Della Warrior
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Della Cheryl Warrior (born 1946) is the first and only woman to date to serve as the chairperson and chief executive officer for the Otoe-Missouria Tribe. She later served at the president of the
Institute of American Indian Arts The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is a public tribal land-grant college in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The college focuses on Native American art. It operates the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), which is housed in the historic S ...
, finding a permanent home for the institution as well as helping to raise over one hundred million dollars for the institution over a twelve-year period. Warrior was inducted into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame in 2007.


Early life

Della Cheryl Hopper was born in 1946 in
Pawnee, Oklahoma Pawnee ( Pawnee: Paári, iow, Páñi Chína) is a city and county seat of Pawnee County, Oklahoma, United States. The town is northeast of Stillwater at the junction of U.S. Route 64 and State Highway 18. It was named for the Pawnee tribe, ...
, and grew up in
Red Rock, Oklahoma Red Rock ( iow, Chína Ino Šúje pronounced , meaning "Rock Red town") is a town in northern Noble County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 283 at the 2010 census, a decline from 293 at the 2000 census. The headquarters of the Otoe-M ...
, with her mother and stepfather. The family moved around frequently, allowing Warrior to have the opportunity to live in cities such as Shawnee, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Enid, Ponca City, Dallas, Wichita, and Los Angeles. Warrior began her education at Pawnee Indian School and averaged approximately two schools per year up until about sixth grade. During her high school years, Warrior attended six different schools.


Education

After graduation, Warrior left to attend
Northeastern State University Northeastern State University (NSU) is a public university with its main campus in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The university also has two other campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow as well as online. Northeastern is the oldest institution of high ...
in
Tahlequah, Oklahoma Tahlequah ( ; ''Cherokee'': ᏓᎵᏆ, ''daligwa'' ) is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It is part of the Green Country region of Oklahoma and was established as a capital of the 19th-cent ...
, with the intention on pursuing a medical degree. The summer before her junior year, Warrior attended a workshop at the
University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...
. This experience broadened her pride for her native heritage and sparked her interest in that field. Her junior year she changed her major to sociology due to finances and graduated with her bachelor's in 1966. Warrior went and received her master's degree in education from
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
in 1971.


Career

Directly out of college, Warrior became the director of social services for Head Start for six counties in Kansas. Later on in 1971, she became the director of Indian education for Albuquerque schools and served until 1987. The district contained 117 schools with roughly 3,300 Indian students from over 100 tribes. She became the first and only (to date) female Chairman of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe from 1989–1992. In this position, Warrior dealt with issues of roads/transportation, environmental concerns, as well as health and public safety. From 1993 to 1998, Warrior served IAIA as the director of developing and acting director of development. In 1998, Warrior became the president of the
Institute of American Indian Arts The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is a public tribal land-grant college in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The college focuses on Native American art. It operates the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), which is housed in the historic S ...
(IAIA) and served in this role until 2006. She established a permanent campus for the institution after a 38-year period of temporary housing. Warrior increased funding by three hundred percent, helping to raise over one hundred million dollars over a 12-year time period. In June 2013, Della Warrior was selected as the new director of the New Mexico
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture is a museum of Native American art and culture located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is one of eight museums in the state operated by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and is accredited by the Amer ...
(MIAC), becoming the first woman and the first Native American to serve as the museum's director."Della Warrior, Otoe-Missouria, to lead New Mexico museum." Indians.com. June 14, 2013.
Accessed October 3, 2017.
She retired in 2021, having created a significant expansion of the education department and remote programs, and having overseen more than 30 exhibitions, including the revision of the core exhibit Here, Now and Always which is slated to open in 2022. Following retirement from MIAC, Della Warrior became president and CEO of the Multi-Indigenous Initiative for Community Advancement (The MICA Group), an organization she founded with
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 a ...
in 2006 and which recently administered the $10 millio
Cultural Resource Fund
for cultural heritage preservation projects for tribes and tribal communities.


Personal life

Hopper married Clyde Warrior (1939–1968) of the
Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma The Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, also known as the Ponca Nation, is one of two federally recognized tribes of Ponca people. The other is the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska. Traditionally, peoples of both tribes have spoken the Omaha-Ponca languag ...
in 1965. They had two daughters: Mary Martha Warrior and Andrea Immogene Warrior.


Achievements and service

Other roles that Warrior has filled include: * Consultant for Ponca Tribal bingo * Consultant for Andrew Skeeter, Inc. * Consultant for Tulsa Indian Health Care Resource Center * Advisor to the American Indian Culture Museum * Board member of Wings of America * Board member of
National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...
* Board member of the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
* National Organization of Native American Women volunteer * Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma volunteer * Appointee to President George Bush's Board of Advisors on Tribal Colleges and Universities * Charter member of World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium


Awards

* Paul Harris Fellow from Rotary International (2000) * Named Woman of the Year by the Albuquerque YWCA (2002) * Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame inductee (2007)
Lifetime Achievement Award
from the Association of Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums (2018)


References


External links


Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame Oral History Project – OSU Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warrior, Della Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Native American activists Otoe people Native American leaders 1946 births Living people American women chief executives Northeastern State University alumni People from Pawnee, Oklahoma 21st-century Native American women 21st-century Native Americans