Advance Native Political Leadership Action Fund

Background

The Advance Native Political Leadership Action Fund is a social welfare organization associated with Advance Native Political Leadership (ANPL). It focuses on increasing left-of-center Native American representation in government positions at all levels across the country. ¹ It aims to do this through research, leadership recruitment, leadership training programs, civic engagement, and public endorsements of Native candidates for public office at the federal, state, and local levels. ^{4  2}

Advance Native Political Leadership was co-founded in 2016 by left-wing indigenous activists Anathea Chino, Chrissie Castro, and Kevin Killer and Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan (D). ^{5  6} In 2018, Groundswell Action Fund supported a three-day National Native Power Building Summit for 50 Native American political candidates and operatives. This event led to the creation of the Advance Native Political Leadership Action Fund. ⁷

Leadership Training and Research

The Advance Native Political Leadership Action Fund’s Native Leadership Institute is a leadership development program and research institute. Its leadership training programs are both virtual and in person. The three-day NLI Lead Training program is for Natives interested in political leadership. ⁸ In 2026, Advance launched a four-hour virtual NLI Launch Training program as an introductory session covering democratic systems overviews and options for leadership pathways. ⁹

In April 2026, the Advance Native Political Leadership Action Fund partnered with Native People’s Action to host the Native Leadership Institute training program in Alaska. The program provides leadership training to Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian leaders planning to run for public office. ¹⁰ In May 2026, Advance partnered with Western Native Voice to host the Native Leadership Institute training program in Montana. ¹¹

In July 2026, Advance was scheduled to host a one-day 2026 Native Power Building Summit, Still We Rise, in Scottsdale, Arizona. ¹²

Advance has published several research reports that provided data on Native representation in politics and included recommendations on increasing representation in the future, including general election reports and survey reports. ¹³

Political Endorsements

The Advance Native Political Leadership Action Fund is listed in the Blue Voter Guide as an endorser of Native Democratic candidates. ¹⁴ Blue Voter Guide partners with organizations focused on “electing Democratic and progressive candidates” including DemCast USA, College Democrats of America, Swing Blue Alliance, and Human Rights Campaign. ¹⁵

Advance began endorsing Native American candidates at the federal, state, and local levels during the 2022 midterm elections. ¹⁶

Advance’s endorsement program supports and endorses the election of Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian leaders in federal, state, and local governments. ¹⁷ Its 2026 federal endorsements included Chris James, a candidate for the Democratic Party to the U.S. House of Representatives for Arizona; Diop Harris II, a candidate for the Democratic Party to the U.S. House of Representatives for Michigan; and Peggy Flanagan, a candidate for the Democratic Party to the U.S. Senate for Minnesota. It published 2026 endorsements for Democratic candidates at the state and local levels in ten states. ¹⁸

In 2024, Advance endorsed the Kamala Harris–Tim Walz presidential ticket. This was the first time Advance endorsed any non-Indigenous candidates for public office. ¹⁹

Funding

The Advance Native Political Leadership Action Fund is a fiscally sponsored project of Beyond Impact, which was formerly known as Tides Advocacy. Beyond Impact is a left-of-center social welfare organization focused on the creation, financing, and consultation of various left-of-center groups. ¹ Beyond Impact describes itself as an organization to “build power and advance progressive policies that center equity and justice.” ²⁰ The Tides Advocacy 2024 tax filing lists Advance Native Political Leadership Action Fund executive director Anathea Chino as one of its compensated individuals. ²¹

Leadership

As of 2026, co-founder Anathea Chino was working as the executive director of Advance Native Political Leadership. Chino at that time had over 18 years of experience as a political strategist supporting left-of-center women of color, LGBT, and “Two Spirit people.” In 2025, she was recognized with a Powerful IDEA Award by GAIN Power, a networking platform that characterizes itself as “Powering Democratic and Progressive change.”  ^{22  23  24  25}

Co-founder and 2026 advisory board member Chrissie Castro is a liberal indigenous activist and organizer. As a chairperson of the Los Angeles City and County Native American Indian Commission, she co-led the change to replace Columbus Day with “Indigenous Peoples Day” in Los Angeles City and County. She was a co-founder of the California Native Vote Project and its executive director as of 2026. ^{26  27}

Co-founder Kevin Killer is a former Democratic South Dakota state legislator and the president of the Oglala Sioux tribe. He is an Open Society Foundations Leadership in Government program fellow and a board member of the  People for the American Way (PFAW) Foundation. Killer resigned his seat in the state senate to co-found ANPL. ^{28  29}

Peggy Flanagan is a co-founder of ANPL. As of 2026, she was the Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota and worked in close partnership with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D), who ran as then-Vice President Kamala Harris’s vice presidential running mate in 2024. Flanagan was running in the 2026 Democratic primary for the United States Senate. ^{30  31  32}

In addition to Chrissie Castro, advisory board members as of 2026 included Democratic Party political operative and activist Jessica Byrd and Laurie Weahkee. Byrd is the founder of Three Point Strategies. She was the chief of staff for Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and is one of the leaders of the Black National Convention for the Movement for Black Lives. ³³ Weahkee is the former executive director of the Native American Voters Alliance (Naeva). ³⁴