Ada Deer

Ada Deer (born 1935) is a Native American advocate and scholar who served as head of the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1993–1997.

Background

A member of the Menominee tribe, Deer was born in Keshena, Wisconsin. She obtained her bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her M.S.W. from the New York School of Social Work (later Columbia University School of Social Work).

Native American advocacy

Following completion of her graduate work, Deer returned to the Midwest in order to be closer to the Menominee Nation, settling in Minneapolis. She found few local services in place for Native Americans living in urban settings and dedicated herself to advocating on their behalf with federal authorities.

Since the "Termination Era" of the 1950s and 1960s (resulting in reduced federal oversight of Native American affairs), the Menominee tribe had been governed by a corporate body called Menominee Enterprise, Inc. The following years saw renewed Congressional involvement in rebuilding tribal infrastructure, both socially and economically. During that time, Deer became involved in a group called DRUMS (Determination of Right and Unity for Menominee Shareholders) in opposition to Menominee Enterprise's proposed sale of former Menominee lands. Her efforts, along with many other Menominees, played a part in bringing the Termination Era to a close, as December of 1972 saw President Richard Nixon sign the Menominee Restoration Act. This legislation restored official federal recognition to the Menominee tribe.

From 1974–1976, she served as chair of the Menominee Restoration Committee.

In 1993, Deer was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Interior by President Bill Clinton. She served as head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1993–1997. During this period, she was a delegate to the United Nations Rights Committee. From January to May 1997, she served as Chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission. [ [http://www.nigc.gov/AboutUs/CommissionersOld/Commissioners/tabid/751/Default.aspx#four NIGC.gov] , Past Commissioners, Commission Chairs]

Before and after her term in the BIA, Deer served on the National Support Committee of the Native American Rights Fund. She has served as chair of the NSC and chair of the NARF board of directors.

Political efforts

Deer ran for Wisconsin's secretary of state in both 1978 and 1982. She served as vice chair of the Walter Mondale/Geraldine Ferraro presidential campaign in 1984. In 1992, she ran for a seat in the United States Congress, intending to represent Wisconsin's Second District. She won the Democratic primary without "soft money" funding from political action committees. Following her primary win, a local newspaper ran a photo of Deer proudly holding a sign reading "Me Nominee" in a note to her tribal heritage.

Educational career

Deer has taught in the School of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1977, currently holding the title of Distinguished Lecturer. She is also currently the director of the American Indian Studies Department at UW-Madison. During her tenure, she co-founded Milwaukee's Indian Community School and created the first program to provide social work training on Native American reservations. After taking four years off from 1993–1997 to serve as head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Deer returned to campus, where she was appointed director of the Department of American Indian Studies in 1999. In addition, she is a fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Notable achievements

*First member of the Menominee Tribe to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1957)
*First member of the Menominee Tribe to receive a master's degree (1961)
*First woman to serve as chair of the Menominee Restoration Committee (1974)
*Pollitzer Award, Ethical Cultural Society, N.Y. (1975)
*First Native American woman to head the Bureau of Indian Affairs (1993)
*Included as one of 51 "accomplished practitioners and educators" in the book "Celebrating Social Work: Faces and Voices of the Formative Years" (Council on Social Work Education, 2003)

Past national board service

*American Indian Policy Review Commission
*Americans for Indian Opportunity
*Council on Foundations
*National Association of Social Workers
*Native American Rights Fund

References

Bibliography

*cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1999 | url =http://news.wisc.edu/2518.html | title = Ada Deer to direct American Indian Studies | format = | work = | publisher = | accessdate = 2006-11-15
*cite web | last = Wolff | first = Barbara | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2003 | url = http://www.news.wisc.edu/9135.html| title = Faculty diversity liaisons help students thrive
format = | work = | publisher = | accessdate = 2006-11-15
*cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2006 | url = http://www.wisc.edu/amindian/Faculty/Homepages/AdaDeer/homepage.html| title = American Indian Studies Home Page| format = | work = | publisher = | accessdate = 2006-11-15
*cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2006 | url = http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A132
title = Native American Authors: Ada E. Deer| format = | work = | publisher = | accessdate = 2006-11-15

*cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1997 | url = http://www.doi.gov/news/archives/ada.html
title = Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Ada Deer announces resignation | format = | work = | publisher = | accessdate = 2006-11-15

*cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1998 | url = http://www.narf.org/pubs/pr/980629.htm| title = Ada Deer Named to Native American Rights Fund National Support Committee | format = | work = | publisher = | accessdate = 2006-11-15

*cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2006 | url = http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/topics/deer/
title = Ada Deer at the Wisconsin Historical Society | format = | work = | publisher = | accessdate = 2006-11-15
* cite book
year = 2003
title = Celebrating Social Work: Faces and Voices of the Formative Years
editor = DuMez, Elizabeth Wichers | location = Alexandria, VA
publisher = Council on Social Work Education
id = ISBN 0-87293-104-8