Heather Keeler (born December 18, 1981) is an American politician serving in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Pa ...

since 2021. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Keeler represents District 4A in northwest

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, including the city of Moorhead and parts of

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Flor ...

. Keeler is an enrolled member of the

Yankton Sioux Tribe The Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota is a federally recognized tribe of Yankton Western Dakota people, located in South Dakota. Their Dakota name is Ihaƞktoƞwaƞ Dakota Oyate, meaning "People of the End Village" which comes from the pe ...

Early life, education and career

Keeler grew up on her tribal homeland in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, mostly living at Fort Pierre. She moved to the

Fargo–Moorhead Fargo–Moorhead, also known as the FM area, is a common name given to the metropolitan area comprising Fargo, North Dakota; Moorhead, Minnesota; and the surrounding communities. These two cities lie on the North Dakota–Minnesota border, on op ...

area while attending

Minnesota State University Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 123,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

for her

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

in project management and

M.Ed. The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

in educational leadership. Keeler worked at

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

as an assistant director of multicultural recruitment and volunteered in the Moorhead school district. While working with the school district, she served on the human rights advisory committee and as vice chair of Moorhead's Human Rights Commission.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Keeler was elected to the

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

and was reelected in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

. She first ran after four-term DFL incumbent

Ben Lien Ben Lien is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A former member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 4A in northwestern Minnesota. Early life and education Lie ...

announced he would not seek reelection. She serves as vice chair of the Children and Families Finance and Policy Committee and also sits on the Education Policy and Human Services Finance Committees. From 2021 to 2022 she served as vice chair of the Preventing Homelessness Division of the Housing Committee. Keeler is a member of the People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus.

Native American issues

Keeler has been an outspoken advocate of Native American human rights issues and for more native voices to be heard at the state legislature. In 2021, she authored legislation that created an office of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives and carried subsequent efforts to increase funding. Indigenous women make up one percent of the state's population but eight percent of women and girls murdered. Along with State Senators Mary Kunesh and

Jen McEwen Jennifer A. McEwen ( ; born May 14, 1977) is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), she represents Senate District 7, which includes the city of Duluth in St. Louis Count ...

, Keeler authored a letter calling on the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...

to stop Line 3, a tar sands pipeline proposed to cut through Minnesota tribal lands. She proposed legislation that would replace Minnesota's existing

Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492. ...

with

Indigenous People's Day Indigenous Peoples' Day is a holiday in the United States that celebrates and honors indigenous American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures. It is celebrated across the United States on the second Monday in October, and is an ...

. In March 2023, the chair of the

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the oldest active political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Republican Party’s platform is relatively moderate. The party’s main issues are economic growth, education, healthcare, civi ...

criticized Keeler after she posted on Facebook about the adoption of native children by white families and wrote, "White saviors are the worst!"

Other political positions

Keeler has supported efforts to increase the number of teachers of color in Minnesota. In 2023, she authored legislation that passed with unanimous support to fund emergency food shelves in the midst of rising visits to food shelves.

Electoral history

Personal life

Keeler lives in

Moorhead, Minnesota Moorhead () is a city in and county seat of Clay County, Minnesota, United States, on the banks of the Red River of the North. Located in the Red River Valley, an extremely fertile and active agricultural region, Moorhead is also home to several ...

and has two children. She is an enrolled member of the

References

External links

Official House of Representatives website

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keeler, Heather Living people Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 21st-century American legislators 21st-century American women politicians Native American women in politics Women state legislators in Minnesota Minnesota State University Moorhead alumni 21st-century Native American women 1981 births 21st-century Native American politicians Native American state legislators in Minnesota 21st-century Minnesota politicians