Aaron Camacho for State Senate, District 21
Bozho, (Hello) my name is Aaron Camacho. Just outside of Fountain City, WI, my partner and I live in the Town of Cross. We are blessed to live in a rural area not far from the tallest bluffs along the Mississippi River. With such natural beauty, resources, farmland, nearby urban areas, and a strong sense of community it wasn't a hard choice in moving here in 2012. We returned to the area where our family has roots within Nations indigenous to the region and the area of our homestead where our family thrived five generations ago. Building a future with a foundation of diverse relations throughout the region brings promise for tomorrow.
Buffalo County, WI is home for me. My spouse and I are home owners growing roots in our communities. We were both raised by Wisconsin families. Following in our family's footsteps, we have come full circle moving to this unique area of our state.
A daughter of Wisconsin, I was born in Baraboo "between the bluffs" and grew up in south-central area of our state. I am an enrolled citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, raised within a multicultural family. Also, I am a descendant of Ho-Chunk Nation, Yaqui Nation, Mexican heritage and more. On top of that, I am a descendant of immigrant great-grandparents. Because of that, I have ancestry from the European continent. This heritage includes German, Polish, Norwegian, and others.
Being of a multicultural family, I embrace my diversity and utilize my experience to bring a unique perspective to the table. Recognizing my how my communities intersect and parallel is a consistent habit I have. It allows me to see, our communities have far more in common than in differences. In short, I am of Indigenous descent from the North American Continent and of European decent. One could say, I am "All American".
Connecting with our community's history, our neighbors and surrounding towns has instilled a drive within me. This drive is for sustaining our environment, healthy communities, honoring American Indian rights, maintaining access to our local and state governments, as well as supporting Wisconsin's rich heritage of local farms.
In recognizing my responsibility to serve, I have taken on the role of former president and current director at the Winona-Dakota Unity Alliance a local non-profit organization. Also, I am a founder of Turtle Island Student Organization and the Indigenous Learning Garden Initiative at Winona State University. Currently, I am an intern for the Winona Human Rights Commission, These experiences have provided invaluable lessons.
Through recognition of this work I have been the recipient of the Winona State University President's Civic Engagement Award, the Minnesota Campus Compact President's Student Leadership Award and accepted the John Latsch Human Rights Award on behalf of the Winona-Dakota Unity Alliance as president of that organization. As I remain grateful for these honors, I recognize the responsibility of continuing on. There is still work to be done.
