List of Native American women

This is a list of Native American women. Please note that it should contain only Native women of the United States and her territories, not First Nations women or Native women of other countries in North, Central, and South America.

1 A
2 B
3 C
4 D
5 E
6 F
7 G
8 H
9 I
10 J
11 K
12 L
13 M
14 N
15 O
16 P
17 Q
18 R
19 S
20 T
21 U
22 V
23 W
24 Y
25 Z
26 References
- 26.1 Footnotes

[edit] A

Louise Abeita - Pueblo writer^[1]
Barbara Means Adams - Oglala writer^[2]
Aguilar sisters, Pueblo potters
Ai (born 1947), part Choctaw, Chickasaw, Southern Cheyenne, and Comanche poet
Paula Gunn Allen (born 1939), Laguna Pueblo/Sioux/Lebanese poet, activist, literary critic, and novelist
Sally Ainse, Oneida fur trader, land owner, and diplomat
Leila Ali,(born 1977) boxer, part Native American
Tatyana Ali (born 1979), singer/actress, part Indigenous Panamanian
Queen Alliquippa (died 1754), Seneca nation leader
Tori Amos (born 1963), part Cherokee musician
Princess Angeline (c. 1820 – 1896), daughter of Chief Seattle
Queen Anne (c. 1650 – c. 1725), chief of the Pamunkey tribe
Anna Mae Aquash (1945–1975 or 1976), murdered American Indian Movement activist^[3]
Awashonks, chief of the Sakonett tribe^[4]
Marilou Awiakta (born 1936), Cherokee author^[5]

[edit] B

Pearl Bailey (1918–1990), singer/actress of Native American extraction
Emma Baker, Mohegan elder and medicine woman
Josephine Baker (1906–1975), part Apalachee entertainer
Halle Berry (born 1966), actress, part Cherokee on her mother's side
Nadine Bascom (born 1916), artist and musician, part Creek-Catawba
Texas Rose Bascom, trick roper, trick rider, actress, Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductee, part Choctaw-Cherokee
Claudine Bates-Arthur, Chief Justice of the Navajo supreme court
Berta Benally, Navajo musician and manager of Blackfire (band)
Jenada Benally, Navajo musician, bassist for Blackfire (band)
Betty Louise Bell (born 1949), Cherokee author
Rebecca Benally, Navajo Nation Board of Education
Gloria Benedict, Six Nations Mohawk Medicine Woman
Marcheline Bertrand (born 1950), part Iroquois actress
Betty X, part Cherokee musician
Black Buffalo Woman, first wife of Crazy Horse
Black Shawl (died 1920), second wife of Crazy Horse
Kimberley M. Blaeser, Ojibwa writer
Blue Corn (c. 1920 – 1999), Pueblo potter
Big Eyes, Wichita captive of Francisco Coronado
Kate Bighead, eyewitness to The Battle of Little Bighorn
Tiana Bighorse, Navajo author
Gloria Bird, Spokane tribe poet and critic
Bowdash, Kootenai two-spirit warrior
LaNada Boyer, activist and Alcatraz Island occupier
Beth E. Brant (c. 1736 – 1796), Mohawk author
Mary Brant, Mohawk leader
Bras Piqué, Natchez woman who tried to warn the French of her tribe's 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
Diane Burns, Chemehuevi/Anishinabe artist and musician
Sharon Dahlonega Raiford Bush (born 1952), American journalist of Cherokee heritage

[edit] C

Gladys Cardiff (born 1942), half Cherokee poet and academic
Tonantzin Carmelo, Tongva and Mexica actress
Charisma Carpenter (born 1970), part Cherokee actress
Cher (born 1946), part Cherokee singer and actress^[6]
Kristin Chenoweth (born 1968), 1/4 Cherokee actress and singer
Marie Z. Chino, Pueblo potter
Vera Chino, Pueblo potter
Maria Chona, Tohono O'odham basket weaver, and subject of a biography by Ruth Underhill
Chrystos (born 1946), Menominee two-spirit poet
Mildred Cleghorn (1910–1997), former Chairwoman of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma
Alice W. Cling, Navajo potter
Elouise Cobell, Executive Director of the Native American Community Development Corporation
Colestah, wife of Chief Kamiakin
Lyda Conley (1874–1946), Wyandotte Indian Tribe activist and lawyer
Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Sioux poet and novelist
Rita Coolidge (born 1946), Cherokee singer
Jeanne Cooper (born 1928), Cherokee actress
Hilda Coriz, Pueblo potter
Crying Wind, Kickapoo author
Mary Crow Dog (born 1953), Lakota writer and activist
Josephine Crowfeather, daughter of Chief Joseph Crowfeather, nun and missionary
Cuhtahlatah, Cherokee heroine
Molly Culver (born 1967), 1/4 Chickasaw/Choctaw actress
Rebecca Cummings (born 1970), part Osage porn star and LGBT rights activist
Lisa Chavez-Thomas (born 1964), Isleta Pueblo Native American Fine Artist

[edit] D

Dahteste, Apache fighter and compatriot to Geronimo
Dorothy Dandridge (1922–1965), part Native American actress
Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone activist
Mary Dann (died 2005), Western Shoshone activist
Dat So La Lee (c. 1829 – 1925), Washoe basket weaver
Alice Brown Davis (1852–1935), chief of the Seminoles
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
Ella Cara Deloria (1888–1971), Yankton Sioux educator, anthropologist, ethnographer, linguist, and novelist
Angel DeCora Dietz, Ho-Chunk artist and lecturer
Do-Hum-Me, Sac entertainer
Dorion Woman, Iowa interpreter for the Wilson Price Hunt expedition
Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, Rosebud Sioux writer and educator
Juanita Suazo Dubray, Pueblo potter
Joyce Dugan, first female elected chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

[edit] E

Eagle of Delight (died 1822), Otoe tribe emissary
Chief Earth Woman, Ojibwa fighter
Ehyophsta, Cheyenne warrior
Louise Erdrich (born 1954), Ojibwa writer

[edit] F

Tiffany Fallon (born 1974), part Native American actress and model
Melissa Jayne Fawcett, Mohegan writer and historian
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
Kayln Free, Choctaw lawyer and activist

[edit] G

Martha George, Suquamish tribal chairman
Diane Glancy, Cherokee author, poet, and playwright
Glory of the Morning (born 1709), Ho-Chunk chief
Rose Gonzales (c. 1900 – 1989), Pueblo potter
Janice Gould, Maidu writer
Gouyen, Apache warrior
Margaret Gutierrez, Pueblo potter

[edit] H

Janet Campbell Hale, Coeur d'Alene/Kootenay/Cree/Irish writer
Hate Woman, Blackfoot fighter
Hanging Cloud, Ojibwa warrior
Charlotte Hallmark, chief of the Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama
Helen Hardin (1934–1984), Tewa artist
Joy Harjo, Muskogee poet, lecturer, and musician
Suzan Shown Harjo, Muskogee/Cheyenne activist
Angie Harmon (born 1972), half Cherokee actress and model
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
Jackalene Crow Hiendlmayr, Cherokee/Creek author and storyteller
Belle Highwalking, Northern Cheyenne writer
Rosella Hightower (born 1920), ballerina
Linda Hogan (born 1947), Chickasaw poet, storyteller, academic, playwright, novelist, environmentalist and writer of short stories.
Minnie Hollow Wood, Sioux woman who fought at the Battle of Little Big Horn
Hononegah (c. 1814 – 1847), Ho-Chunk pioneer
Lena Horne (born 1917), singer/actress, part Cherokee and other Amerindian extraction
LeAnne Howe, Choctaw writer

[edit] I

Debora Iyall (born 1954), Cowlitz singer

[edit] J

Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer, part Choctaw
Cheewa James, Modoc author
Jana (born 1980), Lumbee/Tuscarora singer
Paulla Dove Jennings, Niantic Narragansett educator, historian, and author
Beverly Deer Jensen, Shinnecock journalist
Viola Jimulla (1878–1966), Yavapai chief
Malese Jow (born 1991), part Cherokee actress
Juana Maria (died 1853), last of the Nicoleño tribe
Betty Mae Jumper, first woman chairman of the Seminole Tribal Council

[edit] K

Yvonne Kauger (born 1937), Cheyenne/Arapaho Oklahoma Supreme Court justice
Maude Kegg (1906–1996), Ojibwa cultural interpreter and folk artist
Loretta Kelsey, last living speaker of Elém Pomo
Clara Sue Kidwell, Choctaw/Ojibwa, historian
Edith Kilbuck, Lenape missionary
Kilsoquah (1810–1915), granddaughter of Chief Michikinikwa
Terri Kimball (born 1944), part Cherokee model
Bernice King (born 1963), daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, part Native American
Coretta Scott King (1927–2006), wife of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, part Native American
Yolanda King (1955–2007), eldest daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, part Native American
Kinipai, Navajo two-spirit
Eartha Kitt (born 1927), part Cherokee actress and singer
Beyonce Knowles, part Cherokee and other Amerindian extractions
Kuiliy, Pend d'Oreille warrior

[edit] L

Madeline La Framboise (1740–1846), fur trader
Winona LaDuke (born 1959), Ojibwa activist, environmentalist, economist, and writer
Carole LaFavor, two-spirit Ojibwa novelist and activist
Naomi Lang (born 1978), Karuk figure skater and ice dancer
Ananda Lewis, t.v. personality is of Amerindian extraction(s); purportedly a registered member of the Blackfoot tribe.
Edmonia Lewis (1845 – c. 1911), half Ojibwa sculptor
Lucy M. Lewis (1898–1992), Pueblo potter
Janette Littledove (born 1966), Cherokee adult actress
Sacheen Littlefeather (born 1947), Apache/Yaqui/Pueblo actress and activist
Beverly Little Thunder, Lakota nurse and activist
K. Tsianina Lomawaima, Creek author
Louise Lone Dog, Mohawk/Lenape author
Charly Lowry, Lumbee singer and American Idol contestant
Lozen, warrior, spiritual leader, and compatriot to Geronimo

[edit] M

Moms Mablely (1894–1975), actress/comedian, part Native American
Anna Malle (1967–2005), part Cherokee adult actress
Wilma Mankiller (born 1945), first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
Maria Martinez (1887–1980), Pueblo potter
Ursula Mayes (born 1979), part Native American model and make-up artist
Janet McAdams, Alabama Creek/Scottish/Irish author
Shaunna Oteka McCovey, Yurok/Karuk poet
Karen McDougal (born 1971), part Cherokee model and actress
Beatrice Medicine, Lakota author
Methoataske, mother of Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa
Tiffany Midge, Hunkpapa Sioux/German novelist
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
Linda Moon (born 1948), part Cherokee model and actress
Kenya Moore (born 1971), model/actress and former beauty queen is of Native American extraction
Lynn Moroney, Chickasaw writer
Teresa Morris, Algonquin/Tuscarora author and founder of the Coastal Carolina Indian Center & Association
Mountain Wolf Woman (1884–1960), Ho-Chunk Native American Church member
Mourning Dove, Colville/Okanogan writer
Moving Robe Woman, a Hunkpapa Sioux fighter in the Battle of Little Bighorn
Mary Musgrove, Creek interpreter, trader, and political leader
Ruth Muskrat Bronson, Cherokee specialist in American Indian affairs and former executive secretary of the National Congress of American Indians

[edit] N

Nampeyo (c. 1859 – 1942), Hopi potter
Nonhelema, Shawnee leader

[edit] O

Hannah Ocuish (died 1786), executed Pequot
Old-Lady-Grieves-The-Enemy, a Pawnee fighter
One Who Walks With the Stars, a fighter in the Battle of Little Bighorn

[edit] P

LaRue Parker, current chairperson of the Caddo nation
Elise Paschen, Osage poet, former executive director of Poetry Society of America, and cofounder of Poetry in Motion
Tonita Pena, Pueblo artist
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 (c. 1595 – 1617), Powhatan wife of John Rolfe, knew John Smith
Pohaha, Tewa warrior and kachina
Marie Mason Potts, Maidu writer
Pretty-shield, Crow Nation medicine woman and author
Anna Price, White Mountain Apache writer

[edit] Q

Jaune Quick-To-See Smith (born 1940), Flathead nation artist

[edit] R

Dorothy Ramon, last native speaker of the Serrano language
Jacki Thompson Rand, Choctaw, historian
Alma Ransom, former chief of the St. Regis Mohawks
Rattling Blanket Woman, mother of Crazy Horse
Delphine Red Shirt, Oglala writer and chair of Nongovernmental Organization Committee on the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations
Princess Red Wing, Wampanoag/Narraganset founder and curator of the Tomquag Indian Memorial Museum
Martha Redbone, Choctaw, Shawnee, and African-American musician
Della Reese (born 1931), half Cherokee actress and singer
G. Anne Richardson, chief of the Rappahannock tribe
Salli Richardson (born 1967), part Cherokee actress
Toby Riddle (1848–1920), Modoc interpreter and diplomat
Kelis Rogers (born 1979), singer/songwriter, part Taíno and Arawak
Diana Ross (born 1944), singer/actress, part Cherokee
Gayle Ross, Cherokee storyteller actress and fine art model
Luana Ross, member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, sociologist and author
Tracee Ellis Ross (born 1971), actress/model, part Cherokee
Wendy Rose (born 1948), Hopi/Miwok anthropologist and writer
Running Eagle, Blackfoot war chief

[edit] S

Sacagawea (c. 1787 – 1812), Shoshone guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Sahaykwisa, Mohave two-spirit
Jamie Sams, Seneca/Cherokee writer
Katherine Saubel, Cahuilla author and museum curator
Brenda Schad, Choctaw and Cherokee model
Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, Ojibwa/Irish writer
Joanne Shenandoah, Oneida singer and guitarist
Anna Moore Shaw, Pima writer
Leslie Marmon Silko (born 1948), Laguna Pueblo/Keres writer
Cheyenne Silver (born 1978), part Choctaw and part Cherokee adult actress
Geri Small, former president of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation
Pauline Small (1924–2005), first female leader of the Crow Nation
Andrea Smith, Cherokee intellectual, feminist, and anti-violence activist
Cynthia Leitich Smith, Muscogee children's author
Solè, half-Blackfoot, half-African-American rapper
Molly Spotted Elk (1903–1977), Penobscot actress and dancer
Minnie Spotted-Wolf, first female Native American Marine
Jean Thompson Ssipsis, Penobscot social worker and writer
Mary Standing Soldier, writer
Boeda Strand (born 1834), head basket weaver of the Snohomish tribe
Anita Louise Suazo, Pueblo potter
Cree Summer, half Cree

[edit] T

Tacumwah (c. 1720 – c. 1790), chief of the Miami tribe and businesswoman
Margaret Tafoya (1904–2001), Pueblo potter
Mary Tall Mountain, Athabascan writer
Heather Tallchief (born 1972), Seneca armored car robber
Maria Tallchief (born 1925), Osage ballerina
Marjorie Tallchief, Osage ballerina
Amy Tallchief (Osage) Actress/Director/Producer
Margo Tamez (born 1962), Jumano Apache, Lipan Apache activist, poet, community historian, educator
Gladys Tantaquidgeon, Mohegan elder, historian, and medicine woman
Luci Tapahonso (born 1953), Navajo poet and lecturer
Leonidas Tapia (died 1977), Pueblo potter
Te Ata, Chickasaw storyteller
Kateri Tekakwitha (1656–1680), Mohawk woman beatified by the Catholic church
Charlene Teters, Spokane tribe artist, writer, activist, educator, and lecturer
The Other Magpie, Crow fighter at the Battle of the Rosebud
Dark Rain Thom, Shawnee writer
Florence Owens Thompson (1901–1983), Cherokee subject of the famous photograph "Migrant Mother"
Lucy Thompson, Yurok writer
Dagmar Thorpe, Sac and Fox Nation author
Grace Thorpe, Sac and Fox Nation activist
Susette LaFlesche Tibbles (1854–1903), Iowa/Ponca lecturer, writer, and artist
Tiffany (born 1971), part Cherokee singer
Laura Tohe, Navajo writer
Toypurina (born 1761), Tongva medicine woman and rebel
Gail Tremblay, Onondaga/Mi'kmaq artist and poet
Catherine Troeh (1911–2007), Chinook activist, artist, elder, historian
Asiba Tupahache, Matinecoc activist
Tina Turner (born 1939), part Navajo and Cherokee singer
Hunter Tylo (born 1962), half Cherokee actress

[edit] U

Ulali, all female, all Native American musical group
Paula Underwood, Oneida historian

[edit] V

Pablita Velarde, Pueblo potter
Sarah Vowell (born 1969), Cherokee author and journalist

[edit] W

Wa-Wa-Chaw, Luiseno tribe writer, artist, and lecturer
Velma Wallis, Athabascan writer
Alice Walker (born 1944), part Cherokee author and feminist
Wanagapeth (died 1908), daughter of Chief Michikinikwa
Yvonne Wanrow (born 1943), feminist and criminal of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
Nancy Ward (c. 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
Weetamoo (c. 1635 – 1676), Wampanoag chief
Rhonda Welch-Scalco, current Barona Band of Mission Indians chairperson
Wenona, woman chief of the Crow
Charmaine White Face, Sioux activist and writer
Emmi Whitehorse (born 1958), Navajo painter
Roberta Hill Whiteman, Oneida poet and educator
Ellen Williams (born 1923), last native speaker of Whulshootseed
Vanessa L. Williams (born 1963), part Cherokee and other Amerindian extractions.
Sarah Winnemucca (c. 1841 – 1891), Paiute activist and writer
Joan Leslie Woodruff, Shawnee/Cherokee writer
Elizabeth Woody, Navajo/Wasco writer
Muriel Wright, Choctaw historian
Kari Wührer (born 1967), part Cherokee actress and singer

[edit] Y

Mary Youngblood, Aleut/Seminole flutist

[edit] Z

Lezley Zen, part Cherokee adult actress
Ofelia Zepeda, Tohono O'odham linguist and writer
Zintkala Nuni "Lost Bird", (1890–1920), Lakota survivor of the Wounded Knee Massacre and adoptee
Zitkala-Sa (1876–1938), Sioux writer, editor, musician, teacher and activist

[edit] References

[edit] Footnotes

^ Native American Authors: Louise Abeita
^ Native American Authors: Barbara Means Adams
^ [1] "More than 100 people came in a snowfall to show their respect for the Canadian Micmac whose tombstone reads, "Woman Warrior at Wounded Knee.""
^ Indian Woman Chief
^ Native American Authors: Marilou Awiakta
^ [2]ON A SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA afternoon in 1963, short, ambitious songwriter Sonny Bono introduced 17-year-old Armenian-Cherokee singer Cherilyn Sarkisian La Pierre to his mentor, producer Phil Spector."

Categories: Lists of women | Lists of Native Americans