Native American Authors

Ada E. Deer
, 1935-

Menominee

Ada Deer was born in 1935 in Keshena, Wis. She obtained her M.S.W. from the School of Social Work, Columbia University, in 1961. When, unable to pay property taxes, Menominee Enterprise began to sell the tribe’s former holdings, Ada Deer led a grassroots movement to stop the land sale. This led to the signing of the Menominee Restoration Act by President Nixon on December 22, 1972, redesignating the Menominee a federally recognized tribe. Because of this Deer was appointed as Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs in 1993. She became the first Native American woman to head the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Awards and Honors

Pollitzer Award, Ethical Cultural Society, N.Y., 1975.

Books by Ada E. Deer:

Deer, Ada E.. Speaking out
Chicago : Children’s Press Open Door Books, 1970.
Audience: Youth

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