Shelley Buck

Shelley Buck (Dakota: Pte Wicota) is an American nonprofit executive and politician who represents District 47A in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Since January 2023, she has served as the president of Owámniyomni Okhódayapi ("Friends of the Falls"), a Dakota-led community organization working on restoring Owámniyomni. Before that, she spent 12 years on the Prairie Island Tribal Council, including six years as its president.

Education Buck has a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Indiana University Bloomington, a Master of Arts in sports management from Concordia University, St. Paul, and a Master of Jurisprudence in Indian tribal law from the University of Tulsa. She served on the Prairie Island Tribal Council for 12 years, including stints as the tribe's president.

In 2023, Buck became the president of Owámniyomni Okhódayapi, a nonprofit organization formerly known as Friends of the Falls. She named affordability, environmental protection, and gun safety as her top three issues. Buck won a three-way primary for the DFL nomination, defeating advocates David Azcona and Juli Servatius with 87% of the vote, and had no opponent in the general election. On February 3, 2026, she was sworn in alongside Meg Luger-Nikolai, who was also elected in a January special election.

Personal life Buck lives in the South Maplewood area and has two daughters.