List of Native Americans of the United States

This list of Native Americans is of notable individuals who are Native Americans in the United States, including Alaska Natives and American Indians.^[1]^[2]

Native American identity is a complex and contested issue. The Bureau of Indian Affairs defines Native American as being American Indian or Alaska Native. Legally, being Native American is defined as being enrolled in a federally recognized tribe including Alaska Native villages. Ethnologically, factors such as culture, history, language, religion, and familial kinships can influence Native American identity.^[3] All individuals on this list should have Native American ancestry. Historical figures might predate tribal enrollment practices and would be included based on ethnological tribal membership.

Artists

Elsie Allen, Cloverdale Pomo basketweaver
Marcus Amerman, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma multimedia artist
Annie Antone, Tohono O'odham basketweaver
Spencer Asah, Kiowa artist
James Auchiah, Kiowa artist
Martha Berry, Cherokee Nation beadwork artist
Kelly Church, (Pottawatomi/Odawa/Ojibwe) basket maker, painter, and educator
Amanda Crowe, Eastern Band Cherokee woodcarver and educator
Dennis Cusick, Tuscarora painter, ca. 1800–1824
Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty, Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux quillworker and beadwork artist
Edmonia Lewis, African-American/Mississauga Ojibwe-descendent sculptor
Litefoot, Cherokee Nation actor, hip hop artist
María Martínez, San Ildefonso Pueblo potter
Nampeyo, Hopi-Tewa potter
Nora Naranjo-Morse, Santa Clara Pueblo artist
Jeri Redcorn, Caddo/Citizen Potawatomi b. ca. 1940) potter
Lawney Reyes, Confederated Colville Tribes (Sinixt) artist, author, and curator
Carol Lee Sanchez, Laguna Pueblo author and artist

Chiefs and other leaders

Ahaya (ca. 1710 – 1783), first recorded chief of the Alachua band of the Seminole tribe.^[4]^: 381
Attakullakulla, Cherokee chief ^[5]
Awashonks, Sakonnet 17th century female chief^[6]
Bill John Baker, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation^[7]
Black Hawk, Sauk chief
Black Kettle, Cheyenne chief
Andrew Blackbird, Odawa leader, historian, and author
Kimberly M. Blaeser, (White Earth Ojibwe) author and poet
Elias Boudinot, Cherokee leader, journalist and publisher
Billy Bowlegs, Seminole chief
Joseph Brant, Mohawk leader
Carlos (Calusa) (died 1567), king of the Calusa people of Southwest Florida
Canonicus, Narragansett chief
Chief Gall, (Hunkpapa Lakota) chief
Cinon Duro Mataweer chief
Cochise, Chiricahua Apache chief
Colorow, Ute chief
Cornplanter, Seneca chief and diplomat
Crazy Horse, Oglala Lakota chief
Cuerno Verde, Spanish name for Tavibo Naritgant, a leader of the Comanche, likely of the Kotsoteka Comanche, in the late 18th century.
Logan Fontenelle, Omaha chief and interpreter
Geronimo, Chiricahua Apache leader
Captain Jack, Modoc chief
Red Jacket, Seneca Nation chief
Overton James, Chickasaw, educator, former Governor of the Chickasaw Nation
Old Chief Joseph, Nez Perce former chieftain, father of Chief Joseph
Chief Joseph, Nez Percé chief, war leader, and humanitarian
Juanillo, chief of the Guale Nchiefdom
Betty Mae Tiger Jumper, first female chief of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, also a publisher
Hiawatha, Onondaga-Mohawk chief was credited as the founder of the Iroquois confederacy
John Horse, African-American leader of the Black Seminole.
David Hill (Mohawk), Mohawk chief during the American Revolution
Keokuk, (Sauk, Meskwaki) chief
King Hagler, Catawba chief
Little Turkey was First Beloved Man of the Cherokee people, becoming the first Principal Chief of a united Cherokee Nation in 1794
Little Turtle, Miami chief
Lone Wolf the Elder, Kiowa chief
Lone Wolf the Younger, Kiowa leader
Major Ridge, Cherokee chief, led Lighthorse Patrol and signed the Treaty of New Echota.
Mangas Coloradas, Apache chief
Wilma Mankiller, Cherokee Nation chief
Manuelito, Navajo chief, diplomat, and warrior.
Massasoit, Wampanoag chief
Alexander McGillivray, Muscogee Creek Nation chief
William McIntosh, Muscogee Creek Nation chief
Peter McQueen, Muscogee Creek Nation chief, prophet, trader and warrior from Talisi (Tallassee, among the Upper Towns in present-day Alabama).
Metacomet, Wampanoag chief
Miantonomo, Narragansett chief
Olotoraca (1548–1573), subchief of a tribe of Fort San Mateo, Florida.
Oratam, sachem of the Hackensack Indians
Osceola, Seminole leader
Chief Oshkosh, Menominee leader
Chief Ouray, Ute Tribe leader
Opechancanough, Pamunkey chief
Quaiapen, Narragansett/Niantic sunksqua (female sachem/chief)
Quanah Parker, Comanche chief
Pawhuska, Osage Chief
Thomas Perryman, Creek leader in Georgia
Peter Chartier, Pekowi chief
Powhatan, Pamunkey chief
Chief Pontiac, Odawa chief
Red Cloud, Oglala Lakota chief
Chief G. Anne Richardson (Chief of the Rappahannock tribe – first female chief in Virginia since the 18th century)
Qualchan, 19th-century Yakama chief
John Ross, Cherokee chief
Juan Sabeata, Jumano chief
Greg Sarris, Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria tribal chairman, author, and professor
Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa Lakota chief
Chad Smith, former Principal Chief of Cherokee Nation
Samoset (Abenaki, 1590–1653), first Indigenous American leader to contact the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts (March 16, 1621)
Smohalla, Wanapum chief and religious leader
Saturiwa, chief of the Saturiwa (a Mocama tribe of Timucua people, located in St. Johns River in Florida), during the 16th century
Seattle, Suquamish/Duwamish leader
Standing Bear, Ponca chief
Touch the Clouds, (Mahpia Icahtagya), Teton Lakota chief
Tuskaloosa, paramount chief of a Mississippian chiefdom in Alabama
Uncas, Mohegan chief
Victorio, Chiricahua Apache chief
Weetamoo, Pocasset Wampanoag, 17th-century female chief
White Plume, Kaw chief
Yellow Bird, Walla Walla chief
Yonaguska, Cherokee chief
William Weatherford, Muscogee Creek chief
White Hair (Pawhuska), the name of several Osage chiefs

Warriors and military

Chainbreaker, Seneca war chief
Roy Benavidez, (Yaqui), decorated U.S. Army Master sergeant and Medal of Honor recipient
Ollokot, Nez Perce war chieftain
Ira Hayes, (Akimel O'odham) one of five Marines, along with a United States Navy corpsman, immortalized in the iconic photograph of the flag raising on Iwo Jima
John Horse (Black Seminole), warrior in the Second Seminole War in Florida
Kilma S. Lattin, (Pala Band of Mission Indians), decorated U.S. Army former First Lieutenant and Soldiers Medal recipient
Clayton J. Lonetree, Winnebago/Navajo U.S. Marine and convicted KGB spy
Louis Gonzaga Mendez, Jr. (Navajo-descent), highly decorated WWII United States Army officer of the 82nd Airborne Division
Ely S. Parker, (Seneca) U.S. Army Brigadier General
Lori Piestewa, Hopi veteran, died in the 2003 invasion of Iraq
Popé, Ohkay Owingeh religious and military leader
Santa Anna (Comanche war chief)
Sonuk Mikko, Seminole, Captain in the Indian Home Guard during the American Civil War often referred to as Billy Bowlegs
Tecumseh, Shawnee warrior and statesman
William Clyde Thompson, Texas Choctaw leader who fought against the Dawes Commission for Choctaw enrollment
Luis Tupatu, Pueblo leader of the northern pueblos following the Pueblo revolt
Nancy Ward, Cherokee warrior, diplomat, and "Beloved Woman"
Washakie, Shoshone warrior, diplomat, chief, leader
Stand Watie, Cherokee leader and a brigadier general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War
John Watts (also known as Young Tassel), a leader of the Chickamauga Cherokee (or "Lower Cherokee") during the Cherokee-American wars
Dragging Canoe, Cherokee war chief
Pushmataha, Choctaw chief and U.S. Army Brigadier General
José Naranjo (Santa Clara Pueblo), warrior who fought in the Spanish troops against the Apaches and participated in the Villasur expedition

Politicians

Bill Anoatubby, (Chickasaw Nation), Governor of the Chicksaw Nation since 1987
Diane E. Benson, (Tlingit) politician, inspirational speaker, poet and author
Lisa Johnson Billy, Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma State Legislator and Chickasaw Tribal Legislator
Ada E. Brown, Choctaw Nation, Federal Judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Northern Cheyenne chief, U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and silversmith
Brad Carson, Cherokee Nation, former Democratic U.S. congressman from Oklahoma
Holmes Colbert, Chickasaw government official
Tom Cole, Chickasaw Nation, Congressman from Oklahoma
Charles Curtis, (Kaw/Osage/Prairie Band Potawatomi) U.S. Senator and 31st Vice President of the United States
Sharice Davids, Ho-Chunk, U.S. Representative from Kansas
Affie Burnside Ellis, Navajo, first Native American to serve in the Wyoming Senate
Peggy Flanagan, White Earth Nation (Ojibwe), Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota
Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, U.S. Representative from New Mexico, 54th United States Secretary of the Interior
Diane Humetewa, Hopi, Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona
Enoch Kelly Haney, (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma), tribal leader, Oklahoma state legislator, and artist
Keith Harper, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, U.S. representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva
Larry Echo Hawk, Pawnee Nation, former Democratic Attorney General of Idaho and former United States Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs
Yvette Herrell, Cherokee Nation, Congresswoman from New Mexico
Chuck Hoskin, Cherokee Nation, member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from the 6th district
Shane Jett, Cherokee Nation, member of the Oklahoma Senate from the 17th district
Andi LeBeau, Northern Arapaho from Wyoming
Myron Lizer, Navajo / Comanche, Vice President of the Navajo Nation
Byron Mallott, (Tlingit), former Lieutenant Governor of Alaska
Green McCurtain, Choctaw Nation chief, Vice President of the Sequoyah Constitutional Convention
David T. McCoy, Turtle Mountain Chippewa state politician and attorney
Markwayne Mullin, Cherokee Nation, Congressman from Oklahoma
Mary Peltola, Yup'ik, Congresswoman from Alaska; first Alaska Native member of Congress, first woman to represent Alaska in the House, first representative from Alaska to have been born in the state
Ben Reifel, Sicangu Lakota, activist and Congressman from South Dakota
Michael J. Stickman, Alaska Athabascan, first Chief of the Nuwato Tribal Council
Kimberly Teehee, Cherokee Nation, Democratic White House Senior Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs
James Vann, Cherokee businessman and politician
Peterson Zah, Navajo politician

Religious leaders

William Apess, (Pequot) Methodist minister
Black Elk, Oglala Lakota religious leader
William "Hawk" Birdshead Episcopal Church, Spiritual Teacher
Charles J. Chaput (Prairie Potawatomi), Roman Catholic bishop
Neolin, (Lenni Lenape) religious leader
George Tinker, Osage Nation theologian
Kennekuk, Kickapoo spiritual leader
Handsome Lake, Seneca religious leader
Samson Occom, Mohegan clergyman
St. David Pendleton Oakerhater, Southern Cheyenne warrior, artist, deacon, and saint in the Episcopal Church
Oral Roberts, Choctaw Nation preacher
John Slocum, Squaxin Island Tribe, founder of the Indian Shaker Church
Kateri Tekakwitha, Mohawk/Algonquian convert, canonized saint in the Roman Catholic Church
Peter the Aleut (Unangax), also known as Cungagnaq, martyr and saint in some jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodox Church.^[8]
Tenskwatawa, Shawnee religious leader
Wovoka, Paiute religious leader and founder of the Ghost Dance religion

Writers

Louise Abeita, Isleta Pueblo, 1926–2014
Richard Aitson (Kiowa/Plains Apache, 1953–2022), beadwork artist and poet
Sherman Alexie, Spokane/Coeur d'Alene novelist and comedian
Paula Gunn Allen, Laguna Pueblo poet, literary critic, activist, and novelist
William Apess (Pequot, 1798–1839), Methodist minister
Annette Arkeketa, Otoe-Missouria/Muscogee^[9]
Jim Barnes, Choctaw editor, author, poet and founder of the Chariton Review Press
Gloria Bird, Spokane author
Sherwin Bitsui, Navajo poet
Ignatia Broker, White Earth Ojibwe author
Gregory Cajete, Santa Clara Pueblo^[10]
Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Crow Creek Sioux author, poet, editor, and co-founder of the Wíčazo Ša Review
David Cusick, Tuscarora illustrator and author, ca.1780–ca.1831
Nora Marks Dauenhauer, Tlingit author and poet
Philip J. Deloria, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe^[11]
Ella Cara Deloria, Yankton Dakota/Standing Rock Sioux, 1889–1971
Vine Deloria, Jr., Yankton Dakota/Standing Rock Sioux, 1933–2005
Natalie Diaz, Mojave poet, language activist, former professional basketball player, and educator
Michael Dorris, Modoc writer
Heid E. Erdrich, Turtle Mountain Ojibwe writer and poet
Louise Erdrich, Turtle Mountain Ojibwe writer and poet
Janice Gould, Maidu writer
Janet Campbell Hale, Coeur d'Alene/Ktunaxa/Cree writer
Gordon Henry, White Earth Ojibwe writer
Linda Hogan, Chickasaw Nation poet, storyteller, academic, environmentalist and writer.
Victoria Howard (Clackamas Chinook, c. 1865–1930), storyteller
Joy Harjo, Muscogee Nation poet, musician, and author, US poet laureate
Stephen Graham Jones, Blackfeet author
Daniel Heath Justice, Cherokee Nation author
Carole LaFavor, Ojibwe novelist and activist
Layli Long Soldier, Oglala Lakota poet, writer, feminist, artist, and activist
John Joseph Mathews, Osage author
Deborah A. Miranda, Esselen/Chumash author and poet
N. Scott Momaday (Kiowa, 1934–2024) poet, author, scholar, and painter
Irvin Morris, Navajo author
Mourning Dove, Syilx author, 1888–1936
Cynthia Leitich Smith, Muscogee author
Tommy Orange, Cheyenne-Arapaho novelist and writer
Simon J. Ortiz, Acoma Pueblo poet
William S. Penn, Nez Perce author
Robert L. Perea, Oglala Lakota novelist, educator, and veteran
Susan Power, Standing Rock Dakota author
Carter Revard, Osage Nation author and poet
John Rollin Ridge, Cherokee author
Wendy Rose, Hopi/Miwok author
Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, Ojibwe author
Leslie Marmon Silko, Laguna Pueblo-descent poet and novelist
James Thomas Stevens, Mohawk author and educator
Luci Tapahonso, Diné poet
David Treuer, Leech Lake Ojibwe author
Mark Turcotte, Turtle Mountain Ojibwe author
Gerald Vizenor, White Earth Ojibwe writer and professor
Anna Lee Walters, Pawnee/Otoe author
James Welch, Blackfeet/Gros Ventre author and poet
William S. Yellow Robe, Jr. (Fort Peck Assiniboine, 1950–2021), actor, author, director, educator, playwright, and poet^[12]
Ray Young Bear, Meskwaki author
Ofelia Zepeda, Tohono O'odham poet and intellectual
Cecile Black Boy

Television and films

Irene Bedard, Iñupiaq/Yupik/Cree/Métis actress, director, producer, activist
William "Hawk" Birdshead activist, editor, director
Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, Lakota actor
Chris Eyre, Southern Cheyenne-Arapaho director and producer
Kiowa Gordon, Hualapai actor
Phil Lucas, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma filmmaker, actor, writer, producer, director, and editor
Russell Means, Oglala Lakota activist and actor
Will Rogers, Cherokee actor and humorist
Will Sampson, Muscogee Nation painter and actor
Eddie Spears, Brulé Lakota actor
Michael Spears, Brulé Lakota actor
Luther Standing Bear, Oglala Lakota, author and actor
Wes Studi, Cherokee Nation actor
Sheila Tousey, Menominee actor
Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Sisseton Dakota actor and musician

Musicians and singers

Chuck Billy, Pomo-descent singer for the thrash metal band, Testament
William "Hawk" Birdshead
Radmilla Cody, (Navajo) model, singer and activist
Brent Michael Davids, Stockbridge Mohican composer and flutist
R. Carlos Nakai, Navajo musician
Supaman, Apsáalooke rapper
Taboo (rapper), Shoshone-descent rapper and singer
John Trudell, Santee Dakota, musician, poet, activist
Frank Waln, Sicangu Lakota rapper
Greg T. Walker, Muscogee southern rocker, Blackfoot and Lynyrd Skynyrd

Sports

Taffy Abel, (Sault Ste. Marie Chippewa), Hall of Fame NHL Hockey Player, The First Native American in the Winter Olympics (1924 Silver medal), The First Native American in the NHL (1926), Broke the NHL Color Barrier in 1926
Ron Baker, Citizen Potawatomi NBA player with the Washington Wizards
Notah Begay III, Navajo PGA Tour golfer
Johnny Bench, Choctaw Hall of Fame Catcher
Chief Bender, White Earth Ojibwe Hall of Fame pitcher
Sam Bradford, Cherokee Nation, American football quarterback
Gerald Brisco, Chickasaw Nation Pro Wrestler and WWE talent scout
Jack Brisco, Chickasaw Nation Pro Wrestler, Former NWA World Champion
Ellison "Tarzan" Brown, Narragansett U.S. Olympian/Marathon Runner
Joba Chamberlain, Ho-Chunk pitcher for the Detroit Tigers
Chris Chavis, Lumbee professional wrestler, Better Known As "Tatanka."
Rod Curl, (Wintu) PGA tour golfer
Frank Dufina (Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians), professional golfer
Jacoby Ellsbury CRIT Navajo outfielder for the New York Yankees
Angel Goodrich, (Cherokee Nation) WNBA basketball player
Joe Guyon (Chippewa), American football halfback and baseball player. Won the NFL championship with the New York Giants in 1927.
Al Hoptowit (Yakama), American football player
Bronson Koenig, Ho-Chunk basketball player currently on an NBA two-way contract
Ashton Locklear Artistic Gymnast of Lumbee tribe. 2014 World Champion (Team), 2 x 2014 Pan American Champion (Team, Uneven Bars), 2 x 2016 Pacific Rim Champion (Team, Uneven Bars)
Kyle Lohse, Nomlaki pitcher, Milwaukee Brewers
Edward "Wahoo" McDaniel, Choctaw/Chickasaw professional wrestler
Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota athlete
Anthony Seigler, Navajo, MLB player^[13]
Shoni Schimmel, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, WNBA player
Sonny Sixkiller, Cherokee Nation American football quarterback
Doug Smith (Niantic/Narragansett), Major League Baseball pitcher
Andrew Sockalexis (Penobscot), U.S.Olympian and marathon runner
Louis Sockalexis (Penobscot), Major League Baseball player
Jim Thorpe (Sac and Fox Nation), Olympic Gold medalist in track and field, gridiron football and baseball player
Chris Wondolowski, (Kiowa), soccer player for the San Jose Earthquakes and United States national team
Kerry Werner, (Kiowa), cyclist
Lyle Thompson, (Onondaga), pro Lacrosse player
Jim Ross, (Cherokee Nation), WWE wrestling announcer

Activists

Dennis Banks, Leech Lake Ojibwe activist, teacher, lecturer, author and co-founder of the American Indian Movement
William "Hawk" Birdshead activist
Mary Brave Bird, Sicangu Lakota activist. She was a member of the American Indian Movement during the 1970s and participated in some of their most publicized events.
Clyde Bellecourt White Earth Ojibwe activist and co-founder of the American Indian Movement
Carter Camp, Ponca activist^[14]
Don Coyhis, Mohican, sobriety leader and mental health activist, lecturer and author. Founder of Wellbriety, a holistic approach that emphasizes community support for individuals as well as a return to cultural roots for Native American communities.
Billy Frank Jr., Nisqually, environmental leader and treaty rights. He was the founder and chairman, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission
Winona LaDuke, White Earth Ojibwe environmental activist and writer. She was known for her work on tribal land claims and preservation, as well as sustainable development.
Susan LaFlesche Picotte, Omaha/Ponca/Iowa activist, first female Native American physician. She campaigned for public health and for the formal, legal allotment of land to members of the Omaha tribe.
Susette LaFlesche Tibbles, Omaha/Ponca/Iowa spokesperson for Native American rights
Katherine Smith, (Navajo) activist and defender of Navajo lands
Betty Osceola, Miccosukee educator, conservationist, anti-fracking, and clean water advocate in the Florida Everglades
Deborah Parker (Tulalip Tribes, born 1970),^[15] activist and Tulalip Tribes' vice-chairwoman from 2012^[16] to 2015^[17] Parker campaigned for the reauthorization and for the inclusion of provisions which gave tribal courts jurisdiction over violent crimes against women and families involving non–Native Americans on tribal lands.
Leonard Peltier, Turtle Mountain Chippewa/Lakota activist. A member of the American Indian Movement (AIM), he is imprisoned for first-degree murder for the shooting of two Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents during a 1975 conflict on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Elizabeth Peratrovich, Tlingit civil rights activist. Peratrovich and her husband were instrumental in the successful Alaska Native Sisterhood and Alaska Native Brotherhood campaign against racial discrimination in Alaska, culminating in the 1945 enactment of the Anti-Discrimination Act.
Lawrence Plamondon, Grand Traverse Odawa/Ojibwe activist and storyteller. He helped found the White Panther Party. He was the first hippie to be listed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Plamondon's father was half-Odawa and his mother was part-Ojibwe.
D'Arcy McNickle, Salish Kootenai author, activist, and anthropologist
Zitkala-Sa, Yankton Dakota writer and activist. She was co-founder of the National Council of American Indians, supporting Native civil rights. In addition, she served as its president until her death in 1938. She wrote several books about the Native American cultures and is one of the most influential Native American activists of the twentieth century.
Simon Pokagon, Pokagon Potawatomi author and Native American advocate.
Leopold Pokagon, Pokagon Potawatomi storyteller and activist. He tried to protect and promote the Potawatomi communities living in the St. Joseph River Valley and their lands.
Luana Reyes, Confederated Colville Tribes (Sinixt) health activist and educator, 1933–2001^[18]
Sarah Winnemucca, Northern Paiute advocate for the rights of Native Americans and served US forces as a messenger, interpreter, and guide, and as a teacher for imprisoned Native Americans. She also wrote the "first known autobiography written by a Native American woman."

Linguists and interpreters

Jessie Little Doe Baird (Mashpee Wampanoag, born 1963), linguist and preserver of the Massachusett language
Hobomok, Wampanoag interpreter
Don Luis (died 1571), Kiskiack or Paspahegh guide and interpreter for a party of Jesuit missionaries in Virginia
Joseph James and Joseph James, Jr., Kaw/Osage interpreters and guides
Toby Riddle (1848–1920), Modoc interpreter and diplomat
Sacajawea, Shoshone interpreter
John Sassamon, Massachusett, interpreter
Sequoyah (Cherokee), inventor of the Cherokee syllabary
Squanto (c. 1585–November 1622), also known as Tisquantum, last surviving Patuxet, interpreter for the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts

Journalists and columnists

Charlie LeDuff, Sault Ste. Marie Chippewa journalist, writer, and media personality
Rob Capriccioso, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, journalist and writer
Terri Crawford Hansen, Ho-Chunk/Potawatomi journalist, and author
John Christian Hopkins, Narragansett people journalist, author
Jim Northrup, Fond du Lac Ojibwe columnist and political writer
Willie Ottogary, Northwestern Shoshone journalist and leader.
Will Rogers, Jr., Cherokee Nation journalist and politician
Mark Trahant, Shoshone-Bannock, print and broadcast journalist, and author

Academics

Buffalo Bird Woman, Hidatsa woman
Gregory Cajete, Santa Clara Pueblo ethnobotanist, author, and educator
Ishi, Yana educator and last member of his tribe
Francis LaFlesche, Omaha/Ponca/Iowa ethnologist and author
Robert J. Conley, Cherokee author
Vine Deloria, Jr., Yankton Dakota/Standing Rock Nakota theologian, historian, writer and activist
Charles Eastman, Santee Dakota author, physician and helped found the Boy Scouts of America.
LeAnne Howe, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma author and scholar
Joseph Marshall III, Lakota educator and author
Devon A. Mihesuah, Choctaw Nation historian, author, and editor
Joe Medicine Crow, Crow Nation anthropologist
Nila NorthSun, Shoshone/Ojibwe author and historian
Luana Ross, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes sociologist and author
Delphine Red Shirt, Oglala writer and chair of OCIDWIP at the United Nations
Richard Twiss, Sicangu Lakota educator and author
Waziyatawin, Wahpetunwan Dakota historian, educator, and author

Scientists

Fred Begay, Navajo nuclear physicist
Karletta Chief, Navajo soil scientist
Kathleen R. Johnson, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, paleoclimatologist^[19]
Mary G. Ross, Cherokee Nation engineer
Krystal Tsosie, Navajo geneticist and bioethicist
Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, Hunkpapa/Oglala Lakota social scientist who developed the concept of historical trauma^[20]

Other

Lori Alvord, surgeon, first Diné woman to ever become board certified in surgery
George Bent, Cheyenne, soldier, warrior, interpreter, and cultural informant
Polly Cooper, Oneida Tribe aid to the Continental Army during the American Revolution at Valley Forge
Jesse Cornplanter, Seneca author and artist
Leonard Crow Dog, Sicangu Lakota medicine man, activist, and author
Pierre Cruzatte, Omaha member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Deganawida (Haudenosaunee), founder of the Iroquois Confederacy, more respectfully called The Great Peacemaker
Larry EchoHawk, Pawnee head of the BIA, former Attorney General of Idaho
John Herrington, Chickasaw Nation NASA astronaut
James and Ernie, Navajo comedy duo
Maude Kegg, Mille Lacs Ojibwe writer, folk artist, and cultural interpreter
Mountain Wolf Woman, Ho-Chunk autobiographer
Owl Woman, Cheyenne negotiator, peacemaker, Colorado Women's Hall of Fame
Pocahontas, aka Matoaka, Powhatan mediator with the earliest colonists in Jamestown^[21]
Rattling Blanket Woman (Miniconjou), mother of Crazy Horse
Paul Chaat Smith, Comanche/Choctaw, writer, Associate Curator of the National Museum of the American Indian^[14]
Maria Tallchief, Osage Nation ballerina
Marjorie Tallchief, Osage Nation ballerina
Randy'L He-dow Teton, Shoshone-Bannock, model for the US Sacagawea dollar
Tsali, Eastern Cherokee warrior, chief, and martyr