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. Native American identity is a complex and contested issue. The Bureau of Indian Affairs defines Native American as having American Indian or Alaska Native ancestry. Legally, being Native American is defined as being enrolled in a federally recognized tribe or Alaskan village. Ethnologically, factors such as culture, history, language, religion, and familial kinships can influence Native American identity. All individuals on this list should have Native American ancestry. Historical figures might predate tribal enrollment practices and would be included based on ethnological tribal membership,
Ai, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Southern Cheyenne, and Comanche-descent poet
Ahaya (ca. 1710 – 1783), the first recorded chief of the Alachua band of the Seminole tribe.
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 Nation of Oklahoma multimedia artist
Bill Anoatubby, (Chickasaw Nation), 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
Hayley Atwell, actress
James Auchiah, Kiowa artist
Marilou Awiakta, Eastern Band Cherokee author and poet
Awashonks, Sakonnet 17th century female chief
Jimmy Santiago Baca, Apache-descent author and poet
Bill John Baker, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
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
Earl W. Bascom, rodeo champion, cowboy artist, inventor, actor, Hall of Fame inductee, descendant of Chief Miantonomo of the Narragansett Tribe
Irene Bedard, (Inupiaq/Yupik/Cree/Metis) actor, director, producer, activist
Fred Begay Navajo nuclear physicist
Notah Begay III, Navajo PGA Tour golfer
Betty Louise Bell, Cherokee-descent author and editor
Clyde Bellecourt White Earth Ojibwe 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 religious leader
Black Hawk, Sauk chief
Black Kettle, Cheyenne chief
Andrew Blackbird, Odawa 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
Sam Bradford, Cherokee American football quarterback
Jack Brisco, Chickasaw Nation Pro Wrestler, Former NWA World Champion
Mary Brave Bird, Brulé Lakota author and activist
Ignatia Broker, Ojibway author
Ellison "Tarzan" Brown, Narragansett U.S. Olympian/Marathon Runner
Joseph Bruchac, Abenaki author and poet
Buffalo Bird Woman, Hidatsa writer
Gregory Cajete, Santa Clara Pueblo ethnobotanist, author, and educator
Carter Camp, Ponca, activist
Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Northern Cheyenne chief, U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and silversmith
Mary Katherine Campbell, (Muscogee Creek-Cree-descent) 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
Brad Carson, Cherokee, former Democratic U.S. congressman from Oklahoma
Chainbreaker, Seneca war chief
Duane Lee Chapman, II, Star of Dog The Bounty Hunter
Leland Chapman, Star of Dog The Bounty Hunter
Joba Chamberlain, Ho-Chunk pitcher for the Detroit Tigers
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-descent activist and poet
Cochise, Chiricahua Apache chief
Radmilla Cody, (Navajo) model, singer and activist
Holmes Colbert, Chickasaw government official
Tom Cole, Chickasaw Nation 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 and diplomat
Jesse Cornplanter, Seneca author and artist
Leonard Crow Dog, Sicangu Lakota medicine man, activist, and author
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
Karen Dalton (singer), (Cherokee) Blues singer, banjoist
Nora Marks Dauenhauer, (Tlingit) author and poet
Brent Michael Davids, (Stockbridge Mohican) composer and flutist
Deganawida, (Haudenosaunee), founder of the Iroquois Confederacy, more respectfully called The Great Peacemaker
Delaware Prophet, (Lenni Lenape) religious leader
Ella Cara Deloria, (Yankton Dakota) educator, anthropologist, ethnographer, linguist, and novelist
Vine Deloria, Jr., Yankton Dakota-Standing Rock Nakota theologian, historian, writer and activist
Michael Dorris, Modoc writer
Dragging Canoe, Cherokee war chief
Frank Dufina (Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians), professional golfer
Charles Eastman, Santee Dakota author, physician and helped found the Boy Scouts of America.
Larry EchoHawk, Pawnee head of the BIA, former Attorney General of Idaho
Nokie Edwards, Cherokee instrumental rock guitarist, on and off lead guitarist of The Ventures
Jacoby Ellsbury Navajo outfielder for the New York Yankees
Louise Erdrich, Anishinaabe writer and poet
Chris Eyre, Cheyenne-Arapaho director and producer
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
Chief Gall, (Hunkpapa Lakota) chief
Geronimo, Chiricahua Apache leader
Owl Goingback, (Choctaw, Cherokee) author
Jamie Gomez, (Shoshone-descent) rapper and singer
Jewelle Gomez, (Ioway-descent) writer
Angel Goodrich, (Cherokee) WNBA basketball player
Janice Gould, (Maidu) writer
Kiowa Gordon, (Hualapai) actor
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 Nation-Cherokee poet, musician, and author
Keith Harper, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, U.S. representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva
Larry Echo Hawk, Pawnee Nation, former Democratic Attorney General of Idaho and current United States Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs
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.
Allison Hedge Coke, Wendat/Huron-Metis-Cherokee heritage writer
Gordon Henry, Chippewa writer
John Herrington, Chickasaw Nation NASA astronaut
Hiawatha, Onondaga-Mohawk chief was credited as the founder of the Iroquois confederacy
David Hill, Choctaw, activist
Hobomok, Wampanoag interpreter
Linda Hogan, Chickasaw Nation poet, storyteller, academic, environmentalist and writer.
Stan Holder, Wichita, activist
John Christian Hopkins, Narragansett people Journalist, Author.
Al Hoptowit, American football player
John Horse, African-American leader of the Black Seminole.
Michael Horse, Yaqui-Mescalero Apache-Zuni-descent actor, jeweler, and painter.
Janel Horton, Shinnecock professional wrestler known as "Alere Little Feather"
Chuck Hoskin, member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from the 6th district
LeAnne Howe, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma author and scholar
Al Hunter, Anishinaabe writer and poet
Vanessa and Stella Hudgens, actresses
Ishi, Yana educator and last member of his tribe
James and Ernie, Navajo comedy duo
Joseph James and Joseph James, Jr., Kaw-Osage interpreters and guides
Mickie James, Powhatan-descent professional wrestler
Overton James, Chickasaw, educator, former Governor of the Chickasaw Nation
Stephen Graham Jones, Blackfeet author
Chief Joseph, Nez Percé chief and humanitarian
Juanillo, chief of the Guale Nchiefdom.
Betty Mae Tiger Jumper, first female chief of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, also a publisher
Daniel Heath Justice, Cherokee Nation author
Maude Kegg, (Ojibwa) writer, folk artist, and cultural interpreter
Keokuk, (Sac, Fox) chief
Thomas King, (Cherokee) novelist and broadcaster
Matt LaChappa, baseball player
Winona LaDuke, White Earth Ojibwe environmental activist and writer
Francis LaFlesche, Omaha-Ponca-Iowa ethnologist and author
Susan LaFlesche Picotte, Omaha-Ponca-Iowa activist, first female Native American physician
Susette LaFlesche Tibbles, Omaha-Ponca-Iowa activist
Carole LaFavor, Ojibwe novelist and activist
Edmonia Lewis, Mississaugas Ojibwe sculptor
Sacheen Littlefeather, White Mountain Apache-Yaqui-descent actress
Litefoot, Cherokee Nation-Chichimeca actor, hip hop artist
Kyle Lohse, Nomlaki pitcher, Milwaukee Brewers
Little Turkey was First Beloved Man of the Cherokee people, becoming the first Principal Chief of a united Cherokee Nation in 1794.
Little Turtle, Miami chief
Clayton J. Lonetree, Winnebago-Navajo U.S. Marine and alleged KGB spy
Lone Wolf the Elder, Kiowa chief
Lone Wolf the Younger, Kiowa leader
Phil Lucas, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma filmmaker, actor, writer, producer, director, and editor
Ashton Locklear Artistic Gymnast of Lumbee tribe. 2014 World Champion (Team), 2 x 2014 Pan American Champion (Team, Uneven Bars), 2 x 2016 Pacific Rim Champion (Team, Uneven Bars)
Major Ridge, Cherokee chief, led Lighthorse Patrol and signed the Treaty of New Echota.
Byron Mallott, Lieutenant Governor of Alaska
Mangas Coloradas, Apache chief
Wilma Mankiller, Cherokee Nation chief
Manuelito, Navajo chief, diplomat, and warrior.
Joseph Marshall III, Lakota educator and author
María Martínez, San Ildefonso Pueblo potter
Massasoit, Wampanoag chief
John Joseph Mathews, Osage author
Janet McAdams, Alabama-Creek author
Edward "Wahoo" McDaniel, Choctaw-Chickasaw professional wrestler
Alexander McGillivray, Muscogee Creek chief
William McIntosh, Muscogee Creek chief
D'Arcy McNickle, Salish Kootenai author, activist, and anthropologist
Peter McQueen, Creek Indian chief, prophet, trader and warrior from Talisi (Tallassee, among the Upper Towns in present-day Alabama).
Russell Means, Lakota activist and actor
Joe Medicine Crow, Crow Nation anthropologist
Louis Gonzaga Mendez, Jr., highly decorated WWII United States Army officer of the 82nd Airborne Division
Metacomet, Wampanoag chief
Miantonomo, Narragansett chief
Devon A. Mihesuah, Choctaw historian, author, and editor
Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota athlete
Deborah A. Miranda, Esselen-Chumash author and poet
N. Scott Momaday, Kiowa-Cherokee poet, author, scholar, and painter
Jason Momoa, actor
Irvin Morris, Navajo author
Mountain Wolf Woman, Hochunk autobiographer
Mourning Dove, Flathead author
David T. McCoy, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians state politician and attorney
R. Carlos Nakai, Navajo musician
Nampeyo, Hopi potter
Nora Naranjo-Morse, Santa Clara Pueblo artist
Nas'Naga, Shawnee author
Jim Northrup, Anishnaabe columnist and political writer
Nila NorthSun, Shoshone-Ojibwe author and historian
St. David Pendleton Oakerhater, Southern Cheyenne warrior, artist, deacon, and saint in the Episcopal church
Samson Occom, Mohegan clergyman
Old Tom, Blackfoot medicine man
Olotoraca (1548 – 1573), subchief of a tribe of Fort San Mateo, Florida.
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-descent author
Owl Woman, Cheyenne negotiator, peace-maker, Colorado Women's Hall of Fame
Ely S. Parker (Seneca) U.S. Army Brigadier General
Quanah Parker, Comanche chief
Pawhuska, Osage Chief
Leonard Peltier, Ojibwa-Lakota activist
William S. Penn, Nez Perce author
Robert L. Perea, Oglala Lakota author, educator, and veteran
Lori Piestewa, Hopi veteran, Died in the 2003 invasion of Iraq
Lawrence Plamondon, Odawa-Ojibwe activist and storyteller
Pocahontas (Matoaka), Powhatan Christian convert and diplomat
Leopold Pokagon, Potawatomi storyteller and activist
Simon Pokagon, Potawatomi author and activist
Chief Pontiac, Odawa chief
Popé, Ohkay Owingeh religious and military leader
Susan Power, Standing Rock Nakota author
Powhatan, Pamunkey chief
Pushmataha, Choctaw chief and U.S. Army Brigadier General
Qualchan, 19th century Yakama chief
Quileute, Before the 1700s ho-kwat people (These people did refer to having Wolves as their ancestors)
Juan Sabeata, Jumano chief
Sacajawea, Shoshone interpreter
Will Sampson, Creek painter and actor.
Saturiwa, chief of the Saturiwa (a Mocama tribe of Timucua people, located in St. Johns River in Florida), during the 16th century
Carol Lee Sanchez, Laguna Pueblo author and artist
Greg Sarris, Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria tribal chairman, author, and professor
John Sassamon, Massachusett, interpreter
Shoni Schimmel, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, WNBA player
Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, Ojibwe author
Chief Seattle, Suquamish leader
Sequoyah (Cherokee), inventor of the Cherokee syllabary
Tenskwatawa, Shawnee religious leader
Leslie Marmon Silko, Laguna Pueblo poet and novelist
Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa Lakota chief
Sonny Sixkiller, Cherokee American football quarterback
Chad Smith, former Principal Chief of Cherokee Nation
Paul Chaat Smith, Comanche, writer, Associate Curator of the National Museum of the American Indian
Cynthia Leitich Smith, Muscogee Creek author
Smohalla, Wanapum chief and religious leader
Sonuk Mikko, Seminole, Captain in the Indian Home Guard during the American Civil War often referred to as Billy Bowlegs
Louis Sockalexis (Penobscot), Major League Baseball player
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
Taboo, singer and rapper in The Black Eyed Peas, of Shoshone descent
Chief Tahachee, Cherokee author, actor, and beautiful man
Maria Tallchief, Osage Nation ballerina
Marjorie Tallchief, Osage Nation ballerina
Margo Tamez, Lipan Apache-Jumano author and poet
Luci Tapahonso, Diné poet
Tecumseh, Shawnee warrior and statesman
Kimberly Teehee, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Democratic White House Senior Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs
Kateri Tekakwitha, Mohawk-Algonquian convert, beatified in the Roman Catholic Church
Randy'L He-dow Teton, Shoshone-Bannock first Native American woman to appear on an American coin (model for the US Sacagawea dollar)
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, Osage Nation theologian
Touch the Clouds, (Mahpia Icahtagya), Teton Lakota chief
Sheila Tousey, (Menominee)
Mark Trahant, Shoshone-Bannock, print and broadcast journalist, and author
Haunani-Kay Trask, Native Hawaiian academic and activist
Mililani Trask, Native Hawaiian academic and lawyer
Gail Tremblay, Micmac-Onondaga artist
David Treuer, Leech Lake Ojibwe author
John Trudell, Santee Dakota, musician, poet, activist
Tsali, Cherokee warrior, chief, and martyr.
Luis Tupatu, Pueblo leader of the northern pueblos following the Pueblo revolt
Mark Turcotte, Ojibwe author
Richard Twiss, Brulé Lakota educator and author
E. Donald Two-Rivers, Ojibwe poet and playwright
Uncas, Mohegan chief
James Vann, Cherokee businessman and politician
Victorio, Chiricahua Apache chief
Gerald Vizenor, White Earth Ojibwe writer and professor
Velma Wallis, Athabaskan author
Frank Waln, is a Sicangu Lakota rapper
Anna Lee Walters, Pawnee-Otoe author
Nancy Ward, Cherokee warrior, diplomat, and "Beloved Woman"
Washakie, Shoshone warrior, diplomat, chief, leader
Stand Watie, Cherokee leader and a brigadier general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War
John Watts (also known as Young Tassel), a leader of the Chickamauga Cherokee (or "Lower Cherokee") during the Cherokee-American wars
William Weatherford, Muscogee Creek chief
James Welch, Blackfeet-Gros Ventre author and poet
Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Sisseton Dakota actor
Weetamoo, Pocasset, 17th century female chief
White Hair (Pawhuska), the name of several Osage chiefs.
White Plume, Kaw chief
Scott Williamson, Cherokee, podcaster and blogger
Sarah Winnemucca, Paiute leader, warrior, and interpreter
Frances Wise, activist
Craig Womack, Muscogee Creek author, educator, and literary critic
Wovoka, Paiute religious leader and founder of the Ghost Dance religion
Yellow Bird, Walla Walla chief
Ray Young Bear, Meskwaki author
Peterson Zah, Navajo politician
Ofelia Zepeda, Tohono O'odham poet and intellectual
Zitkala-Sa, Yankton Dakota writer and activist
List of Native Americans of the United States Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA