Indigenous Heritage: People

Tyonajanegen, or "Two Kettles Together," was fierce woman who accompanied her husband, other Oneida warriors, and American militias fighting in the American Revolution.

Skenandoah was a long lived chief of the Oneida Nation. His friendship with certain American Patriots swayed the Oneidas to the American cause during the American Revolution, causing them to become the "First Allies."

Hanyerry Doxatader was a Native American Warrior and ally of the new United States during the American Revolution. He fought at Oriskany and Saratoga, and dined with George Washington at Valley Forge. His leadership helped secure the Oneidas as America's "First Allies" in the history books.

Akiatonharónkwen was a the highest commissioned officer of Native and African descent in the Continental Army, and a Haudenosaunee warrior who supported the Americans throughout the American Revolution.

As the first internationally recognized African American and Native American sculptor, Edmonia Lewis overcame several barriers to achieve international recognition and acclaim as an artist.

Adella Hunt Logan was born free in Sparta, Georgia in 1863 to Maria Hunt, a black and Creek Native American, and a white planter. She attended Atlanta University in 1879 and received a master’s degree from there in 1905. In 1883 Adella became the second woman to join the faculty of Tuskegee University. She was an active suffragist and involved in the Black Women's Club movement.

Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin (Metis/Turtle Mountain Chippewa) was born in Pembina, North Dakota. Her father, J.B. Bottineau, was a lawyer who worked as an advocate for the Ojibwa/Chippewa Nation in Minnesota and North Dakota. She and her father moved to Washington, DC in the early 1890s to defend the treaty rights of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Nation. There, they became part of an established community of professional Native Americans who lived and worked in the capital.

Despite facing a double burden of racism and sexism, Ola “Millie” Rexroat became the only Native American known to serve as a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) during World War II.

Sir William Johnson began life as a poor Irish immigrant and ended it as British Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Mohawk Valley. As a representative of the King, he influenced Native American policies across the continent.

Lula Belle Everidge was one of several Native American women who enlisted in SPARS, the women's branch of the Coast Guard during World War II. During the War she served up and down the East Coast to free men up for service overseas.