Jill Cadreau

Jill Cadreau became an activist for Native American rights at a young age while still attending Milford High School. Her first activist issue was over the word "Redskins" being used as the name for the school's mascot. Jill and much of the American Indian community thought the word carried a negative connotation and attempted to justify racism that still existed in the school. After long meetings with the Milford School Board and much support from the local American Indian community, the Huron Valley School's of Education ruled in favor of a Native American victory with a 6-0 vote in 1997. Jill was a leader for the campaign that forced her high school to eliminate all references to American Indians in the names and images of school mascots.