Native American Heritage Month: Ada Deer

Ada Deer was born in Keshena, WI as a member of the Menominee Tribe in 1935. She lived most of her first eighteen years of life on the Menominee Indian Reservation in a cabin without electricity or running water.  Her mother instilled in her a drive and passion to be a strong advocate for Native American rights. Ada was the first Menominee to earn an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin and the first Native American to receive a Master of Social Work degree from Columbia University.


She went on to become the first woman chair for the Menominee Tribe in Wisconsin. She played a major role in the Menominee Restoration Act of 1972, which officially returned the Menominee Reservation to federally recognized status. She acted as a spokesperson in Washington, D.C. and lobbied to return federal recognition and protection to the tribe.

She was then elected chairperson of the Menominee Restoration committee and had the task of making the transition back to reservation status. There were many frustrations during the process. Eventually in 1976, the tribal roles were validated, and an electorate was created to vote on a constitution and bylaws. Soon after this process, Ada resigned.


Ada later went on to teach at the University of Wisconsin and eventually worked as a legislative liaison for the Native American Rights Fund in Washington, D.C. She became the first American Indian to run for statewide office in Wisconsin as Secretary of State. In 1993, Ada became the first Native American woman to be appointed assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, as head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She helped set federal policy for more than 550 federally recognized tribes while in office.

“I knew that when I became the Assistant Secretary, that I would have a hard time. All the “-isms” were immediately against me from day one: sexism, racism, elitism, classism. Women have their [proper place] in society and being American Indian was another whole thing. I plowed ahead anyway but it was very hard, it was an ordeal everyday, and it was a lot of physical strength and psychological strength and endurance and I did as much as I could despite all the “isms” and the barriers that people put up to prevent me from doing things.”

Segment from “Interview with Ada Deer.” Interviewed by Robert Lange Wisconsin State Historical Society.

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