List of Native American women of the United States

This is a list of notable Native American women of the United States. Please note that it should contain only Native women of the United States and its territories, not First Nations women or Native women of Central and South America.

A

Reid Gómez, Navajo writer, and Niki Lee, Arikara-Caddo visual artist

• Louise Abeita, Isleta Pueblo writer
• Aguilar sisters, Santo Domingo Pueblo potters
• Ai (born 1947), Choctaw, Chickasaw, Southern Cheyenne, and Comanche poet
• Paula Gunn Allen (1939–2008), Laguna Pueblo-Sioux-Lebanese poet, activist, literary critic, and novelist
• Elsie Allen, Cloverdale Pomo basketweaver
• Tammie Allen (Walking Spirit), Jicarilla Apache, potter
• Queen Alliquippa (died 1754), Seneca Nation leader
• Princess Angeline (Suquamish-Duwamish, ca. 1820–1896), daughter of Chief Seattle
• Queen Anne (ca. 1650–ca. 1725), chief of the Pamunkey tribe
• Annie Antone, Tohono O'odham basketweaver
• Awashonks, chief of the Sakonett tribe
• Marilou Awiakta (born 1936), Eastern Band Cherokee author

B

Rebecca Benally with former Utah Governor and current US Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman, Jr.

• Margarete Bagshaw (Santa Clara Pueblo descent, born 1964), painter and gallerist
• Betty Louise Bell (born 1949), Cherokee author
• Rebecca M. Benally, Navajo Nation Board of Education
• Martha Berry, Cherokee Nation bead worker
• Carrie Bethel, Mono Lake Paiute basketweaver, 1898–1974
• Black Buffalo Woman, first wife of Crazy Horse
• Black Shawl (Lakota, died 1920), second wife of Crazy Horse
• Kimberley M. Blaeser, White Earth Ojibwe writer
• Blue Corn (ca. 1920–1999), San Ildefonso Pueblo potter
• Gloria Bird, Spokane tribe poet and critic
• Bowdash, Kootenai two-spirit warrior
• Beth E. Brant (ca. 1736–1796), Mohawk author
• Mary Brant, Mohawk leader
• Mary Brave Bird (born 1953), Brulé Lakota writer and activist
• Bras Piqué, Natchez woman who tried to warn the French of her tribe's plans to attack them
• Ignatia Broker (1919–1987), Ojibwa writer
• Vee F. Browne, Navajo author
• Buffalo Bird Woman, Hidatsa author
• Buffalo Calf Road Woman, Cheyenne heroine

C

• Gladys Cardiff (born 1942), poet and academic of Eastern Band Cherokee descent
• Tonantzin Carmelo, Tongva-Kumeyaay actress
• Nellie Charlie, Mono Lake Paiute basketweaver, 1867–1965
• Marie Z. Chino, Acoma Pueblo potter
• Vera Chino, Acoma Pueblo potter
• Chipeta, Kiowa Apache, 1843/4-1924, beadworker and wife of Chief Ouray
• Kelly Church, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians basketweaver, birch bark biter, painter, and environmental activist
• Chrystos (born 1946), Menominee two-spirit poet
• Mildred Cleghorn (1910–1997), former Chairwoman of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma
• Elouise Cobell (Blackfeet), Executive Director of the Native American Community Development Corporation
• Radmilla Cody (Navajo), Navajo language singer, 46th Miss Navajo Nation
• Colestah, Yakama wife of Chief Kamiakin
• Lyda Conley (Wyandot, born 1874-1946), first Native American female attorney, and first Native American woman admitted to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Wyandot Nation activist and attorney
• Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Crow Creek Sioux poet and novelist
• Hilda Coriz, Santo Domingo Pueblo potter
• Crying Wind, Kickapoo author
• Cuhtahlatah, Cherokee heroine

D

• Dahteste, Apache fighter and compatriot to Geronimo
• Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone activist
• Mary Dann (died 2005), Western Shoshone activist
• Alice Brown Davis (1852–1935), Principal Chief of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma
• Angel DeCora, Ho-Chunk artist and lecturer
• Ada Deer, Menominee author, activist, and the first Native American woman to head the Bureau of Indian Affairs
• Susan Deer Cloud, Mohawk-Seneca-Blackfeet author^{[citation needed]}
• Ella Cara Deloria (1888–1971), Yankton Sioux educator, anthropologist, ethnographer, linguist, and novelist
• Demasduit (ca. 1796–1820), Beothuk woman kidnapped by the English
• Bonnie Devine, Serpent River First Nation conceptual artist, curator, filmmaker, and author
• Mavis Doering, Cherokee Nation (1929–2007) basketweaver
• Do-Hum-Me, Sac entertainer
• Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, Brulé Lakota writer and educator
• Juanita Suazo Dubray, Taos Pueblo potter
• Joyce Dugan, first female elected chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

E

• Eagle of Delight (died 1822), Otoe tribe emissary
• Chief Earth Woman, Ojibwa warrior
• Ehyophsta, Cheyenne warrior
• Louise Erdrich (born 1954), Ojibwa writer

F

• Fidelia Fielding (1827–1908), last native speaker of the Mohegan Pequot language
• Cecilia Fire Thunder (born 1946), former president of the Oglala Sioux in South Dakota
• Elaine Fleming, Ojibwa mayor of Cass Lake, Minnesota
• L. Frank, Tongva-Ajachmen Indian artist, tribal scholar, and activist
• Kalyn Free, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma lawyer and activist

G

• Martha George, Suquamish tribal chairman
• Diane Glancy, author, poet, and playwright of Cherokee descent
• Glory of the Morning (born 1709), Ho-Chunk chief
• Rose Gonzales (ca. 1900–1989), Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo potter
• Alison Kay Bridges-Gottfriedson (1952–2009), Puyallup-Squaxin Island fishing rights activist tribal council and advocate
• Janice Gould, Koyangk'auwi Maidu writer
• Gouyen, Apache warrior
• Teri Greeves, Kiowa-Comanche bead worker
• Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty, Assiniboine-Sioux bead worker and quill worker
• Margaret Gutierrez, Santa Clara Pueblo potter

H

• Janet Campbell Hale, Coeur d'Alene-Kootenay-Cree-Irish writer
• Hate Woman, Blackfoot warrior
• Hanging Cloud, Ojibwa warrior
• Charlotte Hallmark, chief of the Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama
• Helen Hardin, Tsa-Sah-Wee-Eh (1934–1984), Santa Clara Pueblo painter
• Joy Harjo, Muscogee Creek-Cherokee poet, lecturer, and musician
• Suzan Shown Harjo, Muscogee Creek-Southern Cheyenne activist
• LaDonna Harris, Comanche president of Americans for Indian Opportunity
• Allison Hedge Coke, Huron-Cherokee poet, writer, educator, activist
• Robbie Hedges, first elected woman chief of the Peoria tribe
• Rosella Hightower, Choctaw-Shawnee Tribe, born 1920, ballerina
• Joan Hill (Chea-Se-Quah), Muscogee (Creek) Nation-Cherokee painter
• Linda Hogan (born 1947), Chickasaw poet, storyteller, academic, playwright, novelist, environmentalist and writer of short stories.
• Minnie Hollow Wood, Lakota woman who fought at the Battle of Little Big Horn
• Hononegah (ca. 1814–1847), Ho-Chunk pioneer
• LeAnne Howe, Choctaw writer

I

• Debora Iyall (born 1954), Cowlitz singer and printmaker

J

• Sarah James, Washoe basketweaver
• Jana (born 1980), Lumbee-Tuscarora singer
• Viola Jimulla (1878–1966), Yavapai chief
• Marie Smith Jones (1918–2008), honorary chief of the Eyak Nation and last known speaker of the Eyak language
• Juana Maria (died 1853), last member of the Nicoleño tribe

K

• Yvonne Kauger (born 1937), Cheyenne-Arapaho Oklahoma Supreme Court justice
• Maude Kegg (1906–1996), Ojibwa bead worker and traditionalist
• Louisa Keyser Dat So La Lee (ca. 1829–1925), Washoe basket weaver
• Loretta Kelsey, last living speaker of Elem Pomo
• Edith Kilbuck, Lenape missionary
• Kuiliy, Pend d'Oreille warrior

L

• Madeline La Framboise (1740–1846), Odawa fur trader
• Winona LaDuke (born 1959), Ojibwa activist, environmentalist, economist, and writer
• Carole LaFavor, two-spirit Ojibwa novelist and activist
• Naomi Lang (born 1978), Karuk figure skater and ice dancer
• Moscelyne Larkin (born 1925), Peoria-Shawnee ballerina
• Sally Larsen (born 1954), Apache-Aleut photographer
• Sharmagne Leland-St. John, Nespelem poet
• Edmonia Lewis (ca. 1845–ca. 1911), African-Mississauga Ojibwa sculptor
• Lucy M. Lewis (1898–1992), Acoma Pueblo potter
• Sacheen Littlefeather (born 1947), White Mountain Apache-Yaqui-Pueblo actress and activist
• Linda Lomahaftewa, Hopi-Choctaw painter, printmaker, and educator
• Lozen, Apache warrior, spiritual leader, and compatriot to Geronimo
• Merina Lujan (Pop Chalee), Taos Pueblo painter

M

• Mabel McKay, Pomo-Patwin (1907–1993) basketweaver and medicine woman
• Wilma Mankiller (1945–2010), first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
• Maria Martinez (1887–1980), San Ildefonso Pueblo potter
• Janet McAdams, Alabama Creek-Scottish-Irish author^{[citation needed]}
• Barbara McAlister, Cherokee Nation opera singer and artist
• Mabel McKay, Pomo basketweaver and medicine woman
• Doris McLemore (Wichita tribe, born 1927), last fluent speaker of the Wichita language
• Isabel Meadows (1846–1939), Rumsen Ohlone language consultant and last speaker of the Rumsen language
• Methoataske, mother of Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa (Shawnee)
• Elaine Miles (born 1960), Cayuse-Nez Perce actress
• Devon A. Mihesuah, Choctaw writer
• Deborah A. Miranda, Esselen-Chumash-French poet
• Catherine Montour (1710–1804), Seneca leader
• Mountain Wolf Woman (1884–1960), Ho-Chunk Native American Church member
• Moving Robe Woman, a Hunkpapa Lakota fighter in the Battle of Little Bighorn
• Mary Musgrove, Muscogee Creek interpreter, trader, and political leader

N

• Helen Naha, Hopi aka "Feather Woman" potter
• Nampeyo, "Hano Nampeyo", (ca. 1859–1942) Tewa, Hopi potter
• Elva Nampeyo, Hopi potter
• Fannie Nampeyo, Hopi potter
• Iris Nampeyo, Hopi potter
• Dextra Nampeyo Quotskuyva, Tewa/Hopi (daughter of Rachel) potter
• Nora Naranjo-Morse, Santa Clara Pueblo potter
• Sally Noble (Chimariko), last speakers of the Chimariko language
• Roscinda Nolasquez (Cupeño, 1892–1987), last known speaker of the Cupeño language

O

• Hannah Ocuish (died 1786), executed Pequot
• Old-Lady-Grieves-The-Enemy, Pawnee warrior
• One Who Walks With the Stars, Oglala Lakota warrior in the Battle of Little Bighorn

P

• LaRue Parker, former chairperson of the Caddo Nation
• Essie Parrish, Kashaya Pomo basketweaver, 1902–1979
• Elise Paschen, poet of Osage descent through her mother Maria Tallchief, former executive director of Poetry Society of America, and co-founder of Poetry in Motion^{[citation needed]}
• Lotsee Patterson, Comanche librarian and professor
• Susan La Flesche Picotte (1865–1915), first female Native American physician, Omaha tribe
• Lori Piestewa (1979–2003), Hopi soldier killed in Iraq
• Pine Leaf, Crow warrior
• Pocahontas (ca. 1595–1617), Powhatan diplomat, wife of John Rolfe, saved John Smith's life
• Pretty Shield, Crow Nation medicine woman and autobiographer
• Anna Price, White Mountain Apache writer

Q

• Jaune Quick-To-See Smith (born 1940), Flathead nation artist

R

• Rattling Blanket Woman (Miniconjou), mother of Crazy Horse
• Delphine Red Shirt, Oglala writer and chair of Nongovernmental Organization Committee on the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations
• Martha Redbone, Choctaw, Shawnee, and African-American musician
• Della Reese (born 1931), actress and singer of Cherokee descent
• G. Anne Richardson, chief of the Rappahannock tribe
• Salli Richardson (born 1967), part Cherokee actress^{[citation needed]}
• Toby Riddle (1848–1920), Modoc interpreter and diplomat
• Luana Ross, member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, sociologist and author
• Wendy Rose (born 1948), Hopi-Miwok anthropologist and writer
• Running Eagle, Blackfoot war chief

S

• Sacagawea (ca. 1787–1812), Shoshone guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition
• Brenda Schad, model of Choctaw and Cherokee descent
• Jane Johnston Schoolcraft (1800–1842), Ojibwa-Irish writer
• Shanawdithit (ca. 1801–1829), artist,last known Beothuk and last speaker of the Beothuk language
• Joanne Shenandoah, Oneida singer and guitarist
• Clara Sherman (b. ca. 1915), Navajo weaver
• Leslie Marmon Silko (born 1948), Laguna Pueblo-Keres writer
• Cheyenne Silver (born 1978), part Choctaw and part Cherokee adult actress^{[citation needed]}
• Pauline Small (1924–2005), first female leader of the Crow Nation
• Cynthia Leitich Smith, Muscogee Creek Nation children's author
• Lois Bougetah Smoky (1907–1981), Kiowa painter
• Molly Spotted Elk (1903–1977), Penobscot actress and dancer
• Minnie Spotted-Wolf (Blackfeet), first female Native American Marine
• Boeda Strand (born 1834), head basket weaver of the Snohomish tribe
• Virginia Stroud (born 1951) United Keetoowah Band Cherokee-Muscogee Creek painter, author, and former Miss Indian America.
• Anita Louise Suazo, Santa Clara Pueblo potter
• Anita Suazo, Santa Clara Pueblo potter
• Madonna Swan, Lakota, 1928–1993
• Roxanne Swentzell, Santa Clara Pueblo ceramicist and sculptor

T

• Tacumwah (ca. 1720–ca. 1790), chief of the Miami tribe and businesswoman
• Margaret Tafoya, (1904–2001) Santa Clara Pueblo potter
• Maria Tallchief (born 1925), Osage ballerina
• Marjorie Tallchief, Osage ballerina
• Margo Tamez (born 1962), Jumano Apache, Lipan Apache activist, poet, community historian, educator
• Gladys Tantaquidgeon, Mohegan elder, historian, and medicine woman
• Luci Tapahonso (born 1953), Navajo poet and lecturer
• Leonidas Tapia (died 1977), Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo potter
• Kimberly Teehee (b. 1969/70), senior policy advisor for Native American Affairs in the White House Domestic Policy Council
• Kateri Tekakwitha (1656–1680), Mohawk woman beatified by the Catholic church
• Lucy Telles, Mono Lake Paiute-Yosemite Miwok basketweaver, ca. 1885-1955
• Charlene Teters, Spokane tribe artist, writer, activist, educator, and lecturer
• The Other Magpie, Crow fighter at the Battle of the Rosebud
• Florence Owens Thompson (1901–1983), Cherokee-Choctaw subject of the famous photograph "Migrant Mother"
• Lucy Thompson (1856–1932), Yurok writer
• Jennie Thlunaut, Tlingit (1982–1986) Chilkat weaver
• Susette LaFlesche Tibbles (1854–1903), Omaha-Iowa-Ponca lecturer, writer, and artist
• Toypurina (born 1761), Tongva medicine woman and rebel
• Gail Tremblay, Onondaga-Mi'kmaq artist and poet
• Catherine Troeh (1911–2007), Chinook activist, artist, elder, historian
• Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie, Muscogee Creek-Seminole-Navajo photographer
• Asiba Tupahache, Matinecoc activist
• Tyonajanegen, Oneida woman who fought in the 1777 Battle of Oriskany during the American Revolutionary War

U

• Ulali, all female, all Native American musical group
• Paula Underwood, Oneida historian
• Carrie Underwood, Muscogee Creek Nation enrolled tribal member, singer
• Misty Upham, (born 1982), Blackfeet actress, screenwriter^{[citation needed]}

V

• Pablita Velarde, Tse Tsan (1918–2006), Santa Clara Pueblo painter
• Sarah Vowell (born 1969), author and journalist of Cherokee descent

W

• Velma Wallis, Athabascan writer
• Kay WalkingStick, Cherokee Nation-Ho-Chunk painter and educator
• Wanagapeth (Miami tribe, died 1908), daughter of Chief Michikinikwa
• Yvonne Wanrow (born 1943), feminist and criminal of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
• Nancy Ward (ca. 1738–1822 or 1824), Cherokee leader
• Ingrid Washinawatok (1957–1999), assassinated Menominee activist
• Watseka (born 1810), Potawatomi woman for whom Watseka, Illinois is named
• Marie Watt (born 1967), Seneca artist
• Annie Dodge Wauneka (1910–1997), Navajo activist and author
• Weetamoo (ca. 1635–1676), Wampanoag chief
• Charmaine White Face, Oglala Lakota activist and writer
• Emmi Whitehorse (born 1958), Navajo painter
• Lorraine Williams, Navajo potter
• Sarah Winnemucca (ca. 1841–1891), Northern Paiute activist and writer
• Elizabeth Woody, Navajo-Wasco writer

Y

• Melanie Yazzie, Navajo printmaker and educator
• Mary Youngblood, Aleut-Seminole flutist

Z

• Ofelia Zepeda, Tohono O'odham linguist and writer
• Zitkala-Sa (1876–1938), Yankton Nakota writer, editor, musician, teacher and activist