List of Native Americans of the United States

Further information: List of indigenous people of the Americas

This is a list of notable Native Americans from peoples indigenous to the contemporary United States, including Native Alaskans, Native Hawaiians, and Native Americans in the United States.

A

• Nicolas de Aguilar, P'urhépecha, New Mexican official, tried by the Inquisition.
• Ai, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Southern Cheyenne, and Comanche poet
• Richard Aitson, Kiowa-Kiowa Apache bead artist and poet
• Sherman Alexie, (Spokane, Coeur d'Alene) author and comedian
• Elsie Allen, Cloverdale Pomo basketweaver
• Paula Gunn Allen, (Laguna Pueblo, Sioux) poet, literary critic, activist, and novelist
• Marcus Amerman, Choctaw multimedia artist
• Bill Anoatubby, (Chickasaw), Governor of the Chicksaw Nation since 1987
• Annie Antone, Tohono O'odham basketweaver
• William Apess, (Pequot) author and minister
• Anna Mae Aquash, Mi'kmaq activist
• Spencer Asah, Kiowa artist
• Attakullakulla, (Cherokee) chief
• James Auchiah, Kiowa artist
• Marilou Awiakta, (Eastern Band Cherokee) author and poet

B

• Jimmy Santiago Baca, Apache-Chicano author and poet
• Dennis Banks, Anishinaabe activist, teacher, lecturer, author and co-founder of the American Indian Movement
• Jim Barnes, Choctaw editor, author, poet and founder of the Chariton Review Press
• Fred Begay (Diné), nuclear physicist
• Notah Begay III, Diné PGA Tour golfer
• Betty Louise Bell, (Cherokee) author and editor
• Clyde Bellecourt (Anishinaabe), activist and co-founder of the American Indian Movement (AIM)
• Johnny Bench, Choctaw Hall of Fame Catcher
• Chief Bender, Ojibwa Hall of Fame pitcher
• Diane E. Benson -- (Tlingit) politician, inspirational speaker, poet and author
• George Bent, Cheyenne, soldier, warrior, interpreter, and cultural informant
• Martha Berry, Cherokee Nation bead artist
• Chuck Billy, (Pomo) singer for the thrash metal band, Testament
• Lisa Johnson Billy, Chickasaw Nation - Oklahoma State Legislator and Chickasaw Tribal Legislator
• Sherwin Bitsui -- (Navajo) poet
• Black Elk -- (Oglala Lakota) holy man
• Black Hawk -- (Sauk) Leader
• Black Kettle -- (Cheyenne) chief
• Andrew Blackbird -- (Ottawa) leader, historian, and author
• Kimberly M. Blaeser -- (Chippewa, Anishinaabe) author and poet
• Elias Boudinot -- (Cherokee) leader, journalist and publisher
• Billy Bowlegs, Seminole chief
• Joseph Brant -- (Mohawk) leader
• Mary Brave Bird, Brulé Lakota author and activist
• Ignatia Broker -- (Ojibway) author
• Joseph Bruchac -- (Abenaki) author and poet
• Buffalo Bird Woman -- (Hidatsa) writer

C

• Gregory Cajete, Santa Clara Pueblo ethnobotanist, author, and educator
• Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Northern Cheyenne chief, U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and silversmith
• Mary Katherine Campbell, Muscogee Creek, Cree, Mi'kmaq- former Miss America winner
• Canonicus, Narragansett chief
• Rob Capriccioso, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, journalist and writer
• Captain Jack, Modoc chief
• Gladys Cardiff, writer and poet of Eastern Cherokee descent
• Chainbreaker, Seneca war chief
• Joba Chamberlain, Ho-Chunk pitcher for the New York Yankees
• Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, (Lakota) medicine man, actor
• Chris Chavis, (Lumbee) professional wrestler
• Kelly Church, (Grand Traverse Band Odawa-Ojibwe) basketweaver, painter, and educator
• Chrystos -- (Menominee) activist and poet
• Cochise, Chiricahua Apache chief
• Radmilla Cody, (Navajo)
• Holmes Colbert -- (Chickasaw) government official
• Tom Cole, Chickasaw Congressman from Oklahoma
• Robert J. Conley,- Cherokee Nation-United Keetoowah Band author
• Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Crow Creek Sioux author, poet, editor, and co-founder of the Wicazo Sa Review
• Polly Cooper, Oneida Tribe aid to the Continental Army during the American Revolution at Valley Forge
• Cornplanter -- (Seneca) chief
• Jesse Cornplanter -- (Seneca) author and artist
• Leonard Crow Dog
• Amanda Crowe, Eastern Band Cherokee woodcarver and educator
• Crazy Horse -- (Oglala Lakota) chief
• Pierre Cruzatte -- (Omaha) member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
• Rod Curl, (Wintu) PGA tour golfer
• Charles Curtis, (Kaw, Osage, Potawatomi) U.S. Senator and 31st Vice President of the United States
• David Cusick, Tuscarora illustrator and author, ca.1780-ca.1831
• Dennis Cusick, Tuscarora painter, ca. 1800-1824

D

• Nora Marks Dauenhauer -- (Tlingit) author and poet
• Brent Michael Davids -- (Stockbridge Mohican) composer and flutist
• Susan Deer Cloud -- (Blackfoot, Seneca, Mohawk) author and poet
• Deganawida, (Haudenosaunee), founder of the Iroquois Confederacy, more respectfully called The Great Peacemaker
• Delaware Prophet -- (Lenni Lenape) religious leader
• Ella Cara Deloria -- (Yankton Sioux) educator, anthropologist, ethnographer, linguist, and novelist
• Vine Deloria, Jr., Yankton-Standing Rock Sioux theologian, historian, writer and activist
• Micky Dolenz, actor/musician
• Michael Dorris, Modoc writer
• Dragging Canoe, Cherokee war chief
• Frank Dufina (Mackinac Band of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians), professional golfer

E

• Charles Eastman -- (Sioux) author, physician and helped found the Boy Scouts of America.
• Larry EchoHawk, Pawnee head of the BIA, former Attorney General of Idaho
• Jacoby Ellsbury (Navajo), outfielder for the Boston Red Sox
• Louise Erdrich -- Anishinaabe writer and poet
• Chris Eyre -- Cheyenne-Arapaho director and producer

F

• Abel Fernandez, Yaqui actor
• Logan Fontenelle -- (Omaha) chief and interpreter
• L. Frank -- (Tongva, Ajachmem) Indian artist, tribal scholar, writer and activist
• Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty, Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux quillworker and beadartist

G

• Chief Gall -- (Hunkpapa Lakota) chief
• Diane Glancy -- (Cherokee-descent) poet, author and playwright
• Geronimo -- (Chiricahua Apache) leader
• Owl Goingback -- (Choctaw, Cherokee) author
• Jewelle Gomez -- (Ioway) writer
• Janice Gould -- (Maidu) writer
• Kiowa Gordon -- (Hualapai) actor
• Jusepe Gutierrez -- Aztec explorer

H

• Janet Campbell Hale, Coeur d'Alene-Ktunaxa-Cree writer
• Handsome Lake -- (Seneca) religious leader
• Enoch Kelly Haney -- (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma), tribal leader, Oklahoma state legislator, and artist
• Terri Crawford Hansen -- Ho-Chunk-Potawatomi, journalist, and author
• Joy Harjo, Muscogee Creek-Cherokee poet, musician, and author
• Ira Hayes -- (Pima) One of five Marines, along with a United States Navy corpsman, immortalized in the iconic photograph of the flag raising on Iwo Jima.
• William Least Heat-Moon -- (Osage) writer
• Allison Hedge Coke
• Gordon Henry -- (Chippewa) writer
• John Herrington -- (Chickasaw) NASA astronaut .
• Hiawatha -- (Onondaga, Mohawk) chief was credited as the founder of the Iroquois confederacy
• Linda Hogan -- (Chickasaw) poet, storyteller, academic, environmentalist and writer.
• Janel Horton, professional wrestler known as "Alere Little Feather"
• LeAnne Howe -- (Choctaw) author and scholar
• Al Hunter -- (Anishinaabe) writer and poet

I

• Ishi, Yana) educator and last member of his tribe

J

• Joseph James and Joseph James, Jr. -- (Kaw-Osage) Interpreters and guides.
• Mickie James -- (Powhatan) professional wrestler
• Stephen Graham Jones -- (Blackfeet) author
• Chief Joseph -- (Nez Percé) chief and humanitarian
• Betty Mae Tiger Jumper -- (Seminole) the first female chief of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, she was also a publisher
• Daniel Heath Justice, Cherokee Nation author

K

• Maude Kegg -- (Ojibwa) writer, folk artist, and cultural interpreter
• Keokuk -- (Sac, Fox) chief
• Thomas King -- (Cherokee) novelist and broadcaster

L

• Winona LaDuke, White Earth Ojibwe environmental activist and writer
• Susan La Flesche Picotte -- (Omaha) first female Native American physician.
• Carole LaFavor -- (Ojibwa) novelist and activist
• Hyapatia Lee -- (Cherokee) actress
• Edmonia Lewis Ojibwe sculptor
• Sacheen Littlefeather -- (Yaqui) actress
• Litefoot (Cherokee Nation-Chichimeca), actor, hip hop artist
• Little Turtle -- (Miami) chief
• Clayton J. Lonetree -- Winnebago U.S. Marine and spy the KGB
• Lone Wolf -- (Kiowa) chief
• Phil Lucas -- (Choctaw) filmmaker, actor, writer, producer, director and editor

M

• Major Ridge, Cherokee chief, led Lighthorse Patrol and signed the Treaty of New Echota.
• Mangas Coloradas, Apache chief
• Wilma Mankiller, Cherokee Nation chief
• Joseph Marshall III
• María Martínez, San Ildefonso Pueblo potter
• Massasoit - Wampanoag chief
• John Joseph Mathews
• Janet McAdams
• Edward "Wahoo" McDaniel, Choctaw-Chickasaw professional wrestler
• Alexander McGillivray, Muscogee Creek chief
• William McIntosh, Muscogee Creek chief
• D'Arcy McNickle
• Mardi Oakley Medawar, author of Cherokee descent
• Russell Means, Lakota activist and actor
• Joe Medicine Crow, Crow Nation anthropologist
• Miantonomo, Narragansett chief
• Devon A. Mihesuah
• Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota athlete
• Deborah A. Miranda
• N. Scott Momaday, Kiowa-Cherokee poet, author, scholar, and painter
• Irvin Morris
• Mountain Wolf Woman
• Mourning Dove

N

• R. Carlos Nakai, Navajo musician
• Nampeyo, Hopi potter
• Nora Naranjo-Morse, Santa Clara Pueblo artist
• Nas'Naga, Shawnee
• Jim Northrup
• Nila NorthSun

O

• St. David Pendleton Oakerhater, Southern Cheyenne warrior, artist, deacon, and saint in the Episcopal church
• Samson Occom - Mohegan clergyman
• Old Tom - Blackfoot medicine man
• Opechancanough - Pamunkey chief
• Oratam - sachem of the Hackensack Indians
• Simon J. Ortiz, Acoma Pueblo poet
• Osceola, Seminole leader
• Chief Oshkosh, Menominee leader
• Chief Ouray, Ute Tribe leader
• Louis Owens, Choctaw-Cherokee author
• Owl Woman, Cheyenne negotiator, peace-maker, Colorado Women's Hall of Fame

P

• Ely S. Parker - U.S. Army Brigadier General
• Quanah Parker, Comanche chief
• Elise Paschen
• Pawhuska, Osage Chief
• Leonard Peltier, Ojibwa-Lakota activist
• William S. Penn
• Robert L. Perea
• Lori Piestewa, Hopi veteran, Died in the 2003 invasion of Iraq
• Lawrence Plamondon, Odawa-Ojibwe activist and storyteller
• Pocahontas (Matoaka), Powhatan Confederacy Christian convert and diplomat
• Leopold Pokagon, Potawatomi
• Simon Pokagon, Potawatomi
• Chief Pontiac, Odawa chief
• Popé, Ohkay Owingeh religious and military leader
• Susan Power, Standing Rock Sioux author
• Powhatan, Pamunkey chief
• Pushmataha, Choctaw chief and U.S. Army Brigadier General

Q

• Qualchan, 19th century Yakama chief

R

• Red Cloud, Oglala Sioux chief
• Red Jacket, Seneca Nation chief
• Delphine Red Shirt, Oglala Lakota author
• Ben Reifel - Sioux activist and U.S. representative from South Dakota
• Carter Revard, Osage author and poet
• Chief G. Anne Richardson (Chief of the Rappahannock tribe - first female chief in Virginia since the 18th century)
• Will Rogers, Cherokee actor and humorist
• Will Rogers, Jr., Cherokee Nation journalist and politician
• John Rollin Ridge, Cherokee author
• Wendy Rose, Hopi-Miwok author
• John Ross, Cherokee chief

S

• Juan Sabeata, Jumano chief
• Sacajawea, Shoshone interpreter
• Samoset, Algonquian Abenaki leader
• Carol Lee Sanchez
• William Sanders
• Greg Sarris, Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria tribal chairman, author, and professor
• Jane Johnston Schoolcraft
• Chief Seattle, Suquamish leader
• Selena, (Cherokee) legendary Latin pop singer
• Sequoyah (Cherokee), inventor of the Cherokee syllabary
• The Prohet, Shawnee religious leader
• Leslie Marmon Silko, Laguna Pueblo poet and novelist
• Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa Lakota chief
• Chad Smith, former Principal Chief of Cherokee Nation
• Cynthia Leitich Smith
• Keely Smith, (Cherokee) singer
• Smohalla, Wanapum chief and religious leader
• Sonuk Mikko, Captain in the Indian Home Guard during the American Civil War often referred to as Billy Bowlegs
• Louis Sockalexis (Penobscot), Major League Baseball player
• Ian Somerhalder, (Choctaw) actor
• Eddie Spears, (Lakota)
• Michael Spears, (Lakota)
• Squanto, Patuxet interpreter
• Standing Bear, Ponca Chief
• Luther Standing Bear, Oglala Lakota author and actor
• James Thomas Stevens, Mohawk author and educator
• Wes Studi, Cherokee Nation actor

T

• Chief Tahachee
• Maria Tallchief -- Osage Nation ballerina
• Marjorie Tallchief -- Osage Nation ballerina
• Margo Tamez
• Luci Tapahonso
• Tecumseh -- Shawnee warrior and statesman
• Kateri Tekakwitha -- Mohawk-Algonquian convert, beatified in the Roman Catholic Church
• Randy'L He-dow Teton -- Shoshone model for the US Sacagawea dollar coin, first issued in 2000. She is the first Native American woman to appear on an American coin.
• William Clyde Thompson -- Texas Choctaw leader who fought against the Dawes Commission for Choctaw enrollment.
• Jim Thorpe (Sac and Fox Nation), Olympic Gold medalist and football and baseball player
• George Tinker
• Touch the Clouds -- (Mahpia Icahtagya), great Teton Lakota Sioux chief
• Sheila Tousey, (Menominee)
• Mark Trahant -- Shoshone-Bannock, print and broadcast journalist, and author
• Haunani-Kay Trask
• Mililani Trask
• Gail Tremblay
• David Treuer
• John Trudell -- Sioux, musician, poet, activist
• Mark Turcotte
• Richard Twiss
• E. Donald Two-Rivers

U

• Uncas -- Mohegan chief
• Misty Upham^{[citation needed]}

V

• James Vann -- (Cherokee) richest man in the Cherokee Nation and was one of the richest men in the Western Hemisphere in the early 19th century.
• Victorio -- Chiricahua Apache chief
• Gerald Vizenor -- White Earth Ojibwe writer and professor

W

• Velma Wallis
• Anna Lee Walters, Pawnee-Otoe author
• Nancy Ward, Cherokee warrior, diplomat, and "Beloved Woman"
• Stand Watie, Cherokee leader and a brigadier general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War
• William Weatherford, Muscogee Creek chief
• James Welch, Blackfeet-Gros Ventre author and poet
• Floyd Red Crow Westerman
• White Hair (Pawhuska), the name of several Osage chiefs.
• White Plume -- Kaw chief
• Sarah Winnemucca -- Paiute leader, warrior, and interpreter,
• Craig Womack – Muscogee Creek author, educator, and literary critic
• Wovoka, Paiute religious leader and founder of the Ghost Dance religion

Y

• Yellow Bird, Walla Walla chief
• Ray Young Bear

Z

• Peterson Zah, Diné politician
• Ofelia Zepeda, Tohono O'odham poet and intellectual
• Zitkala-Sa, Yankton Sioux writer and activist

See also

• List of indigenous artists of the Americas
• List of writers from peoples indigenous to the Americas
• List of Native American politicians
• List of Native American leaders