Sarah Palin is American.
Mama grizzly is a term that former U.S. vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor Sarah Palin coined to refer to herself that has since been applied to female candidates she supported or endorsed in the 2010 U.S. midterm elections ( collectively called mama grizzlies ) . Sarah Louise Palin ( [ ˈpeɪlᵻn ] née Heath ; born February 11 , 1964 ) is an American politician , commentator , and author who served as the ninth Governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009 . As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 2008 election alongside presidential nominee , Arizona Senator John McCain , she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major political party and the first Republican woman selected as a vice presidential candidate . Since her resignation as Governor , she has endorsed and campaigned for the Tea Party movement as well as several candidates in multiple election cycles , prominently including Donald Trump for President in 2016 .