Running for LD6 State House.
Jamescita Peshlakai is a citizen of the Navajo Nation and was born and raised in Coconino County. She is the descendant of Indigenous leaders from the Navajo, Hopi, and Chiricahua people. Jamescita joined the U.S. Army in 1989 and served in Operation Desert Storm during the Persian Gulf War.
As a veteran advocate, Peshlakai successfully spearheaded an initiative to create an independent veterans’ affairs agency for the Navajo Nation. She was awarded the Copper Star Award by the Unified Arizona Veterans of Arizona for her efforts.
Peshlakai worked in education, social service, and agriculture jobs before she ran and won a seat in the Arizona House of Representatives in 2013. She went on to represent her legislative district as a state senator in 2017. She was the first Native American woman to serve as a state senator in Arizona and the first woman senator to serve in caucus leadership as a Whip. She also chaired the Indigenous Peoples Caucus and served as Vice Chair on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Study Committee Task Force that began in 2019.
Over the years in her professional career, she served as a policy adviser to the Navajo Nation president and was director of policy and programs for the Arizona Foundation for Women and Native Americans for Community Action. Jamescita is first and foremost a community organizer and has helped advocate for issues, candidates, and ballot initiatives.
Peshlakai is Diné/Navajo of the Tangle People clan, born for the Red House clan. Her maternal grandfathers are the Deer Water clan, and her paternal grandfathers are the Cliff Dweller clan.
