, a We Wai Kai Nation woman who carries the Kwak’wala name Puglaas, is currently an Independent Member of Parliament representing Vancouver Granville. Before entering the world of federal politics, Jody had extensive experience on a provincial level where she was a BC provincial Crown prosecutor, a treaty commissioner, and the regional chief of the BC Assembly of First Nations. When Jody was originally elected as a Member of Parliament in 2015 she was a member of the LIberal party, however, she left the cacus in 2019 amid the SNC-Lavalin affair. During her time with the Liberal caucus she served as justice minister and attorney general, briefly as the veterans minister and associate national defence minister. Although Jody has announced she will not be running for re-election and will be stepping back from politics, we know that she will be continuing to create change with whatever path she chooses to journey down next. Jody also recently wrote a memoir titled 'Indian' in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power which will be released in the fall of 2021, so be sure to pick up a copy when it is out!
connect with Jody Wilson-Raybould
website | twitter | facebook | instagram
Lidia Thorpe
Lidia Thorpe, a proud Gunnai Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman, lifelong activist and fighter for human rights, social justice and the environment, is currently elected as a Senator for Victoria, Australia. "In 2017, Lidia Thorpe became the first Aboriginal person elected to Victorian parliament, as the Greens MP for Northcote. In September 2020, Lidia took her seat as Victoria's first Aboriginal Senator in the federal Parliament. Lidia was sworn in to the Senate holding a message stick burned with 441 marks, one for each death in custody since the handing down of the findings of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991 and holding up her fist in a gesture of strength and solidarity." (as quoted from the Australian Greens website) Lidia is the portfolio holder and Greens Federal spokesperson for First Nations, Justice, and Sport. Lidia a passionate advocate for the vast inequalities in health, education, poverty and employment that Indigenous Australians experience and comments: "In order to reconcile our nation, we need to face some uncomfortable truths about our past, and about our present. Only once truth-telling takes place and once the nation hears all our voices, can we create a country we can all be proud of and face our future challenges together. I will be part of that truth-telling, and help bring us together." (as quoted from the Australian Greens website)
connect with Lidia Thorpe
website | twitter | facebook | instagram
