The power shift US politics needs | Anathea Chino

Summary

Podcast Summary: "The Power Shift US Politics Needs" | Anathea Chino

Podcast: TED Talks Daily
Host: Elise Hu
Release Date: February 11, 2025

Introduction

In the February 11, 2025 episode of TED Talks Daily, host Elise Hu engages in a compelling dialogue with Anathea Chino, co-founder of Advanced Native Political Leadership, and comedian Negeen Farsad. The conversation delves into the crucial role of Native voices within the American political landscape, exploring how honoring indigenous identities can drive effective community leadership.

Anathea Chino’s Background and Motivation

Anathea Chino begins by sharing her personal journey, emphasizing her heritage and the challenges faced as an Indigenous woman in the United States.

• Heritage and Upbringing (02:28-03:00):

  • "I am from Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico, one of the 19 pueblos in the state, known as the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States."
  • Chino reflects on her childhood oscillating between her indigenous homeland and College Station, Texas, highlighting the cultural disconnect and the realization that her indigenous identity was often perceived as "othering."

• Educational Challenges (03:01-04:00):

  • "Our existence is an act of resistance and just a reminder that we are not a nation of immigrants; we have thriving indigenous cultures all across the United States."
  • She underscores the lack of proper education about indigenous communities post-1800s, portraying education systems that often relegate Native peoples to historical footnotes rather than living cultures.

Founding Advanced Native Political Leadership

Chino elucidates the inception of her organization, driven by the absence of political infrastructure for Native communities.

• Inspiration and Formation (04:01-05:00):

  • "I discovered my purpose in 2004 during a presidential campaign... I organized the 10 Southern Pueblos in the state."
  • Despite constituting over 10% of New Mexico's population, Native communities were underrepresented and misunderstood, prompting Chino to create platforms for Native voices.

• Mission and Vision (05:01-06:00):

  • "We are creating space for Native leaders to thrive in systems that were not created for us."
  • The organization aims not only to represent Native communities but to support leaders of diverse backgrounds, including women, queer individuals, and trans people, fostering a more inclusive and representative political environment.

The Importance of Diverse Voices in Democracy

The conversation shifts to the broader significance of diverse perspectives in the democratic process.

• Benefits of Diversity (06:00-07:00):

  • Chino explains, "Different perspectives in our democracy benefits, all consistently over time, over decades, over generations."
  • She highlights how a more reflective democracy can adapt to demographic shifts, enhancing the political system's responsiveness and effectiveness.

• Engaging Allies (07:00-08:00):

  • "We have many white allies in our community... witnessing that shift of being able to see what systems power shift looks like."
  • Chino emphasizes the importance of collaboration across racial and cultural lines to achieve systemic change and a more equitable representation.

Overcoming Barriers to Indigenous Leadership

Chino addresses the challenges faced by Indigenous individuals in politics and the strategies employed to overcome them.

• Breaking Aesthetics Barriers (08:01-09:00):

  • "I started my own political styling business to help women of color run for office."
  • By removing aesthetic barriers, Chino aimed to allow candidates to present their authentic selves without the pressure to assimilate into prevailing political norms.

• Embracing Indigenous Identity (09:01-10:00):

  • "We proudly see people wearing traditional regalia in the halls of Congress."
  • Chino celebrates the increasing visibility of Indigenous identities in politics, signaling a shift towards greater acceptance and representation.

Impact and Future Directions

The dialogue concludes with reflections on the progress made and the ongoing efforts to foster Indigenous leadership.

• Transformation through Leadership Programs (10:01-10:30):
  • "Watching somebody come into one of our leadership training programs really timid and shy... says I am going to be the next governor of my state."
  • Chino expresses pride in the transformative impact of her organization's programs, empowering individuals to envision and attain significant political roles.

Notable Quotes

• Anathea Chino (02:28): "Our existence is an act of resistance and just a reminder that we are not a nation of immigrants; we have thriving indigenous cultures all across the United States."
• Anathea Chino (05:50): "We are building space for Native visionary leaders to be able to step into our power."
• Anathea Chino (08:28): "We are in the middle of what that looks like for indigenous women running for office... holding white supremacy in this model of this shift."

Conclusion

In this insightful episode, Anathea Chino articulates the necessity of elevating Native voices within American politics to create a more inclusive and effective democratic system. Through Advanced Native Political Leadership, Chino not only champions Indigenous representation but also fosters a broader movement towards diversity and equity in political leadership. This conversation underscores the power of embracing diverse identities to drive meaningful political and social change.

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Produced by: Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Greene, Lucy Little, Alejandra Salazar, Tonsika Sarmarnivon
Mixed by: Christopher Faizy Bogan
Additional Support: Emma Tobner, Daniela Ballaraiso
Host: Elise Hu

Transcript

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[Elise Hu]

TED Talks Daily is sponsored by Capital One. In my house, we subscribe to everything music, tv, even dog food. And it rocks. Until you have to manage it all. Which is where Capital One comes in. Capital One credit card holders can easily track, block or cancel recurring charges right from the Capital One mobile app at no additional cost. With one sign in, you can manage all your subscriptions all in one place. Learn more at Capital1.comsubscriptions Terms and Conditions apply. You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. One thing we don't want to lose, no matter what political climate we're in, is the value of different voices and diverse perspectives in our democracy. In a 2024 conversation between anathea Chino, who is the co founder of Advanced Native Political Leadership, and comedian Negeen Farsad, the two women discussed the value of Native voices in our local, state and federal systems and what it means to both honor our identities and lead our communities at the same time.

[Negeen Farsad]

So you founded this organization. Tell us how you got here.

[Elise Hu]

Sure.

[Anathea Chino]

Guatsi Haupa I'm Anathea. My pronouns are she, her. I am From Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico. There are 19 pueblos in New Mexico. Ours is one. We are known as the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States. There are about 5,000 enrolled tribal members at my community, and we've inhabited our lands for over 2,000 years, I grew up between my indigenous homelands and College Station, Texas, where my mom was getting her PhD and I spent hours staring at the stars from the back of our hatchback, a little yellow Toyota Tercel named Banana. It was a different time, not wearing a seatbelt in the back of the hatchback, staring at the stars, going between New Mexico and Texas while my mom drove us home. To ensure that I was deeply connected to our cultural traditions. And early on I learned that my indigenous identity was threatening to a lot of people. Our existence is an act of resistance and just a reminder that we are not a nation of immigrants is that we have thriving indigenous cultures all across the United States. And people are reminded when they meet me the history of the United States and when engaging with indigenous people. It is empowering now, but when I was a kid it was othering and it was a reminder that our education systems treat us as historical relics. And we often don't get education about indigenous communities or peoples after the 1800s. But I discovered my purpose in 2004 during a presidential campaign, mentioning that it's not all presidential campaigns. And what I recognized was that there wasn't the infrastructure in New Mexico. And I organized the 10 Southern Pueblos in the state. But what struck me was even in a state where we make up over 10% of the population that very little people knew about our communities engaged with our communities asked us what mattered to our communities. And nationally we make up about 3% of the population. And in places like Arizona, New Mexico, Montana, we are a very powerful voice. So with organization like ours, we're creating space for Native leaders to thrive in systems that were not created for us. To be clear, the native leaders are not representing only Native communities. We are representing all communities. One aspect of that is voting for sure, but we're building space for Native visionary leaders to be able to step into our power. There are few things more incredible than watching somebody come into one of our leadership training programs really timid and shy about how they got there. They had been nominated, they self selected, but once they are leaving our programs, they are saying I am going to be the next governor of my state. And watching that transformation is something that is just so incredible that I have the deep honor and our team has the deep honor of being able to help shepherd. But engaging in systems of democracy is acceptable, accessible to everyone and we're building pathways. It's not perfect by any means, but it's progress. And my encouragement to everybody here is to be what you're fighting For I am fighting for our existence of indigenous peoples to continue. I'm also fighting for queer people. I am proudly queer. I am fighting for women. I am fighting for joy. And I am fighting for our ability to be able to dream. So that's a little bit about my story. It's really incredible to be here.

[Negeen Farsad]

Yes. I love that, and I love the purpose of this organization. And I wonder, say, you have to kind of make the case for why. I mean, it makes sense that anyone who's native would buy in to the purpose of this organization, but can you make the case for why, let's say your average white guy would care about this organization?

[Anathea Chino]

Yeah, I mean, I feel like research shows us that people want a more reflective democracy. An average white guy has a vested interest in understanding the demographic shift of the country and being able to be a part of that shift and recognizing what it means to be able to have more voices and the value of having different voices, different perspectives in our democracy benefits, all consistently over time, over decades, over generations. And so we have many white allies in our community and a part of our organization that are working side by side with native leaders, with leaders of color, with women, queer people, trans people, beautiful, smart, qualified, capable, viable leaders. And we are witnessing that shift of being able to, like, see what systems power shift looks like. And it is important that they recognize and that they are starting to recognize the value in being participatory, in that.

[Negeen Farsad]

Yeah. I mean, as an Iranian American, I've been fed basically, like, white stories my whole life. I feel like I totally get it. And I could be a great leader to just white families all over the place.

[Anathea Chino]

If I had.

[Negeen Farsad]

I mean, if I had to, if I was asked, I mean, I could really. I could really hold it down. Okay. And then so here's. And just to. I noticed something about the current race and whatever side you're on. Kamala does not really address her own race in the election. She kind of famously deflex questions about it. What do you think about that when you're talking to people who you're training to run for office?

[Anathea Chino]

It's a really good question. When I started, actually in 2013, I left. I was an investment advisor for an organization where my portfolio was a little over $14 million. And I had access to national organizations and leaders and understanding the highest political net wealth funders in the country. And when I left that organization, I went to cosmetology school and I started my own political styling business to help women of color run for office. And the reason I did it. The world was different then. This was about 2013. But the reason I did it is because the message that we were getting and what was attempted to be fed to us was that we needed to assimilate in order to run. And so what I wanted was to be able to remove aesthetics as a barrier to running. I'm so glad that the world is different now and we proudly see people wearing traditional regalia in the halls of Congress, in the halls of government systems all across the country. So my answer to that is that we are in also a shift and taking back of our identities. It is like we are in the middle of what that looks like for indigenous women running for office. We are in part of our training program is helping them to identify what that story looks like. To be able to go to the doors of white neighbors and non native neighbors and find a connection and to be able to tell them how you are going to work to make the communities better and different and how you are going to fight for them and to be able to hold that indigenous identity in that process. That has been a long track of us being able to get there and identify what it means to be able to hold white supremacy in this model of this shift, of how we are moving outside of that and how we are able to be representative and how we are moving forward. How that relates to Kamala's journey, I have no clue. But what that looks like for Native leaders and Native women in particular is something that we are very proudly and very visibly shifting every single day.

[Negeen Farsad]

Thank you so much for sharing your civic story. Ladies and gentlemen, Anathia Chino.

[Anathea Chino]

Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you.

[Elise Hu]

That was Anathea Chino and Nagin Farsad at TEDNext 2024. This conversation was made in partnership with Pivotal Ventures. If you're curious about Ted's curation, find out [e-mail] curationguidelines and that's it for today's show. Ted Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective. This episode was produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Greene, Lucy Little, Alejandra Salazar and Tonsika Sarmarnivon. It was mixed by Christopher Faizy Bogan. Additional support from Emma Tobner and Daniela Ballaraiso. I'm Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening.

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