Politicians, doctors, nurses, and more. Native American pride has increased as more Native Americans become known for their contributions in music, films, and books. Native American musicians play everything from traditional flute music to heavy metal. You can listen to rock music by Stevie Salas, hip-hop from Dago Braves, gospel from Janelle Turtle, new age by Carroll Medicine Crow, country music from Tracy Bone, blues from Jimmy Wolf or Jim Boyd, or metal from Rage Against the Machine.
Here are just a few of today’s other well-known Native Americans:
Enoch Haney:
Artist, Politician, Principal Chief
Born in Oklahoma, Enoch Kelly Haney is a member of the Seminole nation. His family arrived before statehood, and many of the Haney men served as leaders of the Seminole nation.
Haney recalls being pulled toward art at a very young age, whether creating original works of art at the age of two or later digging clay from the riverbank for a bust of Abraham Lincoln. He continued his artistic education at Bacone College, the University of Arizona, and Oklahoma City University. Although he started his professional art career as a painter.
He became an accomplished sculptor whose work has earned many honors and is known throughout the world. In anonymous judging, Haney’s sculpture The Guardian was chosen to sit on top of the Oklahoma State Capitol in 2003. This 17-foot-high sculpture of a Native American male with a lance firmly in the ground weighs slightly over four tons. Haney turned down the $50,000 commission fee, saying that the statue was a gift to the State of Oklahoma.
As the first full-blood Native American in the Oklahoma Legislature, Haney served as a state representative from 1980 to 1986 and a state senator from 1986 to 2002. During his tenure in the state legislature, Haney served as the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, developed and implemented alternative education programs, and participated in the executive committee of the National Conference of State Legislators.
After more than 20 years in state government, Haney returned to service in the Seminole nation, where he had been active in tribal politics before his election to the state government. In 2005, Haney was elected Principal Chief of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.
Other recent well-known Native American leaders include Wilma Mankiller (Cherokee), Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Northern Cheyenne), and Carol Juneau (Hidatsa/Mandan).
Maria Tallchief, Dancer
Born on an Oklahoma reservation in 1925, Osage tribal member Maria Tallchief began music and dance lessons at a young age, and it soon became evident that she was meant for ballet. She is considered one of the foremost American ballerinas. In her 20s, she met and married famed choreographer George Balanchine, who was inspired to create great ballets for her. Tallchief danced in many famous roles, including The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. She belonged to some of the most important dance groups, including the American Ballet Theatre. After retiring from dancing in 1965, Tallchief became the artistic director for the Chicago Lyric Opera Ballet and later founded the Chicago City Ballet.
Other Native Americans in the arts include filmmaker Chris Eyre (Cheyenne/Arapaho), painter R. C. Gorman (Navajo), and composer Steven Alvarez (Mescalero Apache).
John Herrington, Astronaut
John Herrington, a member of the Chickasaw nation, became the first Native American in space aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in 2002. To recognize his cultural heritage, Herrington took a flute, an eagle feature, and a Chickasaw nation flag into orbit.
Born in Wetumka, Oklahoma, Herrington earned a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering. He was a navy aviator for many years before being selected as an astronaut in 1996. Herrington completed a two-year astronaut training program at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, in 1998. His 2002 mission included a space walk. As a pilot, he has logged over 3,800 flight hours on dozens of various aircraft.
Since 2005, Herrington has worked as a commercial test pilot and been active with Rocketrek (Www. rocketrek. com), a program that encourages students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Other Native American scientists include chemist Dr. Jani Ingram (Navajo), plant ecologist Dr. Robin Kimmerer (Potawatomi), and biologist Dr. David Burgess (Cherokee).
Sherman Alexie, Author
One OF the most important writers in adult and children’s literature today is Sherman Alexie of Seattle. Alexie’s writings about modern Native Americans make readers laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time!
Alexie (Spokane/Coeur d’Alene) grew up on the Spokane Reservation. He had to undergo brain surgery at six months of age. When he survived, doctors predicted that he would suffer severe mental retardation. The doctors were obviously wrong about Alexie, who read The Grapes of
John Herrington became the hrst Native American in Space in 2002. Courtesy of Http://spaceflight. nasa. gov
Wrath at age five, but he did suffer from seizures throughout his childhood. As a teenager, Alexie chose to go to high school off the reservation in hopes that he would get a better education. The only Native American at his school, he excelled academically and in basketball.
Alexie attended college with plans of being a doctor, but when he repeatedly fainted in his human anatomy class and also discovered poetry in his English class, he changed his mind. Alexie excelled at writing and received two poetry fellowships. One year after college, he had two collections of poetry published. He followed this with a short story collection. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. After more publishing, Alexie wrote a screenplay for the movie Smoke Signals, which won two awards at the Sundance Film Festival. Known for his great sense of humor, Alexie sometimes performs standup comedy.
His first book for young adults. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, has won many major awards, including the National Book Award, the ABBYA Top lo Book for Teens, the 2009 Odyssey Award, and the 2008 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards for Excellence in Children’s Fiterature in Fiction.
Other Native American writers include Steven Judd (Kiowa/Choctaw), Paula Gunn Allen (Pueblo/Lakota), and Pulitzer Prize winner N. Scott Momaday (Kiowa).
Wes Studi, Actor
Born in Nofire Hollow, Oklahoma, Wes Studi is a respected actor and director who has been involved with countless films and television specials. A member of the Cherokee nation, Studi attended the Chilocco Indian School (see page 82) where he learned the English language. A Vietnam veteran, Studi’s first film appearance was in the cult classic Row Wow Highway, although he spent years working in television before that. He has made more than 50 appearances on the big and small screens, including such popular films as Dances with Wolves, The Last of the Mohicans, Heat, and Thief of Time. Studi is also a musician and sculptor.
Other Native American actors include Graham Greene (Oneida), Floyd Red Crow West-erman (Santee Dakota), Fitefoot (Cherokee), Tantoo Cardinal (Cree), Adam Beach (Ojibwa), and Irene Bedard (Inupiat Eskimo/Cree).
Notah Begay, Athlete
Native American athletes have been breaking records since Jim Thorpe’s days. When Navajo golfer Notah Begay shot a 59 on the PGA tour at the age of 24, he became only the third person to do so. In 1999, he became the first Native American to win a PGA tour. Begay says that his success as an athlete comes from his Navajo heritage.
Other Native American athletes include Olympic gold medal runner Billy Mills (Fakota),
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