Social worker and political newcomer Sierra Yazzie Asamoa-Tutu will take office in January 2026 as Gallup, N.M.’s first Diné city council member. Notably a city along Route 66 and on the edge of the Navajo Nation, Gallup’s population is more than half Native American. Yazzie Asamoa-Tutu is one of a number of Native candidates filling local elected seats since the mid-term elections. We’ll talk with some of them about what their hopes are for their coming term of elected public service.

GUESTS

Sierra Yazzie Asamoa-Tutu (Diné), city member-elect for the city of Gallup

Ed Lowery Jr. (Lumbee), mayor-elect of Parkton, N.C.

Chris Roberts (Choctaw), mayor of Shoreline, Wash.

David Holt (Osage), mayor of Oklahoma City, Okla.

Break 1 Music: C.R.E.A.M. [Instrumental] (song) Wu-Tang Clan (artist) Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers [Instrumentals] (album)

Break 2 Music: Stomp Dance (song) George Hunter (artist) Haven (album)