List of Native American women

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

A

*Louise Abeita - Pueblo writer [ [http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A147 Native American Authors: Louise Abeita ] ]
*Barbara Means Adams - Oglala writer [ [http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A208 Native American Authors: Barbara Means Adams ] ]
*Aguilar sisters, Pueblo potters
*Ai (born 1947), part Choctaw, Chickasaw, Southern Cheyenne, and Comanche poet
*Paula Gunn Allen (1939–2008), 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 [ [http://www.firstnationsdrum.com/history/wint00_murder.htm] "More than 100 people came in a snowfall to show their respect for the Canadian Micmac whose tombstone reads, "Woman Warrior at Wounded Knee.""]
*Awashonks, chief of the Sakonett tribe [ [http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/chiefs2.htm Indian Woman Chief ] ]
*Marilou Awiakta (born 1936), Cherokee author [ [http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A12 Native American Authors: Marilou Awiakta ] ]

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
*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/Anishinaabe artist and musician
*Sharon Dahlonega Raiford Bush (born 1952), American journalist of Cherokee heritage

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 [ [http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=789] 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."]
*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

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

E

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

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

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
*Larkin Grimm, part Cree singer-songwriter
*Margaret Gutierrez, Pueblo potter

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

I

*Debora Iyall (born 1954), Cowlitz singer

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

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

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
*Heather Deen Locklear (born 1961), actress, spokesmodel; of Scottish and Lumbee Indian ancestry.
*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

M

*Moms Mabley (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

N

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

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

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

Q

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

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

*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

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

U

*Ulali, all female, all Native American musical group
*Paula Underwood, Oneida historian
* Misty Upham, (born 1982) Blackfeet actress, screenwriter

V

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

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

Y

*Mary Youngblood, Aleut/Seminole flutist

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

References

Footnotes