On the Streets and in the State House

This study explores the politics of American Indian and Hispanic women leaders in New Mexico's environmental policymaking arena. Using non-random purposive sampling, 50 women were selected for participation who were political activists in grassroots organizations or public officials, elected or appointed to local, state or tribal government. Personal interviews were employed to gather data on their political socialization, their leadership trajectories, their motives for engagement in public life, their political ideology, their racial, ethnic and gender identity and their policy agendas and strategies for influencing public policymaking.