Mary KuneshMary Kunesh

Mary Kunesh is an educator, community leader, and longtime state legislator committed to strengthening Minnesota’s families and communities. A descendant of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Kunesh served two terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives before being elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2020, where she currently serves as Assistant Majority Leader. Before serving in the legislature, Kunesh spent more than 25 years as a public school educator. During her time in office, she has championed investments in education, Native communities, and working families, including helping establish Minnesota’s groundbreaking Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) Office. She was also a founding member of the Legislature’s Native American and People of Color & Indigenous (POCI) Caucuses. Kunesh is running for re-election to continue advancing policies that strengthen public education, support Tribal communities, and ensure Native voices are represented in state government.

Senator Mary Kunesh, Standing Rock Lakota descendant, was elected to the MN House of Representatives in 2016 then elected to the Senate in 2020. She is the first woman of Native descent to be elected a Minnesota Senator. Mary retired from her role as a public school library media specialist after 25 years’ service and is currently the Chair of Education Finance in the Minnesota Senate. Senator Kunesh is the author of the legislation and was Chair of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task force in MN and created the first-in-the nation permanent office of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives in state government. Mary has served as an Assistant Majority Leader for the DFL House Caucus and currently holds the role of Assistant Majority leader in the MN Senate – also the first Native American to hold that role in the legislature. Mary is a founding member of the Minnesota Native American Legislative and POCI (People Of Color Indigenous) caucus and sits a Chair of the National Council of American Indian Legislators. Senator Kunesh is Chair of Education Finance in the Senate where she has championed inclusion of comprehensive sex education in schools, funding gender neutral bathrooms,supporting Title XI, and authoring the Equal Rights Amendment. Mary lives in New Brighton, is the proud mother of three adults and four grandchildren.