Mae Peshlakai

Mae Walker Peshlakai is an American Navajo weaver, silversmith, and politician serving as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives since 2023. A Democrat, she represents Legislative District 7, which includes the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe. Peshlakai co-founded a fine arts studio with her husband in the 1970s and has engaged in local politics in Cameron, Arizona, for nearly 30 years.

Early life Peshlakai grew up on the Navajo Nation and attended an American Indian boarding school. Her maiden name is Walker. Her mother, Dorothy Walker, and her sister, Angie Maloney, are also weavers. As of 1997, her sister worked as a district sanitarian in Tuba City, Arizona.

Career Peshlakai is a Navajo weaver, silversmith, and maker of jewelry and beadwork. She and her Democratic running mate were unopposed by Republican candidates in the general election. She owns property in Cameron, Arizona, at the western edge of the Navajo Nation. As a traditional Navajo, she believes in the Beauty Way, the concept that Navajos are protectors of all living things.

She was married for over 50 years to James Peshlakai, an artist and storyteller who died on February 4, 2015. Peshlakai and her husband have four adult children, a son, Darcy, and three daughters, Jamescita, Stephanie, and Shalta. As of 2015, Peshlakai had 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.