Ponka-We Victors (born July 7, 1981, in

Ponca The Ponca people are a nation primarily located in the Great Plains of North America that share a common Ponca culture, history, and language, identified with two Indigenous nations: the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma or the Ponca Tribe of ...

and

Tohono Oʼodham The Tohono Oʼodham ( , ) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American people of the Sonoran Desert, residing primarily in the U.S. state of Arizona and the northern Mexican state of Sonora. The United States federally recognized t ...

) is a community support worker from

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

, who was a Democratic member of the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...

, representing District 103 from 2011 to 2023.

Background

Victors is an enrolled member of both the

Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma The Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, also known as the Ponca Nation, is one of two federally recognized tribes of Ponca people. The other is the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska. Traditionally, peoples of both tribes have spoken the Omaha-Ponca langu ...

and the

Tohono Oʼodham Nation The Tohono Oʼodham Nation is the collective government body of the Tohono Oʼodham tribe in the United States. The Tohono Oʼodham Nation governs four separate sections of land with a combined area of , approximately the size of Connecticut and ...

, and a lifelong resident of Wichita. She earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

from Newman University in 2005, and a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

from

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

in 2008.

Elected office

Victors, who had worked as a Congressional intern, had been a long-time backer of Delia Garcia, the incumbent Representative from Kansas's 103rd congressional district. In 2010, Garcia supported Victors in filing as the only candidate for the 2010 Democratic

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

hours before the filing deadline. Victors became the presumptive winner of the seat. No Republican candidate has run for the seat since 1998, when incumbent Democrat

Thomas Klein Thomas Klein (born April 14, 1948) is a German civil rights activist, historian, and politician. Life Klein was born in Berlin on April 14, 1948. He trained as an electrical mechanic before enrolling at Humboldt University to study mathematics ...

polled 57% of the vote in a three-way race. Victors ran unopposed in the November

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. In 2012, she beat challenger Angela Martinez in the Democratic primary and was again unopposed in the November general election.

"Illegal immigrants" speech

In 2013, Victors drew national attention when, during a hearing on a bill to deny in-state tuition to Kansas high school graduates who were

undocumented immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

, she addressed

Kansas Secretary of State The secretary of state of Kansas is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kansas. The current secretary of state is the former speaker ''pro tempore'' of the Kansas House of Representatives, Scott Schwab, who was sworn in on J ...

Kris Kobach Kris William Kobach ( ; born March 26, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the attorney general of Kansas since 2023. He previously served as the 31st secretary of state of Kansas from 2011 to 2019. A former chairman o ...

and other advocates of the bill, saying, "I think it's funny, Mr. Kobach, because when you mention illegal immigrant, I think of all of you."Planas, Roque. "Kris Kobach Slammed By Native American Rep. Ponka-We Victors: ‘When You Mention Illegal Immigrant, I Think Of All Of You'"
''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

'' March 21, 2013

Career

Victors is a social worker at Behavioral Link.

References

External links

Official House website

Project Vote Smart biography

Project Vote Smart legislative profile
* Campaign contributions
2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Victors, Ponka-We 1981 births Living people 21st-century American women politicians American social workers Democratic Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives Native American state legislators in Kansas Native American women in politics Newman University, Wichita alumni Politicians from Wichita, Kansas Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma people Tohono O'odham people Wichita State University alumni Women state legislators in Kansas 21st-century Native American women 21st-century Native American politicians 20th-century Native American people 20th-century Native American women 21st-century members of the Kansas Legislature Tohono O'odham women