Notable Native American Women This is a list of notable Native American women of the United States. Please note that it should contain only Native women of the United States and its territories, not First Nations women or Native women of Central and South America. Native American identity is a complex and contested issue. The Bureau of Indian Affairs defines Native American as having American Indian or Alaska Native ancestry. Legally, being Native American is defined as being enrolled in a federally recognized tribe or Alaskan village. These entities establish their own membership rules, and they vary. Each must be understood independently. Ethnologically, factors such as culture, history, language, religion, and familial kinships can influence Native American identity.[1] All individuals on this list should have Native American ancestry. Historical figures might predate tribal enrollment practices and may be included based on reliable sources that document ethnological tribal membership. Any contemporary individuals should either be enrolled members of federally recognized tribes, or have cited Native American ancestry and be recognized as Native American by their respective tribes(s). Contemporary individuals who are not enrolled in a tribe but are documented as having tribal descent are listed as being of descent from a tribe. Donna Standing Steinberg, Kiowa-Wichita beadworker, and Josephine Parker, Kiowa, both from Oklahoma, 2007 Louise Abeita (E-Yeh-Shure, Blue Corn) (b. 1926), Isleta Pueblo author[2] Aguilar sisters, Santo Domingo Pueblo potters Ai (born 1947), Choctaw, Chickasaw, Southern Cheyenne, and Comanche-descent poet Elsie Allen, Cloverdale Pomo basket weaver[3] Paula Gunn Allen (1939–2008), Laguna Pueblo-Sioux-Lebanese poet, activist, literary critic, and novelist[4] Tammie Allen (Walking Spirit), Jicarilla Apache, potter Queen Alliquippa (died 1754), Seneca Nation leader Princess Angeline (Suquamish-Duwamish, ca. 1820–1896), daughter of Chief Seattle Queen Anne (ca. 1650–ca. 1725), chief of the Pamunkey tribe Annie Antone, Tohono Oodham basketweaver Annette Arkeketa, Otoe-Missouria poet, playwright Anna Mae Pictou Aquash (1945–1976), Miqmaq Indians rights activist[5] Awashonks, chief of the Sakonett tribe[6] Annette Arkeketa, Otoe-Missouria-Muscogee Creek writer[7] Marilou Awiakta (born 1936), Eastern Band Cherokee author[8] B[edit] Rebecca Benally with former Utah Governor and former US Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman, Jr. Margarete Bagshaw (Santa Clara Pueblo-descent, born 1964), painter and gallerist Betty Louise Bell (born 1949), Cherokee-descent author[9] Diane E. Benson (b. 1954), Tlingit author Martha Berry, Cherokee Nation bead artist and educator Carrie Bethel, Mono Lake Paiute basketweaver, 1898–1974 Black Buffalo Woman, first wife of Crazy Horse Black Shawl (Lakota, died 1920), second wife of Crazy Horse Kimberley M. Blaeser (b. 1955), White Earth Ojibwe writer[10] Blue Corn (ca. 1920–1999), San Ildefonso Pueblo potter Gloria Bird, Spokane Tribe of the Spokane Reservation poet and critic[11] Bowdash, Kootenai two-spirit warrior Beth Brant (b. 1941), Bay of Quinte Mohawk Mary Brant, Mohawk leader Mary Brave Bird (1953–2013), Brulé Lakota writer and activist[12] Bras Piqué, Natchez woman who tried to warn the French of her tribes plans to attack them Ignatia Broker (1919–1987), Ojibwa writer Vee F. Browne, Navajo author Buffalo Bird Woman, Hidatsa author Buffalo Calf Road Woman, Cheyenne heroine C[edit] Gladys Cardiff (born 1942), poet and academic of Eastern Band Cherokee descent Tonantzin Carmelo, Tongva-Kumeyaay-descent actress[13] Lorna Dee Cervantes (b. 1954), Chicana-Chumash-descent Nellie Charlie, Mono Lake Paiute basketweaver, 1867–1965 Marie Z. Chino, Acoma Pueblo potter Vera Chino, Acoma Pueblo potter Chipeta, Kiowa Apache, 1843/4-1924, beadworker and wife of Chief Ouray Kelly Church, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians basketweaver, birch bark biter, painter, and environmental activist Chrystos (born 1946), Menominee-descent two-spirit poet Mildred Cleghorn (1910–1997), Chairwoman of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma Elouise Cobell (Blackfeet), Executive Director of the Native American Community Development Corporation Radmilla Cody (Navajo), Navajo language singer, 46th Miss Navajo Nation[14] Colestah, Yakama wife of Chief Kamiakin Lyda Conley (Wyandot, born 1874-1946), first Native American female attorney, and first Native American woman admitted to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Wyandot Nation activist and attorney Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Crow Creek Sioux poet and novelist Hilda Coriz, Santo Domingo Pueblo potter Cuhtahlatah, Cherokee heroine D[edit] Dahteste, Apache fighter and compatriot to Geronimo Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone activist Mary Dann (died 2005), Western Shoshone activist Alice Brown Davis (1852–1935), Principal Chief of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma Angel DeCora, Ho-Chunk artist and lecturer Ada Deer, Menominee author, activist, and the first Native American woman to head the Bureau of Indian Affairs Susan Deer Cloud, Mohawk-Seneca-Blackfeet author[citation needed] Ella Cara Deloria (1888–1971), Yankton Sioux educator, anthropologist, ethnographer, linguist, and novelist Mavis Doering, Cherokee Nation (1929–2007) basket weaver Do-Hum-Me, Sac entertainer Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, Brulé Lakota writer and educator Juanita Suazo Dubray, Taos Pueblo potter Joyce Dugan, first female elected chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians E[edit] Eagle of Delight (died 1822), Otoe tribe emissary Chief Earth Woman, Ojibwa warrior Ehyophsta, Cheyenne warrior Louise Erdrich (born 1954), Turtle Mountain Ojibwe writer F[edit] Fidelia Fielding (1827–1908), last native speaker of the Mohegan Pequot language Cecilia Fire Thunder (born 1946), former president of the Oglala Sioux in South Dakota Elaine Fleming, Ojibwa mayor of Cass Lake, Minnesota L. Frank, Tongva-Ajachmen Indian artist, tribal scholar, and activist Kalyn Free, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma lawyer and activist G[edit] Martha George, Suquamish tribal chairman Diane Glancy, author, poet, and playwright of Cherokee descent Glory of the Morning (born 1709), Ho-Chunk chief Rose Gonzales (ca. 1900–1989), Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo potter Janice Gould, Koyangkauwi Maidu writer Gouyen, Apache warrior Teri Greeves, Kiowa-Comanche bead worker Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty, Assiniboine-Sioux bead worker and quill worker Margaret Gutierrez, Santa Clara Pueblo potter H[edit] Janet Campbell Hale, Coeur dAlene-Kootenay-Cree-Irish writer Hate Woman, Blackfoot warrior Hanging Cloud, Ojibwa warrior Charlotte Hallmark, chief of the Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama Helen Hardin, Tsa-Sah-Wee-Eh (1934–1984), Santa Clara Pueblo painter Joy Harjo, Muscogee Creek-Cherokee poet, lecturer, and musician Suzan Shown Harjo, Muscogee Creek-Southern Cheyenne activist LaDonna Harris, Comanche president of Americans for Indian Opportunity Allison Hedge Coke, Huron-Cherokee poet, writer, educator, activist Robbie Hedges, first elected woman chief of the Peoria tribe Rosella Hightower, Choctaw-Shawnee Tribe, born 1920, ballerina Joan Hill (Chea-Se-Quah), Muscogee (Creek) Nation-Cherokee painter Linda Hogan (born 1947), Chickasaw poet, storyteller, academic, playwright, novelist, environmentalist and writer of short stories. Minnie Hollow Wood, Lakota woman who fought at the Battle of Little Big Horn Hononegah (ca. 1814–1847), Ho-Chunk pioneer LeAnne Howe, Choctaw writer I[edit] Debora Iyall (born 1954), Cowlitz-descent singer and printmaker J[edit] Sarah James, Washoe basketweaver Jana (born 1980), Lumbee-Tuscarora-descent singer Viola Jimulla (1878–1966), Yavapai chief Marie Smith Jones (1918–2008), honorary chief of the Eyak Nation and last known speaker of the Eyak language Juana Maria (died 1853), last member of the Nicoleño tribe K[edit] Yvonne Kauger (born 1937), Cheyenne-Arapaho Oklahoma Supreme Court justice Maude Kegg (1906–1996), Ojibwa bead worker and traditionalist Louisa Keyser Dat So La Lee (ca. 1829–1925), Washoe basket weaver Loretta Kelsey, last living speaker of Elem Pomo Edith Kilbuck, Lenape missionary Mary Killman, Citizen Potawatomi Nation Olympic synchronized swimmer, b. 1991[15] Kuiliy, Pend dOreille warrior L[edit] Madeline La Framboise (1740–1846), Odawa fur trader Winona LaDuke (born 1959), White Earth Ojibwe activist, environmentalist, economist, and writer Carole LaFavor, two-spirit Ojibwa novelist and activist Naomi Lang (born 1978), Karuk figure skater and ice dancer Moscelyne Larkin (born 1925), Peoria-Shawnee ballerina Sally Larsen (born 1954), Apache-Aleut photographer Sharmagne Leland-St. John, Nespelem poet Kelsey Leonard, (Shinnecock Indian Nation) first Native American woman to earn a degree from the University of Oxford Edmonia Lewis (ca. 1845–ca. 1911), African-Mississauga Ojibwe sculptor Lucy M. Lewis (1898–1992), Acoma Pueblo potter Sacheen Littlefeather (born 1947), White Mountain Apache-Yaqui-Pueblo actress and activist Linda Lomahaftewa, Hopi-Choctaw painter, printmaker, and educator Lozen, Apache warrior, spiritual leader, and compatriot to Geronimo Merina Lujan (Pop Chalee), Taos Pueblo painter M[edit] Wilma Mankiller (1945–2010), first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Maria Martinez (1887–1980), San Ildefonso Pueblo potter Janet McAdams, Alabama Creek-descent author[citation needed] Barbara McAlister, Cherokee Nation opera singer and artist Mabel McKay, Pomo-Patwin (1907–1993) basketweaver and medicine woman Doris McLemore (Wichita tribe, born 1927), last fluent speaker of the Wichita language Isabel Meadows (1846–1939), Rumsen Ohlone language consultant and last speaker of the Rumsen language Methoataske, mother of Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa (Shawnee) Elaine Miles (born 1960), Cayuse-Nez Perce actress Devon A. Mihesuah, Choctaw writer Deborah A. Miranda, Esselen-Chumash-French poet Catherine Montour (1710–1804), Seneca leader Mountain Wolf Woman (1884–1960), Ho-Chunk Native American Church member Moving Robe Woman, a Hunkpapa Lakota fighter in the Battle of Little Bighorn Mary Musgrove, Muscogee Creek interpreter, trader, and political leader N[edit] Helen Naha, Hopi aka Feather Woman potter Nampeyo, Hano Nampeyo, (ca. 1859–1942) Tewa, Hopi potter Elva Nampeyo, Hopi potter Fannie Nampeyo, Hopi potter Iris Nampeyo, Hopi potter Dextra Nampeyo Quotskuyva, Tewa/Hopi (daughter of Rachel) potter Nora Naranjo-Morse, Santa Clara Pueblo potter Sally Noble (Chimariko), last speakers of the Chimariko language Roscinda Nolasquez (Cupeño, 1892–1987), last known speaker of the Cupeño language O[edit] Hannah Ocuish (died 1786), executed Pequot Old-Lady-Grieves-The-Enemy, Pawnee warrior One Who Walks With the Stars, Oglala Lakota warrior in the Battle of Little Bighorn P[edit] LaRue Parker (1935–2011), chairperson of the Caddo Nation Essie Parrish, Kashaya Pomo basketweaver, 1902–1979 Elise Paschen, Osage Nation poet[16] Lotsee Patterson, Comanche librarian and professor Susan La Flesche Picotte (1865–1915), first female Native American physician, Omaha tribe Lori Piestewa (1979–2003), Hopi soldier killed in Iraq Pine Leaf, Crow warrior Pocahontas (1595–1617), Powhatan diplomat, wife of John Rolfe, rescued Captain John Smith from his execution Pretty-Shield, Crow Nation medicine woman and autobiographer Q[edit] Jaune Quick-To-See Smith (born 1940), Flathead nation artist R[edit] Rattling Blanket Woman (Miniconjou), mother of Crazy Horse Delphine Red Shirt, Oglala writer and chair of Nongovernmental Organization Committee on the International Decade of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations Martha Redbone, Choctaw-Shawnee-descent musician Jeri Redcorn, Caddo-Potawatomi potter, b. ca. 1940 Luana Reyes, Confederated Colville Tribes (Sinixt) health activist and educator, 1933–2001[17] G. Anne Richardson, chief of the Rappahannock tribe Toby Riddle (1848–1920), Modoc interpreter and diplomat Joanelle Romero (born 1957) Apache/Cheyenne Nations, first American Indian woman to carry a leading role in the first native womans story. Founder the first American Indian Television Channel, the first American Indian Film Festival in Los Angeles CA, the only to date native filmmaker to be close Oscar nod and founded the American Indian Heritage Month for the City of Los Angeles. Luana Ross, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes sociologist and author Wendy Rose (born 1948), Hopi-Miwok anthropologist and writer Running Eagle, Blackfoot war chief S[edit] Sacagawea (ca. 1787–1812), Shoshone guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition, wife of Toussaint Charbonneau Jane Johnston Schoolcraft (1800–1842), Sault Ste. Marie Ojibwe writer Joanne Shenandoah, Oneida singer and guitarist Clara Sherman (b. ca. 1915), Navajo weaver Leslie Marmon Silko (born 1948), Laguna Pueblo-Keres writer Pauline Small (1924–2005), first female leader of the Crow Nation Cynthia Leitich Smith, Muscogee Creek Nation childrens author Lois Bougetah Smoky (1907–1981), Kiowa painter and bead artist Molly Spotted Elk (1903–1977), Penobscot actress and dancer Minnie Spotted-Wolf (Blackfeet), first female Native American Marine Boeda Strand (born 1834), head basket weaver of the Snohomish tribe Virginia Stroud (born 1951) United Keetoowah Band Cherokee-Muscogee Creek painter, author, and former Miss Indian America. Anita Louise Suazo, Santa Clara Pueblo potter Anita Suazo, Santa Clara Pueblo potter Madonna Swan, Lakota, 1928–1993 Roxanne Swentzell, Santa Clara Pueblo ceramicist and sculptor T[edit] Tacumwah (ca. 1720–ca. 1790), chief of the Miami tribe and businesswoman Margaret Tafoya, (1904–2001) Santa Clara Pueblo potter Maria Tallchief (1925–2013), Osage ballerina Marjorie Tallchief, Osage ballerina Margo Tamez (born 1962), Jumano Apache, Lipan Apache activist, poet, community historian, educator Gladys Tantaquidgeon (1899–2005), Mohegan elder, anthropologist, historian, and medicine woman Luci Tapahonso (born 1953), Navajo poet and lecturer[18] Leonidas Tapia (died 1977), Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo potter Kimberly Teehee (b. 1969/70), Cherokee Nation senior policy advisor for Native American Affairs in the White House Domestic Policy Council Kateri Tekakwitha (1656–1680), Mohawk-Algonquian woman beatified by the Catholic church Lucy Telles, Mono Lake Paiute-Yosemite Miwok basketweaver, ca. 1885-1955 Charlene Teters, Spokane tribe artist, writer, activist, educator, and lecturer The Other Magpie, Crow fighter at the Battle of the Rosebud Florence Owens Thompson (1901–1983), Cherokee-descent subject of the famous photograph Migrant Mother Lucy Thompson (1856–1932), Yurok writer Jennie Thlunaut, Tlingit (1982–1986) Chilkat weaver Susette LaFlesche Tibbles (1854–1903), Omaha-Iowa-Ponca lecturer, writer, and artist Toypurina (born 1761), Tongva medicine woman and rebel Gail Tremblay, Onondaga-Mikmaq artist and poet Catherine Troeh (1911–2007), Chinook activist, artist, elder, historian Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie, Muscogee Creek-Seminole-Navajo photographer Asiba Tupahache, Matinecoc activist[citation needed] Tyonajanegen, Oneida woman who fought in the 1777 Battle of Oriskany during the American Revolutionary War U[edit] Ulali, all female, musical group of Native American descent Paula Underwood, Oneida historian Carrie Underwood, Muscogee Creek Nation enrolled tribal member, singer[19][20] V[edit] Pablita Velarde, Tse Tsan (1918–2006), Santa Clara Pueblo painter W[edit] Velma Wallis, Athabascan writer Kay WalkingStick, Cherokee Nation-Ho-Chunk painter and educator Wanagapeth (Miami tribe, died 1908), daughter of Chief Michikinikwa Yvonne Wanrow (born 1943), of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Nancy Ward (ca. 1738–1822 or 1824), Cherokee leader Ingrid Washinawatok (1957–1999), assassinated Menominee activist Watseka (born 1810), Potawatomi woman for whom Watseka, Illinois is named Marie Watt (born 1967), Seneca artist Annie Dodge Wauneka (1910–1997), Navajo activist and author[21] Weetamoo (ca. 1635–1676), Wampanoag chief Charmaine White Face, Oglala Lakota activist and writer Emmi Whitehorse (born 1958), Navajo painter Lorraine Williams, Navajo potter Sarah Winnemucca (ca. 1841–1891), Northern Paiute activist and writer Elizabeth Woody, Navajo-Wasco writer[22] Y[edit] Melanie Yazzie, Navajo printmaker and educator Mary Youngblood, Aleut-Seminole flutist Z[edit] Ofelia Zepeda, Tohono Oodham linguist and writer[23] Zitkala-Sa (1876–1938), Yankton Nakota writer, editor, musician, teacher and activist See also[edit] Gender roles in First Nations and Native American tribes Native American women in the arts List of people of self-identified Cherokee ancestry Notes[edit] Jump up ^ IV. Our Nation’s American Indian and Alaska Native Citizens. US Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs. Retrieved 8 July 2012. Jump up ^ Bataille and Lisa 1 Jump up ^ Bataille and Lisa 6 Jump up ^ Bataille and Lisa 9 Jump up ^ Bataille and Lisa 15 Jump up ^ Indian Woman Chief Jump up ^ Hypatia. Project Muse. 18:2, Spring 2003 . Retrieved 1 March 2009. Jump up ^ Bataille and Lisa 24 Jump up ^ Bataille and Lisa 28-29 Jump up ^ McClinton-Temple and Velie 58 Jump up ^ Bataille and Lisa 34-35 Jump up ^ Porter and Roemer 136 Jump up ^ Record breaking crowds at Autry National Center. Indian Country Today. 16 Nov 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2011. Jump up ^ Largo, Jim. Offerings to the Holy People: Former Miss Navajo Radmilla Cody takes speaking tour to Berkeley. Navajo Times. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012. Jump up ^ Get Ready to Cheer on These Native Athletes at the 2012 London Olympics. Indian Country Today. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012. Jump up ^ The Osage Nation will host Writers Summit. Osage Nation. Retrieved 25 July 2012. Jump up ^ Green, Sara Jean. Luana Reyes, 68, a leader in agency for Indian health. Seattle Times. 10 Nov 2001. Retrieved 25 July 2012. Jump up ^ Smith, Noel Lyn. Celebrated Diné poet visits with St. Michael students. Navajo Times. 17 Oct 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2012. Jump up ^ La Bella, Laura. Carrie Underwood. New York: Rosen Publishing, 2008: 15. ISBN 978-1-4042-1370-8. (retrieved through Google Books, 8 July 2010) Jump up ^ Creek Nation Tribal Member Carrie Underwood Wins Grammy. Free Press. 14.Feb.2007 . Retrieved 8 July 2010. Jump up ^ Donovan, Bill. Top doc: Diné medical doctor hired to develop 10-year wellness plan. Navajo Times. 17 Nov 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2012. Jump up ^ Bataille and Lisa 342 Jump up ^ Bataille and Lisa 345 References[edit] Bataille, Gretchen M. and Laurie Lisa. Native American Women: A Biographical Dictionary. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, 2001. ISBN 978-0-203-80104-8. McClinton-Temple, Jennifer and Alan Velie. Encyclopedia of American Indian Literature. New York: Facts on File, 2007. ISBN 978-0816-05656-9. Porter, Joy and Kenneth M. Roemer, eds. The Cambridge Companion To Native American Literature. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0521-82283-1.
Posted on: Mon, 05 May 2014 04:04:03 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015