The National Native American Hall of Fame, established in 2016 in

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...

, with a working facility in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, Oklahoma, has the mission of 'honoring Native American achievements in contemporary society 1860's – present day', and was founded by Little Shell Chippewa James Parker Shield who now serves as chief executive officer after serving as

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

's State Coordinator of Indian Affairs as the first Native American in the staff of the Montana Governor's office. Founding partners include native polities the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah; at roughly , the ...

Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation ( ) is a federally recognized tribe of Wintun people, specifically Patwin people or southern Wintun, in Yolo County, California. They were formerly known as the Rumsey Indian Rancheria of Wintun Indians of Californi ...

Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation (Chickasaw language, Chickasaw: Chikashsha I̠yaakni) is a federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe, with its headquarters located in Ada, Oklahoma in th ...

and amici cultura the NoVo Foundation of Jennifer and Peter Buffett, daughter in law and son of

Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net w ...

, and the TIDES Foundation founded by

Drummond Pike Drummond MacGavin Pike (born October 11, 1948) is an American philanthropist and Progressivism in the United States, progressive political activist. He founded the Tides Foundation in 1976 and served as its president until 2010. He currently serve ...

. The current president of the board of directors of the National Native American Hall of Fame, whose directors span US native peoples coast to coast is

San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians The San Pasqual Band of Diegueño Mission Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Kumeyaay people,Kumeyaay The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai or by their historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Unit ...

Frances Alvarez, as of 2023. As of winter 2023,–4, the National Native American Hall of Fame's objectives are: # Conduct Annual Induction Ceremonies # Pursue development of a facility to be the home of the Hall of Fame # Develop a traveling exhibit # Develop a Hall of Fame education curriculum. Partner the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City announced in 2021 a collaboration with the National Native American Hall of Fame in developing a permanent home Hall of Fame home facility.

Induction

Annual inductions are in November,

National American Indian Heritage Month On August 3, 1990, President of the United States George H. W. Bush declared the month of November as National American Indian Heritage Month, thereafter commonly referred to as Native American Heritage Month. The bill read in part that "the Pres ...

in the United States of America, and were inaugurated in 2018.

2023 inductees

Joe DeLaCruz Joe DeLaCruz (Joseph B. DeLaCruz, July 16, 1937 – April 16, 2000) was a Native American leader in Washington, U.S., president for 22 years of the Quinault Tribe.Ross AndersonQuinault Indian leader Joe DeLaCruz dies ''Seattle Times'', 2000-04-18. ...

, Quinalt Indian Nation – Government *

Will Sampson William Sampson Jr. (September 27, 1933 – June 3, 1987) was a Muscogee painter, actor, and rodeo performer. He is best known for his performance as the apparent deaf and mute Chief Bromden, the title role in '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ...

, Muscogee Creek – Entertainment *

Leslie Silko Leslie Marmon Silko (born Leslie Marmon; born March 5, 1948) is an American writer. A Laguna Pueblo Indian woman, she is one of the key figures in the First Wave of what literary critic Kenneth Lincoln has called the Native American Renaissanc ...

, Laguna Pueblo – Writing *

Mark Trahant Mark Trahant is the editor-at-large of Indian Country Today, an Indigenous-focused news operation. Career Trahant is a former Charles R. Johnson Professor of Journalism at the University of North Dakota. He is a citizen of Idaho’s Shoshone-B ...

, Shoshone-Bannock – Journalism * Richard Trudell, Santee Sioux Nation – Law * LaNada War Jack, Shoshone-Bannock – Advocacy

2022 inductees

Bill Anoatubby Bill Anoatubby (born November 8, 1945) is the Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, a position he has held since 1987. From 1979 to 1987, Anoatubby served two terms as Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation in the administration of Governor Overt ...

, Chickasaw Nation – Government *

Ryneldi Becenti Ryneldi Becenti (born August 11, 1971) is a retired American professional basketball player. She became the first Native American to play in the WNBA when she played for the Phoenix Mercury in 1997. High school Becenti attended Window Rock Hig ...

, Navajo – Athletics * John EchoHawk, Pawnee – Law *

Tim Giago Timothy Antoine Giago Jr. (July 12, 1934 – July 24, 2022), also known as Nanwica Kciji, was an American Oglala Lakota journalist and publisher. In 1981, he founded the ''Lakota Times'' with Doris Giago at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, w ...

, Oglala Lakota – Journalism *

Suzan Shown Harjo Suzan Shown Harjo (born June 2, 1945) (Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee) is an advocate for Native American rights. She is a poet, writer, lecturer, curator, and policy advocate who has helped Native peoples recover more than one million acres (4, ...

, S. Cheyenne & Hodulgee Muscogee – Advocacy * Marshall McKay, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation – Government * Earl Old Person Sr., Blackfeet Nation – Government *

Joanne Shenandoah Joanne Lynn Shenandoah (June 23, 1957November 22, 2021) was a Native American singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist based in the United States. She was a citizen of the Oneida Indian Nation, Wolf clan, based in New York. Her music combine ...

, Oneida – Entertainment * Patricia Zell, Arapaho/Navajo – Law

2021 inductees

* Dave Anderson, Choctaw / Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe – Business *

Ben Nighthorse Campbell Ben Nighthorse Campbell (born April 13, 1933) is an American Cheyenne politician who represented Colorado's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1993, and as a United States Senator from Colorado f ...

, Northern Cheyenne – Government *

Joy Harjo Joy Harjo ( ; born May 9, 1951) is an American poet, musician, playwright, and author. She served as the 23rd United States Poet Laureate, the first Native American to hold that honor. She was also only the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetr ...

, Muscogee (Creek) Nation – Writing *

Marcella LeBeau Marcella Ryan LeBeau (October 12, 1919 – November 21, 2021), also known as Marcella Le Beau and Wigmuke Waste' Win, was a Lakota elder, politician, nurse, and military veteran. Early life and education LeBeau was born Wigmuke Waste' Win (English ...

, Cheyenne River Sioux – Medicine *

Emil Notti Emil Reynold Notti (born March 11, 1933) is an American engineer, indigenous activist, businessman, government employee, and political candidate of Koyukon Athabaskan heritage. Early life and education Born in Koyukuk, Alaska, Notti earned a ...

, Athabascan – Advocacy *

Katherine Siva Saubel Katherine Siva Saubel (March 7, 1920 – November 1, 2011) was a Native American scholar, educator, tribal leader, author, and activist committed to preserving her Cahuilla history, culture and language. Her efforts focused on preserving the lan ...

, Morongo Band of Mission Indians – Culture * Ernie Stevens Sr., Oneida – Government * W. Richard West, Cheyenne / Arapaho Tribes – Arts

2019 inductees

Lucy Covington Lucy Friedlander Covington (November 24, 1910 – September 20, 1982) was a Native American tribal leader and political activist. She was a member of the Colville tribe which has a reservation in north-eastern Washington state. Covington was ...

, Colville Tribes – Advocacy *

Ada Deer Ada Deer (born 1935) is a member of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and a Native American advocate, scholar and civil servant. As an activist she opposed the federal termination of tribes from the 1950s following the bills led by Arthur ...

, Menominee – Advocacy *

Louise Erdrich Louise Erdrich ( ; born Karen Louise Erdrich, June 7, 1954) is an American author of novels, poetry, and children's books featuring Native American characters and settings. She is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indian ...

, Turtle Mountain Chippewa – Writing * Billy Frank Jr., Nisqually Tribe – Advocacy * Forrest Gerard, Blackfeet Nation – Government *

Hattie Kauffman Hattie Kauffman is an American journalist. A member of the Nez Perce people, she was the first Native American to file a report on a national news broadcast. Early life She spent the first three years of her life on the Nez Perce Reservation in ...

, Nez Perce Tribe – Journalism *

Oren Lyons Oren R. Lyons Jr. (born 1930, Seneca) is a Native American Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan. The Seneca are one of the Six Nations of the historic Haudenosaunee Confederacy.Richard Oakes, Mohawk Nation – Advocacy *

Elizabeth Peratrovich Elizabeth Peratrovich (née Elizabeth Jean Wanamaker, ; July 4, 1911December 1, 1958) was an American civil rights activist, Grand President of the Alaska Native Sisterhood, and member of the Tlingit nation who worked for equality on behalf of ...

, Tlingit Nation – Advocacy *

Pascal Poolaw Pascal Cleatus Poolaw (January 29, 1922 – November 7, 1967) was a Kiowa who served with the United States Army in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. He is the United States' most decorated Native American, with 42 me ...

, Kiowa Tribe – Military * Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Nation – Science *

Wes Studi Wesley Studi ( chr, ᏪᏌ ᏍᏚᏗ; born December 17, 1947) is a Native American (Cherokee Nation) actor and film producer. He has garnered critical acclaim and awards throughout his career, particularly for his portrayal of Native Americans ...

, Cherokee Nation – Arts

2018 inductees

* Lionel Bordeaux, Rosebud Sioux – Education *

Elouise P. Cobell Elouise Pepion Cobell, also known as Yellow Bird Woman (November 5, 1945 – October 16, 2011) (''Niitsítapi'' Blackfoot Confederacy), was a tribal elder and activist, banker, rancher, and lead plaintiff in the groundbreaking class-action sui ...

, Blackfeet Nation – Advocacy *

Vine Deloria Jr. Vine Victor Deloria Jr. (March 26, 1933 – November 13, 2005, Standing Rock Sioux) was an author, theologian, historian, and activist for Native American rights. He was widely known for his book '' Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto ...

, Standing Rock Sioux – Writing *

LaDonna Harris LaDonna Vita Tabbytite Harris (born February 26, 1931) is a Comanche Native American social activist and politician from Oklahoma.Fluharty, SterlingHarris, LaDonna Vita Tabbytite profile 'mOklahoma Historical Society Encyclopedia of Oklahoma His ...

, Comanche Nation – Advocacy *

John Herrington John Bennett Herrington (born September 14, 1958, in Chickasaw Nation) is a retired United States Naval Aviator, engineer and former NASA astronaut. In 2002, Herrington became the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in spac ...

, Chickasaw Nation – Science *

Allan Houser Allan Capron Houser or Haozous (June 30, 1914 – August 22, 1994) was a Chiricahua Apache sculptor, painter and book illustrator born in Oklahoma.Wilma Mankiller Wilma Pearl Mankiller ( chr, ᎠᏥᎳᏍᎩ ᎠᏍᎦᏯᏗᎯ, Atsilasgi Asgayadihi; November 18, 1945April 6, 2010) was a Native American ( Cherokee Nation) activist, social worker, community developer and the first woman elected to serve ...

, Cherokee Nation – Government *

Billy Mills Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge * Billy, a youn ...

, Oglala Lakota Sioux – Athletics *

N. Scott Momaday Navarre Scott Momaday (born February 27, 1934) is a Kiowa novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. His novel ''House Made of Dawn'' was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969, and is considered the first major work of the Native ...

, Kiowa Tribe – Writing *

Lori Piestewa Lori Ann Piestewa ( ; December 14, 1979 – March 23, 2003) was a United States Army soldier killed during the Iraq War. A member of the Quartermaster Corps, she died in the same Iraqi attack in which fellow soldiers Shoshana Johnson and Piestewa' ...

, Hopi Tribe – Military *

Maria Tallchief Elizabeth Marie Tallchief ( Osage family name: , Osage script: ; January 24, 1925 – April 11, 2013) was an American ballerina. She was considered America's first major prima ballerina. She was the first Native American (Osage Nation) to ...

, Osage Nation – Arts *

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

, Sac and Fox Nation – Athletics

External links

National Native American Hall of Fame

References

{{Authority Control 2016 establishments in Montana Great Falls, Montana Oklahoma City Organizations established in 2016 Halls of fame in the United States Native American organizations