State Sen. Charley’s journey to elected office began with feminist organizing. Now she’s centering Indigenous women’s rights during a historic moment for gender representation in New Mexico politics.
Angel Charley spent much of the past decade advocating for women as the executive director of both the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women and Illuminative and a member of New Mexico’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Task Force, the Alliance of Tribal Coalitions to End Violence, the Albuquerque Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Commission, and the Laguna Federation of Democratic Women. Then she decided to run for office. Charley joined the New Mexico state Senate at a historic moment for women in the state — and she brought her feminist agenda with her.
As part of the first episode of the new Ms. Studios podcast Looking Back, Moving Forward, Charley talked to me about the urgency of diversity in political representation, her journey from activism to politics, and how she plans to hold the line against regressive policies in her state.
Charley is joined in the first installment of the new series by SheThePeople founder Aimee Allison, pollster and leading political strategist Celinda Lake, RepresentWomen founder Cynthia Richie Terrell, and professors and experts in gender, politics and the law Julie C. Suk and Jennifer M. Piscopo. Together, we explore the promise of a truly representative democracy — and the lessons feminist history offers for how we can advance a feminist future.
You can listen to the episode now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure to like, follow and subscribe to Looking Back, Moving Forward today so you won’t miss a second of the conversations and revelations to come. And be sure to keep an eye out for bonus content from every episode in the podcast portal and here on the Ms. website!
This interview has been edited and reorganized for clarity and length.
Carmen Rios: Talk to me about your journey to the New Mexico state Senate. What led you to run for public office after doing so much work around storytelling and advocacy in your community?
Angel Charley: In 2016, I moved back to New Mexico — I was a military spouse before that and was restarting my life — and I remember very distinctly one morning I got an AMBER Alert. I remember everything about that morning because it was a Native girl who had gone missing — 11 years old, and my daughter was 10 years old at the time. I just remember praying for her that morning.
I remember setting down my phone and thinking, I hope she’s okay, I hope she makes it home. And then fast-forward a couple of days later and she didn’t make it home. Her story, it just stuck with me. And there was a local organization in Albuquerque who was putting on a candlelight vigil for her and they were asking for donations for the family. I was a poor single mom at the time, and was just going through my cabinets trying to look for food, non-perishables to donate, and I was telling my daughter, “we’re going to go to this event tonight, and we’re going to take some donations because this family lost their daughter and she was your age.” She came back into the kitchen a couple of minutes later, and she had cleared out her piggybank. and she said,” I want them to have this,” and I just remember breaking down and crying, and the conversations that I had with my daughter after that time.
I asked her: “Would you get in a car with a stranger?” And she says, “Mom, no, of course not.” And I said, “what if they had candy?” “No, Mom, you don’t take candy from strangers.” “Okay, what if they had kittens?” And she says, “Mom, I would only go look at them.”
It was that moment that I realized how you have to trust the world with your kids.
Anyhow, we go to this candlelight vigil, and I just remember being in community and thinking, I have to do something. I’m going to have to volunteer with this organization [the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women].
I’m a mom. I’m a daughter of parents that are getting older. I’m a wife and a partner, but I’m also an Indigenous woman. I’m a Native woman before I’m anything else in this world.
Angel Charley
Within a couple of weeks, they had posted for an office coordinator position, and I applied for it, and I left my work. Over the years, I had transitioned into different roles at that organization, and eventually became the executive director.
It was through that advocacy that I was drawn into what good policy means. While I was there, we passed the codification of the Indian Child Welfare Act, which was the very first time that I realized how accessible policy could be. We had mobilized community, and they were really supportive. It took us two years. The first year, our bill didn’t make it through, but the second year, it did.
Then folks started calling and asking: Would you run for office? Do you think you would run for office? I understand that women that are asked, say no several times — and I did too. I was like, no.
But Senator Heinrich asked me: do you think you would do this? That was the first phone call I got that I was like somebody can see something here that I don’t see in myself. I told him, “Senator, I’ll think about it. Thank you”. And he says “I’ll call you back, and I hope you have an answer.” He calls back, and I just said” I’ll do it,” before I even fully had realized what I was committing to. Within days, he sent me my first check. I hadn’t even setup a bank account or anything, but he was not going to let me wiggle out of it. It was like, nope, you’ve got your first donation.
It really has been because of advocacy that I am here.
Rios: Often, when folks come from activism, or really just when folks come from marginalized communities, so much of what they bring to policy is not just a different perspective but a whole set of different priorities, a different way of looking at what politics and policy mean. Obviously, this is a really personal journey for you. How do your own lived experiences impact how you’re approaching your work in the Senate, in government, in politics?
Charley: I’m a mom. I’m a daughter of parents that are getting older. I’m a wife and a partner, but I’m also an Indigenous woman. I’m a Native woman before I’m anything else in this world, and that is how I’ve been approaching this. And for as inclusive as New Mexico is for Native people in policy, there are still things that we can do better here. I’m constantly asking: How is this going to affect tribes, nations and pueblos? Have we consulted with them?
We just worked on this huge game and fish wildlife management commission package that changed, and one of the amendments that I offered was to have a Native person on that commission. We’ve never had one before and for that understanding of land and resources and animals there needs to be a Native person on this commission. The amendment passed, and it’s going over to the House side now. It’s those little things that others aren’t thinking about where I’ve realized it’s so important to be in these spaces.
There’s a handful of us here. There’s more Native folks over the House side. There’s three of us on the Senate side, and the three of us can’t be everywhere at once. But where we are, I think we’re making some meaningful change.
I have really come to believe that we have to expect things for ourselves that we expect for others. It is giving such meaning to the urgency that I’m constantly in. In this role, what that means is if I’m fighting for paid family medical leave or if I’m fighting for a paid legislature, I deserve that too — right here and right now. It doesn’t always have to be for the ones who are coming, we are deserving of the things that we’re fighting for too. That has kept me from spinning out of control.
How do you and your colleagues plan to hold the line against that regressive agenda that we see on a national level? How do you hope to advance feminist policies in the midst of all of these attacks that we’re already seeing and know we’re just going to see more of on so many marginalized communities?
Rios: You came into office during the same election that ushered in a second Trump Administration. I think a lot of us feel very powerless to what’s happening on the national level. There’s really a big lopsided sense of power there when it comes to the Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court — but there’s so much we can do at that community level, at that state level, to safeguard our rights and maybe even advance them.
Charley: New Mexico is one of the states where abortion, reproductive care, gender-affirming care is protected on the state level, and it’s not just a given, it’s an ongoing commitment to have this. Because of what’s happening at the national level, I think folks on the other side are feeling really emboldened that things can go in their direction, so we have to stay committed to what we have here in New Mexico. But we’re also a border state and so immigration is coming up on the state level.
In the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee, we were hearing a bill about using local resources for ICE enforcement. There’s two bills, but they do exactly different things.
One is we can use state resources to enforce ICE agenda, and the other is we cannot. We will not use state resources to advance ICE’s agenda. These are real decisions that are happening up here every single day, and of course I’m on the side of, we’re not going to use our resources to enforce this agenda. We’ve had lots of conversations about this. I’m honored to serve with Senator Cindy Nava, who was the first DACA recipient in the country to be elected to a statewide office. It’s taking lead from others who are directly impacted by this and centering their wisdom and experience in everything.
But back to being in those spaces and rooms, there was a bill that came before us a couple of days ago about U-Visa certification. Victims of a crime have a track to citizenship because they’re a protected class as victims of crime. The debate, of course, gets heated and in that room I’m the only Native person on that committee. I had to remind people, if you are not native to this land, your people immigrated at some point. You are descendants of immigrants, and, nobody is illegal on stolen land. To say that in that room — I got some reactions, but the truth is there is nobody else who can say that but me.
It’s those moments of understanding that, at the state level, we’re protecting ourselves from the federal government. It’s what we did with ICWA [the Indian Child Welfare Act] a few years ago. It was under attack at the Supreme Court, and we thought ICWA would fall, which is a protection to keep Native children in Native communities if they enter into the foster system. New Mexico has many Native communities. There’s 23 sovereign nations here and so one of our tactics was to ensure that this is protected on the state level. It’s caring for that kind of a policy agenda.
Folks started calling and asking: Would you run for office? Do you think you would run for office? I understand that women that are asked, say no several times — and I did too.
Angel Charley
Rios: It can feel so isolating, too, to be one of the only, or the only, person speaking from a specific community perspective in the room. Yet you are also serving right now in this massive moment for women in politics in New Mexico — you all have a female majority legislature, a woman overseeing the state Senate, a female governor, a woman secretary of state. Women are a majority of the state supreme court. Two out of five of your congressional seats are held by women.
What transformations or changes are we seeing in New Mexico that come from that critical mass? How is it fueling or shaping the work that you all are trying to do?
Charley: It’s such an exciting time to be a part of this. I can’t imagine serving at any other time, and I’m grateful to the women who have come before me to show you that this is actually possible — you can do this thing.
I really believe that women bring their communities with them when they rise, and so much of what I see coming from other women legislators are things that protect families. Right now, we’re going to vote on paid family medical leave for the entire state, but it’s really centering pregnant people within that legislation. I passed a murdered and missing indigenous women’s bill to establish an alert system, similar to the AMBER Alert, for when a Native person goes missing.
We understand the needs of our families and of our communities, and that is what I see women bringing every single time we’re presenting. It’s just beautiful, and I really believe that New Mexico has a value of community. We’re just tight-knit communities here in New Mexico, so it doesn’t feel strange to have so many women in decision-making positions.
Rios: If you were to zoom out, what do you think would be different on the national level if we had this sort of political representation for women that you see in New Mexico right now on that national scale?
Charley: Reproductive care would be protected, first and foremost. That is a nonnegotiable, and I think, for women, it transcends party lines, so I think that’s something we would see. I think we would have a higher federal minimum wage because we are often the breadwinners in our families. I think we’d have comprehensive gun reform on the national level. Things that just really center safety and security and family.
Rios: You mentioned that there were folks who asked you to run. Who was your inspiration while you were running? Who were those figures that you drew inspiration from or maybe who you’re now drawing inspiration from as you serve as a lawmaker?
Charley: When I started to kind of whisper outwardly that I’m thinking about doing this, first it was my sisters and my Mom, women that were like you’re capable of this, you can do this, and that was really reassuring and reaffirming. But the ultimate Auntie for Indian country Deb Haaland — one of our first women in Congress, the first Native person and woman to serve as the Secretary of the Department of Interior, and she’s running for New Mexico Governor, which is amazing, because when she wins we’ll have a little bit of overlap in this term.
The most magical thing that’s happened in my time is Deb called about three weeks ago and asked for my endorsement. And I was like: Deb, I wish I would’ve recorded that because this is wild, [that] you’re asking for my endorsement. She couldn’t endorse when I was running for office because she was the Secretary of Interior at the time when I announced my candidacy, but she donated and she was supportive. I can’t wait to tell my Grandchildren about that. It’s one of those moments that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
I’m grateful to the women who have come before me… I really believe that women bring their communities with them when they rise.
Angel Charley
Rios: What about the other side of running — were there obstacles that you faced as a woman, as a Native woman? Were there systemic obstacles, things that are part of the process that posed a different challenge to you? I’m curious if there’s any reforms you think we need to make it possible for more women to run and win.
Charley: New Mexico is the only unpaid legislature in the country, so it was balancing a full-time job and running for office, it was balancing a full-time job and being in office. That’s not tenable. It means that in New Mexico our legislature traditionally, before all of these women started to break through, has been older, retired, because they can. It’s been people who are independently wealthy because they can, or are the owners or the boss of where they are because they can make their own schedule. That’s something I really hope changes in the time that I’m serving here, because I’m thinking about who’s coming after me, and I don’t want them to face these same kinds of barriers and obstacles.
The person I was running against had been in the seat twice before, and their stance was anti-abortion. I represent a really rural district, and I was being unapologetic about my support of and my belief in access for reproductive care. One of the things that came up on the campaign trail was I was very scared for my own safety because of these views that I have. So I published a Google number for contact and that was used against me. Every place we showed up together to speak, it was: “I give out my real phone number, you can get ahold of me.”
I was just like: You don’t understand how unsafe it is to be a woman, a woman of color and say these things.
And there’s this thing that happens when you run for office where the incumbent gets to go after you, so that they can respond. I would always forget that piece, because I’m not thinking about my Google number when I’m up there talking about why we need change. Every time, I’d be like, I can’t believe I forgot to say something about this again.
Little things like that came up that I had to deal with, but it’s challenging power and power not understanding what it’s like to not have power.
I’m thinking about who’s coming after me, and I don’t want them to face these same kinds of barriers and obstacles.
Angel Charley
Rios: But you had a really big win, right? You ended up running unopposed in the general election. You are a case study that you can be unapologetically progressive, unapologetically in support of women’s rights — and the rights of all communities and all people — to equality and healthcare, and still win.
Charley: Absolutely. I think that’s probably one of my biggest critiques of the Democratic Party. We need to get out there passionately and say the things. Because people can tell when it’s scripted, and people can tell when it’s not genuine, but I think what the difference was: I’m community-made. That’s where I have spent all of my time and my energy and that’s what people got behind when they were voting for me. They were getting behind me as community, not as Angel the politician.
I joked with my husband so much because on the campaign trail: I was like, I’m not a politician I’m a community organizer, activist, and advocate. Now, if you Google my name, it says “Angel Charley, politician.” My husband was so happy to point that out, which I think is hilarious now. I won’t stop saying what I am, but that’s up there now.
Rios: What changes do you hope that we see in the next 50 years when it comes to women’s political power and representation?
Charley: I hope that it’s so normalized that we’re just in office and in these places to make decisions that it doesn’t feel like history every single time. I hope that when little girls are thinking about what they want to be when they grow up, this is one of the things that they say. In my district I have five tribal communities, and Zuni Pueblo is one of the communities that’s in the district. When we had put up the campaign signs and were going out to meet with the community, there was a mom and a little girl who came by and the little girl asked me,” Are you famous?” because my picture has been up. And I was like, “I’m not famous, no, I’m running for office.”
It’s because Native women, with the exception of Deb [Haaland] — we don’t see it often enough. We don’t see ourselves in these spaces often enough. We’re normalizing it slowly but surely, and so I hope that continues. When I’m imagining what 50 years from now looks like for the feminist movement, I think I’ll spend a lot of time reading Adrienne Brown’s work. We Will Not Cancel Us was one of the pieces that I will reread and reread because it has really defined for me that we can be in this system and have an effect on it that meets the needs of our communities. I hope that continues to happen.
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