Lily Gladstone (Piegan Blackfeet and Nez Perce)
Lily Gladstone is an actor who rose to fame for her performance in Scorsese’s crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon. She portrayed an Osage woman who survived a series of murders after oil was found on Osage land. She is the first Native American woman to win a Golden Globe for best actress. She grew up on the Blackfeet reservation in Montana, and she gave part of her acceptance speech in Blackfoot.
Lauren Good Day (Arikara, Hidatsa, Blackfeet, Plains Cree)
Award-winning artist Lauren Good Day is famous for intertwining old traditions with modern culture. Her art has been featured at some of the nation’s most prestigious shows, including Santa Fe Indian Market, Heard Guild Museum Market, and the Autry American Indian Arts Marketplace. She started her art career at age six with beadwork and Tribal regalia and then expanded into quillwork, ledger drawings, rawhide parfleche and clothing.
Kay Walkingstick (Cherokee)
Best known for her majestic landscape paintings, Cherokee artist Kay Walkingstick is famous for incorporating various elements into her paintings that are viewed as being distinctly Native American like well-known chiefs, warriors and influential figures.
Juane Quick-to-See Smith (Salish)
Juane Quick-to-See Smith is an abstract artist whose work has been featured in galleries and museums since the 1970s. Much of her art focuses on the destruction of the environment and governmental oppression of Indigenous cultures. Smith has had over 90 solo exhibits in the past 30 years. She has also organized and curated over 30 exhibitions and lectured at more than 185 universities, museums and conferences internationally.
Cheri Madsen (Omaha-Ponca)
Cheri Madsen is a Paralympic wheelchair racing athlete and is the first Native American female to win an Olympic exhibition bronze medal.
Wendy Red Star (Apsáalooke)
Contemporary multimedia artist Wendy Red Star creates art that confronts the romanticized representation of Native Americans in the media. Red Star has exhibited in the United States and abroad at venues including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Portland Art Museum, Hood Art Museum, St. Louis Art Museum and more.
Temryss Lane (Golden Eagle Clan, Lummi Nation)
Temryss Lane is most famous for her soccer skills on the field, playing both professionally and internationally. In addition to being a well-known sports journalist and analyst, she frequently speaks on culturally specific solutions that address challenges to wellness within Indigenous communities.
Quannah Chasinghorse (Diné/Lakota)
Quannah Chasinghorse is an Indigenous model and activist with a shared heritage of Lakota and Navajo ancestry. She is known for using her platform to support Indigenous sovereignty and sustainability. She made headlines at the 2022 Met Gala by combining contemporary looks with intricate Native jewelry and headpieces.
Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk)
When Sharice Davids was sworn into the 116th House of Representatives, she made headlines by becoming one of the first Native American women elected to Congress, alongside fellow Native American Deb Haaland. She was also the first openly LBGTQ+ Native American woman elected to Congress. She is currently the representative for Kansas’ second district, where public education and affordable higher education are two of her biggest interests.
Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo)
Deb Haaland made history when she became the first Native American to serve as cabinet secretary in the United States Congress. But this wasn’t the first ceiling she broke through. After running for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico in 2014, Secretary Haaland became the first Native American woman to be elected to lead a state party. In Congress, she focused on environmental justice, climate change, missing and murdered Indigenous women and family-friendly policies.
She announced she is running for Governor for New Mexico 2026
Winona LaDuke (Anishinaabekwe, Ojibwe)
In 1996 and 2000, Winona LaDuke ran for vice president as the nominee of the Green Party of the United States, on a ticket headed by Ralph Nader. She is the executive director of Honor the Earth, a Native environmental advocacy organization that played an active role in the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.
Rosalie Fish is a member of the Cowlitz
Rosalie Fish is a member of the Cowlitz tribe in Washington State. Rosalie garnered media attention in 2019 when, at a track meet, she competed with a red handprint painted over her mouth. The handprint was to honor and bring attention to the missing and murdered Indigenous women crisis.
Inspired by fellow runner, Jordan Marie Daniel of the Kul Wicasa Oyate Nation in South Dakota, who painted a handprint over her face when she ran the Boston Marathon in 2019, Rosalie declared that she would not stay silent or let the women’s stories be forgotten or overlooked. She continues to run with the red handprint on her mouth and speaks out about issues facing Indigenous women.
2 Responses
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