AT LEAST 75 WORDS
Choose an influential figure of Native American heritage—we’ve provided some suggestions below to help you, but feel free to choose someone else if you’d prefer!
Research that person’s life and accomplishments. Then, write 1–2 paragraphs sharing what you learned about that person and their contributions to society.
Here are some ideas to help you get started:
Scientists and inventors: Susan La Flesche Picotte (Omaha), John Herrington (Chickasaw), Mary G. Ross (Cherokee), Aaron Yazzie (Diné)
Writers and artists: Joy Harjo (Muscogee), Tommy Orange (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma), N. Scott Momaday (Kiowa), Mary TallMountain (Athabascan), Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki), Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), Joan Hill (Cherokee and Muscogee), T. C. Cannon (Kiowa)
Activists and organizers: Thomas Sloan (Omaha), Dennis Banks (Chippewa), Wilma Mankiller (Cherokee), Madonna Thunder Hawk (Cheyenne River Sioux), Earl Old Person (Blackfeet), Cierra Fields (Cherokee)
Actors, musicians, and athletes: Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs (Mohawk), Adam Beach (Anishinaabe), Irene Bedard (Inupiat and Cree), Keith Secola (Ojibwa), Maria Tallchief (Osage), Sam Bradford (Cherokee), Madison Hammond (Navajo and San Felipe Pueblo)