When we hear about Native American heroes, we might often think of legendary male warriors and chiefs like Geronimo and Sitting Bull. Unfortunately, the stories of Native American women often get overlooked, despite their significant contributions to history and culture. It's time to shine a spotlight on these remarkable women who have left an indelible mark on Native American heritage.
In this article, we'll introduce you to 20 awe-inspiring Native American women who have cemented themselves as some of the most influential cultural figures to date. These women come from various backgrounds, disciplines, tribal nations, and eras, but they all share a common thread of resilience, determination, and a commitment to preserving their heritage.
One of these remarkable women is Wilma Mankiller, a Cherokee leader who became the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation and governed the second-largest Native American tribe for a decade. Her legacy continues to inspire Native Americans and all who value strong leadership. Susan La Flesche Picotte, another extraordinary figure, was the first Native American woman to earn a medical degree. She used her education to advocate for public health and the rights of her people, leaving an indelible mark on the Native American community. Nancy Ward, a Cherokee leader known as “Ghigau” or “beloved woman,” played a pivotal role in advocating for peace between European Americans and Native Americans during a tumultuous period.
From Buffalo Calf Road Woman, a fierce Cheyenne warrior who played a crucial role in the Battle of Little Big Horn, to Lozen, a Chihenne Chiricahua Apache warrior and prophet known for her bravery, these Native American women demonstrated unwavering courage in the face of adversity. Pocahontas, a well-known figure in American history, had her story transformed over time, but her legacy endures as one of the most famous Native American women. Sacajawea's incredible journey with the Lewis and Clark Expedition and her role as a guide and interpreter continues to captivate the imagination of people worldwide.
In more recent times, figures like Deb Haaland, the first Native American Cabinet secretary, and Michaela Goade, the first Native American to win the Caldecott Medal for illustration, are breaking new ground and inspiring future generations. These women are a testament to the strength and resilience of Native American culture, and their stories deserve to be celebrated and remembered.
As you keep reading, we will delve into the lives and achievements of these extraordinary Native American women, shedding light on their contributions to history, culture, and the ongoing fight for recognition and justice. Their legacies serve as a powerful reminder of the indomitable spirit and enduring legacy of Native American women throughout history.
Wilma Mankiller (1945–2010)
First on our list of famous Native American women is Wilma Mankiller, a Cherokee citizen born in Oklahoma.
Mankiller relocated with her family to California at the age of 11 under the Bureau of Indian Affairs Relocation Program. In her teenage years, she took part in the Indian Center of San Francisco. She also supported the Black Panther Party in its early days. She later became an activist for the reclamation of Alcatraz Island.
In 1977, Mankiller came back to Oklahoma and got involved in numerous community development projects to benefit her Native American neighbors.
In 1983, she was appointed as Cherokee Nation’s deputy principal chief, and two years later she became the first female principal chief for Cherokee Nation.
Notably, she governed the United States’ second-largest Native American tribe for ten years. Remarkably, she got the award for Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998. Soon, Mankiller will get her own U.S. quarter, becoming one of just two Native women—alongside Sacajawea—to have her face printed on American currency.
Susan La Flesche Picotte (1865–1915)
No list of acclaimed Native American women would be complete without Susan La Flesche Picotte.
Porter was a 19th-century Native American reformer and physician who even has a special hospital named after her near Walthill, Nebraska.
Native to Omaha, Picotte is widely recognized as the first Native American to hold a medical degree. On top of that, she worked for public health and served for the land’s legal and formal allotment to the members of the Omaha tribe.
As part of the 19th century’s temperance movement, she worked to prevent drinking on the reservation, where she served as a doctor. Beyond that, she ran a campaign for the prevention as well as treatment of tuberculosis, which was incurable at that time. Her mark on the indigenous community and beyond cannot be overstated. She continues to inspire Native women far and wide with her work ethic and commitment to public health.
Nancy Ward (1738–1822)
Nanyehi, a Cherokee woman later known as Nancy Ward, became a strong political leader for the Cherokee tribe. She earned the prestigious title, “Ghigau,” meaning “beloved woman.” She advocated for Native American women during a period of intense conflict between Whites and Native Americans.
Apparently, in her last years of life, Nenyehi had recurring visions of what we now know of as the Trail of Tears. Her visions were eerily specific—and correct.
She played a role in the American Revolution and bravely advocated for peace between European Americans and Native Americans. And here's a random fact: she was the one who introduced dairy products to the Cherokee economy.
She goes down as a visionary, a staunch advocate, and a fearless leader for Native American women.
Buffalo Calf Road Woman (1844–1879)
Buffalo Calf Road Woman, a Cheyenne woman, was a fierce Native American warrior who gave the final blow to Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer in the Battle of Little Big Horn.
Also known as Brave Woman, Buffalo Calf Road Woman not only fought alongside her husband in battle, she also saved her brother’s life.
She, her husband, and her children were relocated to present-day Oklahoma after eventually surrendering to the American government. Unfortunately, her story ended in tragedy after she died of malaria while her husband was in prison for fighting and killing a Cheyenne chief. After hearing about his wife’s death, he hung himself in prison, according to the Helena Independent Record.
Despite her tragic end, Buffalo Calf Road Woman is still known as a legendary American Indian warrior to this day. Her place among history's Native American women is well-earned.
Lozen (1840–1889)
Lozen was a Native American warrior and prophet for the Chihenne Chiricahua Apache. She and her brother fought against those who had taken their land in New Mexico. She could “ride, shoot, and fight like a man.”
She is known for escorting a new mother and her infant across the Chihuahuan Desert from Mexico to the Mescalero Apache Reservation to escape the fighting and death. Not only did Lozen safely deliver them to their final destination, but she also escaped gunfire, stole a horse, killed for food, and acquired much-needed tools and provisions along the way. She's so much more than a Native American who could fight—she's an outright legend.
Lozen and others attempted to negotiate a peace treaty with the Americans but failed, and sadly she died of tuberculosis while imprisoned in Alabama. She was an American Indian hero and an easy inclusion on our list of amazing Native American women.
Sarah Winnemucca (1844–1891)
Sarah Winnemucca, of the Numa tribe (to the Whites they were known as Northern Paiute) was born during a time when American Indians held great distrust for White people, who were trying to force Native American tribal members to adopt a different culture, language, and religious beliefs.
When her family and neighbors were forced onto a reservation, she became an advocate for her people and even became a language interpreter for the military in that area. She later went on to fight for reform for the Paiute tribe.
Sarah Winnemucca’s voice still resonates today through her autobiography, “Life Among the Paiutes.” According to the Smithsonian, it's “the first English narrative by a Native American woman.” The book “voices a thoughtful critique of Anglo-American culture while recounting the fraught legacy of federal lands, including Nevada’s Pyramid Lake and Oregon’s Malheur region, recently the site of a militia takeover.”
Winnemucca belongs in any conversation about Native American women who moved the needle forward.
Lyda Conley (1868–1946)
Eliza “Lyda” Burton Conley was born a member of the Wyandotte tribe and descendant of a chief and Andrew Conley. She is best known for being the very first Native American and first Native American woman to argue a case in the Supreme Court—and only the third woman at that time, according to Women's History.
Coined the “Guardian of Huron Indian Cemetery”—a cemetery in downtown Kansas City, Kansas—Conley used her legal background to fight to protect the land. As it turned out, her own family, including important Native American tribesmen, were buried there.
Unfortunately, in 1906 Congress decided that the cemetery land could be sold and the bodies moved. Lyda would not have this, so she fought with everything she had. And finally, in 1910, she went to the Supreme Court. While she lost her battle in court that day, Kansas state senator and fellow Native American, Charles Curtis, who later became U.S. Vice President, helped her by passing a law to protect the cemetery. With his help along with Conley’s continuous efforts to keep people off the land, they were able to stop the government's plan. In the end, Conley was buried next to her sister in the Huron Indian Cemetery.
Conley was a brilliant leader, advocate and important voice for Native American women and the Native community at large.
Maria Tallchief (1925–2013)
When talking famous Native American women, it's impossible not to mention the breathtaking ballerina, Maria Tallchief.
She was born on January 24, 1925, in Fairfax, Oklahoma, a small town located on the Osage Indian Reservation. She moved to New York City at the age of 17 to pursue a career in ballet dancing. Tallchief is widely credited as the first major prima ballerina of America. Beyond that, she was the first native of North America to earn the distinction.
Tallchief toured the world to become the first American Indian to perform in Bolshoi Theater of Moscow. In the 1970s, she worked for Chicago’s Lyric Opera as its Director of Ballet.
In 1996, she was awarded a Kennedy Center Honor for her lifetime achievements, the only Native American to receive the honor. Her status as one of the most accomplished Native American women goes without saying.
Zitkála-Šá (1876–1938)
Zitkála-Šá, a musically inclined Dakota woman, worked tirelessly as an activist for women and Native American civil rights. Per utahwomenshistory.org, she “promoted a pan-Indian movement to unite all of America’s tribes in the cause of lobbying for citizenship rights, leading to the passage of the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act.”
Growing up in both South Dakota and Indiana, Zitkála-Šá was brought up in two different worlds with different mindsets on how women should act and what they should do with their life. She rejected the idea that women should serve men and not attend college; she did go to college, graduated, and began her “years-long pursuit of recording Native American oral histories and translating them into English.”
Most importantly, she began to advocate for Native Americans to be able to become full citizens of the United States of America. In 1924, the Indian Citizenship Act was passed partially due to her passionate lobbying around Native American suffrage rights. She continued to fight for her people’s rights until her death in 1938. She's one of the most influential Native women and Native Americans in general.
Pine Leaf (1806–1854)
Amongst the Crow tribe’s finest warriors was Pine Leaf, who also became a Native American chief.
She was born in the Gros Ventres nation in 1806, but when she was 10, the Crow people captured her and made her one of their own.
She was an excellent marksman and horse rider. She also mastered the skill of field-dressing a buffalo. When the Blackfoot raided her people, she protected them. That's what earned her the reputation as a fearless Native American warrior. She later secured her post on the council of chiefs.
While she might be overlooked on some lists of Native American women, Pine Leaf deserves a nod.
Pocahontas (1596–1617)
Pocahontas rose to prominence for her association with Virginia’s colonial settlement at Jamestown, yet much of her story has been changed and fictionalized through the years. She's one of the most famous Native American women of all time, yet her story has been botched far too many times.
In 1613, Pocahontas was captured and held for ransom by the Colonists. It was then that she was forced to assimilate. Colonists made her convert to Christianity and get baptized under the name “Rebecca.” She married a man named John Rolfe when she was just 17 and bore his son, Thomas Rolfe, in 1615.
When the Rolfes traveled to London in 1616, Pocahontas was presented to English society as a “civilized savage,” in hopes of securing investments for the Jamestown settlement. Pocahontas garnered celebrity status among the settlement and Englishmen. However, in 1617, when the Rolfes set sail for Virginia, Pocahontas died at Gravesend of unknown causes, likely around her 21st birthday. She was buried in St. George's Church, Gravesend in England, but her legacy lives on in the United States of America and beyond.
Many of the stories told about her by John Smith have been contested by her documented descendants. Many people have claimed to be her American Indian descendants, including First Lady Edith Wilson, Glenn Strange, Wayne Newton, and astronomer Percival Lowell.
Despite the controversy surrounding her, Pocahontas is an essential part of any lesson on Native American women in history.
Sacajawea (1788–1812)
Sacajawea was an indigenous Lemhi Shoshone woman, best known for helping the Lewis and Clark Expedition achieve the objectives of their chartered mission by discovering the Louisiana Territory. Like the other Native women on this list, her contributions speak for themselves.
From North Dakota to the Pacific Ocean, Sacagawea journeyed thousands of miles with the expedition. Adding to her services to natural history, she aided in the establishment of cultural contacts with Native American populations.
Sacajawea belongs atop the “Mount Rushmore” of famous Native American women.
Elizabeth Peratrovich (1911–1958)
After seeing a “No Natives Allowed” sign on a hotel near her hometown in Juneau, Alaska, Elizabeth Peratrovich and her husband knew they had to do something. This display sparked outrage and served as the catalyst for Peratrovich to fight discrimination against Native Americans and other groups in Alaska.
In 1943, she attempted to get an anti-discrimination bill passed in Alaska, but it ended up tied 8–8 and not passing. Two years later, two American Native individuals represented Alaska’s senate and helped fight alongside Peratrovich.
After giving a fierce and passionate speech to the people of the courtroom, the 1945 Anti-Discrimination Act was passed, 11–5.
Recently, she was honored with her very own piece of history: Google Doodle. Very few Native American women can say the same.
Annie Dodge Wauneka (1910–1997)
Annie Dodge Wauneka was an influential member of the Navajo Nation as a member of the Navajo Nation Council. She focused her platform on education and healthcare. Her two main objectives were to eradicate tuberculosis within her Native American nation and to create a dictionary to help medical professionals translate medical terms from English to the Navajo language.
Some of her greatest achievements include being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Lyndon B. Johnson as well as the Indian Council Fire Achievement Award and the Navajo Medal of Honor. She also became the second woman to be elected to the Tribal Council. Wauneka was a bona fide earth-shaker, and not just among the American Indian community. She's unquestionably one of the most iconic Native American women in our history,
Mary Golda Ross (1908–2008)
Mary Golda Ross, a Cherokee woman, became the very first Native American aerospace engineer. She even got an invite to join a top-secret, space exploration planning unit.
Ross’s family is full of history, so it's no wonder she became the trailblazer she did. According to American Indian Magazine, her great-grandfather “led the Cherokee Nation (one of the biggest tribes) during the traumatic and turbulent Indian Removal era of the 1830s that resulted in the forced relocation of thousands of Cherokee people west of the Mississippi River in present-day Oklahoma.”
Some of her amazing achievements in the world of aerospace include helping to design the P-38 fighter airplane, being an integral part in the “space race,” and being the only woman and Native American to join 39 others in Lockheed’s Advanced Development Program.
A NASA engineer and co-worker commented on Mary’s incredible mathematics skills: “Mary worked on the Agena rocket orbital dynamics, calculating the transfer orbit as the rocket left the Earth’s atmosphere. Today’s engineer would use the computer program, MATLAB, and insert the parameter to determine when the rocket would reach its destination.”
Her legacy is that of one of the most brilliant Native American women we've ever seen.
Winona LaDuke (1959–Present)
Born in 1959, Winona LaDuke is a groundbreaking Native American environmentalist, writer, and economist. She rose to prominence with her work to advance tribal land preservation and claims and sustainable development.
What’s more, she serves as the executive director of Honor the Earth, a Native environmental advocacy institute that contributed to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. LaDuke has also made appearances in several documentaries.
Noticeably, she earned the BIHA Community Service Award, the Reebok Human Rights Award, and an honorary doctorate degree from Augsburg College in 2015. She's undoubtedly one of the most impactful Native American women in history.
Elouise Cobell (1945–2011)
Elouise Cobell may not jump off the page as one of the most influential Native women, but that's just because you don't know enough about her. Also known as “Yellow Bird Woman,” Cobell served as a tribal elder, rancher, banker, and activist. Furthermore, she was also a leading petitioner in 2009’s revolutionary class-action suit Cobell v. Salazar.
This challenged the government's mismanagement of trust funds related to over 500,000 Native American individuals. They eventually reached a $3.4 billion settlement with the government in 2010.
Ex-President Barack Obama awarded her a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her son, Turk Cobell, received the award on her behalf. To say she was a pioneer among Native American women would do her a great disservice. She was just a powerhouse—period.
Deb Haaland (1960–Present)
Deb Haaland recently made history after she was confirmed as the first Native American Cabinet secretary and head of the Interior Department. Haaland is a 35th Generation New Mexican, an enrolled citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna, and one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress.
Her confirmation makes a clear statement that the government is placing a priority on not only environmental issues but also in establishing a much-overdue, collaborative relationship with indigenous people all across America.
We had the pleasure of interviewing Haaland back in 2019. Watch the video above to learn more about this American Indian trailblazer. She's an icon to Native American women everywhere.
Michaela Goade
Speaking of making history, Michaela Goade of the Tlingit and Haida tribes, recently collected the prestigious Caldecott Medal for her illustrations in the picture book, “We are Water Protectors.” In doing so, she became the first Native American to nab the award.
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It’s awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
“It's a great honor to be the first indigenous artist to win this award, but I am of course standing on many shoulders,” Goade told CNN. “I think it's important to acknowledge and reflect on the significance of being the first in 2021, while also looking towards the future with much hope. I won't be the last! It brings me so much joy to think about indigenous youth who will see themselves in this recognition and know that their stories are powerful and valuable.”
Native American women everywhere can surely draw inspiration from this brilliant illustrator.
Ashley Callingbull-Burnham (1989–Present)
Born in 1989, Ashley Callingbull became an overnight sensation in the indigenous community by winning the Mrs. Universe title in 2015.
She served as a representative at Germany’s Queen of the World Final in 2010 and a year later at the Miss Humanity International in Barbados. She's not just one of the most beautiful Native women—she's also uber-talented. Callingbull has some serious acting chops, starring in the series “Blackstone” as Sheila Delaronde.
Last Updated on May 21, 2024 by Paul G
Morgan De Groot
says:Absolutely amazing hero’s
Wilma Ingram
says:I am honored to find out that the original Pocahontas – Pocahontas Matoaka Amonute Powhatan is my 12th Great Grandmother!
Pix
says:Mary Brant aka Konwatsi’tsiaienni was a Mohawk leader and warrior in the revolutionary war – she fought alongside her brother and can be argued to have been the actual leader vs. the attention that Joseph gets – she had more sway. There are so many more indigenous women we need to honor.
Jeanne Moskal
says:This was both educational and enlightening. Thank you so very much.
Wilma Ingram
says:I am ecstatic to find out Pocahontas is my 12th Great Grandmother!! I was born poor, and I’ll die poor. But I know where my soul is, and where I came from. I am proud to say I am Natiave American!!
I want to get all of my paperwork in order to become a tribal member!!
Sylvia
says:My dad used to say Pocahontas was my 8th great grandmother. Hi Wilma! I never counted but we do have the lineage. Sadly I don’t think you or I have enough blood to be a tribal member. I have tried to reach out to various Powhatan tribes not about membership but even just conversation and no one seems to want to talk. Hope you have better luck.
Lynn Campbell
says:My name is Lynn Campbell . My Girlfriend is the one who told me about
The Pow Wow ,Which we will attend This month on the 17th of march.
I cant wait to go . I have always been interested about Native American
Indian . After going through school and learning about them .
I did not realize how and why the White man was so abusive to the
Native American Indian . In my teen age years when did some study
I could not believe how they did what they did to any Human being .
This why I lost much respect of the white man . Am 1/4 Kiowa my father
was half Kiowa . Any how this is why I want attend this event of the Pow Wow . To learn more about the heritage of the Native American Indian .
I know you should not dwell about the past ,But the pain is still there
you can’t forget it .
My Regards
Lynn
Deb
says:thank you! As a lifetime student of cultures, histories, women’s studies and First Nations I really appreciated all the information in both your posting and the replies. Can’t wait to dig deeper!
Tina
says:Could you please refer to her by one of her actual names instead of the patronizing one made famous by Disney? Amonute, Matoaka, heck even the Anglicized name of Rebecca that she chose would be better than to call someone (who saved a man’s life and acted as an intermediary between 2 warring people by age 14, was kidnapped, fell in love,married, moved halfway across the world, had a child, and dined with kings by age 21) essentially “brat”, “wanton child”, “Ill-behaved child for perpetuity. Put the nickname in parentheses, but don’t be like the folks who use the nickname as a slur. Give her the respect she deserves.
Sr
says:Braaavo, Tina, for speaking up! I really appreciate the fact that you are opposing the use of that name. To be more historically accurate would be nice and even enlightening. Thank you.
Stephanie M
says:If only there were “do-overs”. In 1977 I was at the Womens Convention in Houston. It was thrilling to be talking politics and stategies for the women’s movement on the convention floor with women leaders of the day. But in the basement and corners and hotel rooms were where the various caucuses met. I didn’t know there was a Native American women’s caucus stragegizing simply for basic rights and survival. I was focused on women like Barbara Jordan who gave the keynote speech and Gloria Steinhem, (who as I understand it had a friendship and worked with Wilma Mankiller to support her as Chief). Had Gloria (and all the other like-minded women like me) nominated Wilma as a presidential candidate, or even supported Shirley Chisholm in her run for the president, what a different world it might be.
Drew Waepew-Awaehsaeh
says:Oh c’mon Powwows.com……………….You DEFINITELY forgot to mention yet ANOTHER trailblazer here! Her name is “Ada Deer” from our Menominee Nation and she was the FIRST NATIVE-WOMAN to head the U.S. Bureau of Indian-Affairs! ALSO the First Native american woman to Run for Congress in the State of Wisconsin!
When federal recognition ended for the Menominee tribe in 1961 through Termination, the reservation became the poorest and least populated county in the state, lacking the tax base to support basic services, and its accounts from businesses, such as lumbering operations, were quickly drained.
In response, Deer helped to organize the Determination of Right and Unity for Menominee Shareholders, which had led the movement to return federal sovereignty to the Menominee people.
They worked to eventually create the new Menominee Nation after President Richard Nixon signed the law restoring federal recognition to the tribe in 1973.
Ada Deer was the first woman to serve as chairperson of the Menominee Nation from 1974 to 1976.
Just thought You’d all like to know what an IMPORTANT Lady You missed out on!
~Peace~
Paul G
says:Thanks for sharing! I didn’t know about her story. We update the list periodically. She’ll definitely be considered on the next update.
Thanks!
Drew Waepew-Awaehsaeh
says:Thank You! : >)
Steve Gagne
says:No mention of Jigonsaseh?
Without her work to help the Peacemaker and Aionwantha, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy would have never been there to teach Benjamin Franklin & Thomas Jefferson on how to form “a more perfect union”.
Margaret A Gross
says:Deb Haaland is the real deal. i worked with her and she is great.
Danielle D.
says:Ugh…why do these articles never list Madame Marie Dorion? Her story is legendary.
Jim Beasley
says:Joy Harjo!
Darla Hitchcock
says:Yes!
Debera R. Smith
says:I have had the honor of meeting a few of these great women. I also had the honor of visiting the JumpingBull’s of Pine Ridge. Awesome people. The Lakota people are in touch with Mother Earth and the importance of family. I really miss Calvin Jumping Bull, Roslyn Jumping Bull. Ida Tabacco and all those I had the honor to meet.
June Van Every
says:I would like to submit, the book titled “Sisters In Spirit, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Influence on Early American Feminists written by Sally Roesch Wagner. This book details the work of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Matilda Joslyn Gage and Lucretia Mott and knowledge of the matriarchial society of the Iroquois women, which had an impact on women’s movements.
Anna Passenier-Maagdeleijn
says:Why is there not a story of NONHELEMA? She was a very great woman of the Shawnee Tribe. Sister of the great Chief Cornstalk and Silverheel.She was called the Shawnee Queen.And she was a great woman.1763.
Muriel Fite
says:Pendleton’s are awesome
Nita
says:Sacajawea is my great-great-great grandmother. I have a book titled Indians of Today, copywrite 1971, editor and compiler Marion E Gridley. In it are many notable Indigenous people from the past century including many educators and entertainers.
Suzie Gillis
says:As European I am very interested in American first natives. Went once to a Pow-Wow. Would to find out the history behind this beautiful event.
Anna Stallard Edwards
says:I knew 3 or 4 of these women, but enjoyed reading about the others. Thank you for sharing the information. I am 65, still living the life and learning!