Jeanne Givens

Jeanne Iyall was born in c. 1951/1952, in Plummer, Idaho, to Celina Garry and Jack Iyall, who later divorced. In 1955, the family participated in a federal relocation program and moved to San Jose, California. Celina Garry later married Ralph Zarste and Donald Goolesby before moving back to the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in Plummer, Idaho.^[4][5][6]

She is a member of the Coeur d'Alene tribe and her grandfather, Ignace Garry, was the last chief of the tribe and her uncle, Joseph Garry, was the only full-blooded Native American to serve in the Idaho legislature. She attended Whitworth University and majored in sociology, but did not graduate. Iyall married Ray Givens.^[7][8] Givens served as a probation officer and instructor of speech and communication at North Idaho College.^[7]

In 1982, Givens was appointed to the Statewide Health Planning Council by Governor John Evans.^[9] She served on the Idaho Association for the Humanities until 1985, when Gretchen Hellar was appointed to replace Givens by Governor Evans.^[10] In 1985 and 1989, Givens was appointed to serve on the fourteen member committee that planned the centennial celebration of Idaho's statehood.^[11][12]

In 1982, she ran with the Democratic nomination against incumbent Republican Representative Robert Scates for a seat in the Idaho House of Representatives in the 3rd district Seat A.^[13] In the general election she was defeated by Scates.^[14]

On April 1, 1984, Givens announced that she would seek election to the Idaho House of Representatives.^[15] Givens ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and received the party's nomination to run from the 4th district Seat A.^[16][17][18] In the general election she defeated Republican nominee Ralph Kizer.^[19] Givens was the first Native American woman ever elected to the Idaho House of Representatives.^[20][21]

In 1986, state Senator Vernon Lannen died in a logging accident and Givens ran to succeed him in the Idaho Senate. However, on June 26, she announced that she would withdraw from the Senate election.^[22] She won reelection to the House of Representatives without opposition.^[23] During the 1986 elections Givens had run the House Democratic election committee.^[24]

During the 1984 Democratic presidential primaries Givens supported Senator Gary Hart and served as one of his eleven delegates to the Democratic National Convention from Idaho.^[25][1] During the 1988 Democratic presidential primaries she called for Hart to not enter the race due to his affair with Donna Rice Hughes.^[26] Instead of supporting a candidate she wrote a letter to Idaho's delegates asking them to remain uncommitted.^[27]

During her tenure in the Idaho House of Representatives she served on the Indian Affairs, Business, Education, and Health and Welfare committees.^[28][29] On December 10, 1987, she was appointed as a member of the State Affairs committee by Speaker Tom Boyd after Representative Steve Herndon resigned to accept an appointment to the Idaho Senate.^[30]

In 1989, Givens was named as one of Idaho's ten most influential residents of the decade by the Idaho State Journal.^[31]

On April 13, 1988, Givens announced that she would seek the Democratic nomination for Idaho's 1st congressional district against incumbent Republican Representative Larry Craig and filed to run on April 15. She stated that would serve in the grassroots tradition of Gracie Pfost, the first woman to represent Idaho in the United States House of Representatives.^[32][33] She won the Democratic nomination against Bruce Robinson and David Shepard, but was defeated in the general election by Craig.^[34][35]

During the campaign she fired her campaign manager Carmi McLean with McLean claiming that it was due to McLean's disagreements with Ray Givens. Mike Brush was selected to replace McLean as Givens' campaign manager.^[36] Givens was the first Native American woman to run for a seat in the United States Congress and would later be followed by Ada Deer.^[37]

On August 9, 1989, Givens formed an exploratory committee to consider running against Craig again during the 1990 election.^[38] On January 31, 1990, Givens announced that she would run in the Democratic primary and that her chances of winning were greater due to Craig choosing to run for Idaho's seat in the United States Senate rather than seek reelection to the House of Representatives.^[39] However, she placed second behind Larry LaRocco.^[40]

During the campaign Givens took out a total of $27,900 in loans to finance her campaign. In September 1990, she repaid a $9,900 loan she took from the Mountain West Savings Bank, but by 1992, she still was still $18,000 in debt due to a loan that was taken out from Key Bank. The $18,000 loan was used to hire a Seattle consulting firm for television ads.^[41]

In 1989, Givens represented Governor Cecil Andrus at the Western Governors Association session to discuss Native American issues.^[42]

During the 1992 Democratic presidential primaries Givens supported Senator Tom Harkin and was selected to serve on the twenty-five member Idahoans for Harkins Committee by Phil Lansing, Harkin's Idaho coordinator, on February 12, 1992.^[43]

On August 7, 1992, Givens filed to run for a seat on North Idaho College Board of Trustees to succeed retiring incumbent Jack Beebe.^[44] In the general election she defeated James Zipperer.^[31] In 1997, she was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the Board of Directors of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.^[45]

In 2014, Paulette Jordan, another female member of the Coeur d'Alene tribe, was elected to the Idaho House of Representatives. Jordan stated that Givens was a mentor to her.^[46][47]