Category: Indigenous Leader

Debra Haaland
Debra Haaland


Debra Haaland was confirmed as U.S. secretary of the interior on March 15, 2021. Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo people and is the first Native American Cabinet member in U.S. history. Previously, Haaland served as U.S. representative for New Mexico's 1st Congressional District from 2019-2021. Haaland and Sharice Davids were the first Native American women elected to the U.S. Congress. Haaland was born on December 2, 1960, in Winslow, Arizona. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of New Mexico in 1994 and […]
Paulette Jordan
Paulette Jordan


Paulette Jordan ran unsuccessfully for governor of Idaho in 2018 and for the U.S. Senate in 2020. Jordan was born in Idaho on December 7, 1979, as a member of the Coeur d’Alene tribe. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from University of Washington, working with the Seattle City Council throughout college. After college, Jordan moved back to Idaho and became the youngest person to be elected to the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Council. She has worked as a business development strategist, and serves as a senior executive board representative, […]
Wilma Mankiller
Wilma Mankiller


Wilma Pearl Mankiller was the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation, serving as principal chief from 1985 to 1995. She is the author of a national-bestselling autobiography, "Mankiller: A Chief and Her People," and co-author of "Every Day Is a Good Day: Reflections by Contemporary Indigenous Women." Mankiller was born November 18, 1945, in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Her father was full-blooded Cherokee and her mother was Caucasian of Dutch and Irish descent. She spent her early childhood on a 160-acre tract known as Mankiller Flats near Rocky Mountain, Oklahoma, given […]
Autumn Peltier
Autumn Peltier


Autumn Peltier is the chief water commissioner of the Anishinabek Nation, and a water-rights advocate and environmental activist. Peltier was born on September 17, 2004, in Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada, and is a member of the Aniishnabek Nation. She currently attends school in Ottawa, where she lives with her family. Peltier was appointed as the Anishinabek Nation chief water commissioner in 2019 following the death of her great-aunt, Josephine Mandamin, who had been the previous chief water commissioner. Since beginning her activism at age 8, Peltier has […]
Fawn Sharp
Fawn Sharp


Fawn Sharp is the 23rd president of the National Congress of American Indians and vice president of the Quinault Indian Nation of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians. She was elected as NCAI president on October 24, 2019. She was named as vice president of the Quinault Indian Nation on March 26, 2021. In 2021 Sharp became the first tribal leader issued diplomatic credentials. Sharp was born in Aberdeen, Washington, on May 20, 1970. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice from Gonzaga University in 1990. In […]