Maria Cantwell currently serves as a United States Senator for the State of Washington. As a respected leader – both in public service and in the private sector – Maria has always embraced the values she first learned growing up in a strong working-class family. With the help of Pell Grants, Maria was the first member of her family to graduate college. Later, a successful businesswoman in Washington's hi-tech industry, she helped build a company that created hundreds of high-paying jobs from the ground up.
As a senior member and former chair of the Indian Affairs Committee, Maria has worked to promote economic growth in Indian Country and promote the sovereignty of Tribal Nations. Maria has twice brought the Indian Affairs Committee to Washington to learn more about economic development in tribal communities. Consisting of 29 federally recognized tribes and nearly 165,000 people, the Native Americans in Washington contribute greatly to the state’s cultural diversity, heritage, and economy. Maria has led Senate efforts to give tribal governments greater flexibility to lease land, create new business opportunities on reservations, and grow regional economies. She has consistently fought to restore vital salmon habitats that support thousands of tribal and nontribal jobs on and off reservations, and worked to pass landmark legislation that strengthens the Indian Health System in Washington. She also passed legislation to provide greater protections to native women who are the victims of domestic abuse.