On February 23, 1914, Lilian St. Cyr, performing under the name “Princess Red Wing,” became the first Native American actress to appear in a silent film. During her 15-year acting career, she performed in more than 70 films—both shorts and Hollywood features. She was also a fiercely independent woman who spent most of her life promoting Native American culture through art, lectures, and advocacy.
Bessie Coleman soared across the sky as the first African American, and the first Native American woman pilot. Known for performing flying tricks, Coleman’s nicknames were; “Brave Bessie,” “Queen Bess,” and “The Only Race Aviatrix in the World.” Her goal was to encourage women and African Americans to reach their dreams. Unfortunately, her career ended with a tragic plane crash, but her life continues to inspire people around the world.
We’wha, a Lhamana (Zuni Two Spirit) individual, took on both male and female tasks as a Zuni cultural ambassador and pottery and textile artist. Also a spiritual leader, We’wha endeavored to preserve the history, traditions, and knowledge of the Zuni people.
An entrepreneur, advocate, and member of the Blackfoot Nation, Elouise Pepion Cobell (“Yellow Bird Woman”), fought tirelessly for government accountability and for Native Americans to have control over their own financial future. During her life, she won countless awards, founded the first Native American owned bank, and successfully won a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Government.
Wilma Mankiller is honored and recognized as the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. She is also the first woman elected as chief of a major Native tribe. She spent her remarkable life fighting for the rights of American Indians.
At the age of 17, Maria Tallchief moved to New York City to pursue her dreams of becoming a dancer. She went from dance company to dance company looking for work. Many of the companies discriminated against her because of her Native American ancestry. Rejection did not stop Tallchief; she continued working towards her goal and eventually became one of America’s most popular ballerinas.
Susette La Flesche Tibbles, an Omaha woman, spent her entire life tirelessly campaigning for Native American rights as a speaker, activist, interpreter, and writer.
Marjorie Tallchief was a ballerina from the Native American Osage Nation, and was the first Native American to be “première danseuse étoile” of the Paris Opera Ballet and performed with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas.
The lone survivor of an ill-fated scientific expedition, this Iñupiat woman survived for two years on Wrangel Island, remote arctic island north of Siberia.
Edna Moscelyne Larkin Jasinski was one of the “Five Moons”, Native American ballerinas from Oklahoma who gained international fame in the 20th century, along with Yvonne Chouteau, Rosella Hightower and sisters Maria Tallchief and Marjorie Tallchief. After dancing with the Original Ballet Russe and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, she and her husband moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1956 they founded the Tulsa Ballet and its school. The Tulsa Ballet became a major regional company in the American Southwest and made its New York City debut in 1983.