Jamescita Mae Peshlakai ( IPA: ) is a former Democratic member of the Arizona State Senate, serving from 2017 to 2021. She previously served in the

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Senate. The House convenes in the legislative chambers at the Arizona State C ...

from 2013 until 2015, and served as co-Minority Whip for the 2018 sitting of the state senate. Peshlakai is a member of the

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

Nation. She served in the Persian Gulf War. Before her legislative service, Peshlakai provided agricultural outreach to Native Americans on behalf of the USDA.

Early life and education

Peshlakai earned her bachelor's degree from

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

in 1998 and her master's degree in educational psychology in 2004. Peshlakai served in the U.S. Army from 1989 to 1997.AJ Vincens
New lawmaker profile: Representative Jamescita Peshlakai
''

Navajo-Hopi Observer The ''Navajo-Hopi Observer'' is a weekly newspaper serving the Hopi and Navajo nations and the city of Flagstaff in northern Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. I ...

'' (March 5, 2013). She served in the Persian Gulf War from 1990 to 1991. After leaving the Army, she became lead coordinator for Navajo Nation Traditional Agricultural Outreach, a nonprofit group. She was also involved in protests of development in the

San Francisco Peaks The San Francisco Peaks (Navajo: , es, Sierra de San Francisco, Hopi: ''Nuva'tukya'ovi'', Western Apache: ''Dził Tso'', Keres: ''Tsii Bina'', Southern Paiute: ''Nuvaxatuh'', Havasupai-Hualapai: ''Hvehasahpatch''/''Huassapatch''/''Wik'hanbaja'', ...

, such as the

Arizona Snowbowl Arizona Snowbowl is an alpine ski resort in the southwest United States, located on the San Francisco Peaks of northern Arizona, north of Flagstaff. The Snowbowl ski area covers approximately one percent of the San Francisco Peaks, and its slo ...

Political career

Elections

In 2012 Peshlakai and incumbent

Albert Hale Albert A. Hale (March 13, 1950 – February 2, 2021) was an American attorney and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the Arizona Senate from 2004 to 2011 and in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2011 to 2017. A ...

defeated Phil Stago in the August 20212 Democratic primary for seats in the

. They were unopposed in the general election on November 6, 2012. In 2014, Peshlakai ran for the Arizona State Senate and was defeated in the Democratic primary by incumbent Carlyle Begay who went on to defeat Kelly Gneiting (Americans Elect of Arizona) in the general election. In 2016, Begay did not seek re-election to the state Senate in order to run for Congress. Peshlakai defeated Steven Begay in the Senate District 7 Democratic primary. Begay's wife, Candace Begody-Begay, sought the Republican nomination but was removed from the ballot, and Peshlakai thus won the general election unopposed. Peshlakai was re-elected to the state Senate in 2020. She was one of three Native American state senators re-elected that year (the others were

Sally Ann Gonzales Sally Ann Gonzales (born October 2, 1957) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Arizona State Senate representing District 20 since January 9, 2023. She previously represented District 3 from 2019 to 2023, and also served in t ...

, of the

Pascua Yaqui The Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizonais a federally recognized tribe of Yaqui Native Americans in state of Arizona. Descended from the Yaqui people whose original homelands include the Yaqui River valley in western Sonora, Mexico and southern Ariz ...

, and Victoria Steele of the Seneca.

Tenure

Peshlakai's district, Legislative District 7, covers northeast Arizona, including all of

Apache County Apache County is in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. Shaped in a long rectangle running north to south, as of the 2020 census, its population was 66,021. The county seat is St. Johns. Most of the county is occupied by part ...

, most of Navajo County and Coconino County, and parts of Mohave, Gila and Graham counties. It encompasses the Navajo Nation and

Hopi Reservation The Hopi Reservation ( Hopi: Hopituskwa) is a Native American reservation for the Hopi and Arizona Tewa people, surrounded entirely by the Navajo Nation, in Navajo and Coconino counties in north-eastern Arizona, United States. The site has ...

.Stan Bindell
Peshlakai continues her work advocating for Native people
''Navajo-Hopi Observer'' (May 18, 2021). Peshlakai lives in

Cameron, Arizona Cameron ( nv, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, on the Navajo Nation. The population was 885 at the 2010 census. Most of the town's economy is tourist food and craft stalls, restaurants, and other ...

. During her tenure, Peshlakai sought greater funding for Native American infrastructure and education in her district, including for Diné College and

Navajo Technical University Navajo Technical University (NTU) is a public tribal land-grant university in Crownpoint, New Mexico, with sites in the towns of Chinle, Arizona and Teec Nos Pos, Arizona. NTU is the largest tribal college in the country and is a 1994 land grant ...

. She resigned on December 22, 2021, to take a job at the U.S. Department of Interior.

References

External links

Profile
at '' Arizona Capitol Times''
Legislative website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peshlakai, Jamescita Democratic Party Arizona state senators Living people Democratic Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives Native American state legislators in Arizona Native American women in politics Northern Arizona University alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Women state legislators in Arizona Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians