Furse was born in Nairobi, Kenya Colony, to British parents, and grew up in South Africa. Inspired by her mother, she became an anti-apartheid activist in 1951, joining the first Black Sash demonstration in Cape Town, South Africa. She moved to England in 1956, before eventually moving to the United States, settling in Los Angeles, California. While in Los Angeles, she became involved in a women's self-help project in Watts, and with Cesar Chavez's United Farm Workers movement, working to unionize grape farm workers. Moving to Seattle, Washington, in 1968, she became involved in American Indian/Native American rights causes including fishing and treaty rights. She became a United States citizen in 1972. Two years later, she graduated from Evergreen State College. In 1978, she finally settled in the Portland, Oregon, area, where she attended Northwestern School of Law. After two years of law school, she dropped out and led the efforts of several Oregon-based American Indian/Native American tribes to win federal recognition, successfully lobbying the U.S. Congress to grant federal recognition to the Coquille, Klamath and Grand Ronde tribes. In 1986, she co-founded the Portland-based Oregon Peace Institute, establishing a mission to develop and disseminate conflict resolution curriculum in Oregon schools.
She was elected to Congress in 1992, defeating State Treasurer Tony Meeker, in a year where the number of women in the House grew from 29 to 48. In 1994, Furse, called by one Northwest newspaper the "antithesis of Congress' traditional play-it-safe politicians", won reelection by 301 votes, defeating businessman Bill Witt during a year when the Republican Revolution produced a 54-seat gain for her opponent's party. In 1996, Furse and Congressman George Nethercutt co-founded the Congressional Diabetes Caucus and authored legislation which passed in 1997 to improve coverage of diabetes education and supplies in the Medicare program. The Congressional Diabetes Caucus has since grown to be the largest health-related Caucus in Congress. She also was a key player in getting funding to extend the TriMet Westside MAX Light Rail project from its originally planned terminus on the Beaverton/Hillsboro border to downtown Hillsboro, and TriMet named the plaza at Sunset Transit Center after her. Later in 1996 Furse won 52% of the vote in a rematch with Witt. She declined to seek reelection in 1998, explaining that the job is "public service and not a career."
Other activities
Furse and partner John C. Platt own Helvetia Vineyards and Winery in Helvetia, Oregon, where the couple planted grapes in 1982, and started their winery in 1992. As of 2007 the vineyard is home to both pinot noir and chardonnay grapes. Since retiring from Congress in 1999, she served as director of the Institute for Tribal Government at Portland State University. Her continued involvement in Native American affairs has also brought her some attention during recent U.S. Senate campaigns for her high-profile endorsements of Senator Gordon Smith. In a 2006 interview, Furse said her support in 2002 was because they "had a lot in common on tribal issues" and cited Smith's repeated votes against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, votes that defied pressure from Smith's fellow Republicans including Senator Stephens; she believes "you support those people who have stood up for issues that you care about" and that Smith is a "very moral person if he doesn’t agree with you, he’ll tell you" something that Furse admires. Her continued support during the 2008 campaign included praise for Smith as "one of the first to stand up to George Bush and other Republicans to end this war". In 2014, Furse stood for election to the Washington County Board of Commissioners in District 4, but lost the race to incumbent Commissioner Bob Terry. She ran with the endorsements of Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici and Governors Barbara Roberts and Ted Kulongoski. Furse is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.
