Wilma Mankiller was the first woman elected chief of the Cherokee Nation. Mankiller’s administration revitalized the Cherokee Nation through extensive community development, including improvements to health care and education. Mankiller’s leadership on social and financial issues made her tribe a national role model.fter leaving office, she remained a strong voice worldwide for social justice, native people, and women. In her 1993 autobiography, she said she wanted to be remembered for emphasizing that Cherokee values can help solve contemporary problems. Mankiller received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.

Wilma Mankiller was the first woman elected chief of the Cherokee Nation. Mankiller’s administration revitalized the Cherokee Nation through extensive community development, including improvements to health care and education. Mankiller’s leadership on social and financial issues made her tribe a national role model.fter leaving office, she remained a strong voice worldwide for social justice, native people, and women. In her 1993 autobiography, she said she wanted to be remembered for emphasizing that Cherokee values can help solve contemporary problems. Mankiller received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.

Otero-Warren emphasized the necessity of using the Spanish language in the suffrage fight in order to reach Hispanic women. She also spearheaded the lobbying effort to ratify the 19th Amendment in New Mexico.

Otero-Warren strove to improve education for all New Mexicans and worked to advance bicultural education and to preserve cultural practices among the state’s Hispanic and Native American communities.

Otero-Warren emphasized the necessity of using the Spanish language in the suffrage fight in order to reach Hispanic women. She also spearheaded the lobbying effort to ratify the 19th Amendment in New Mexico.

Otero-Warren strove to improve education for all New Mexicans and worked to advance bicultural education and to preserve cultural practices among the state’s Hispanic and Native American communities.

Wong was born January 3, 1905, in Los Angeles. Her birth name was Wong Liu Tsong, and her family gave her the English name Anna May. She was cast in her first role as an extra in the film “The Red Lantern” (1919) at 14 and continued to land small roles as extras until her first leading role in “The Toll of the Sea” (1922).

Her career spanned motion pictures, television, and theater. She appeared in more than 60 movies, including silent films and one of the first movies made in Technicolor. Wong also became the first Asian American lead actor in a U.S. television show for her role in “The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong” (1951).

After facing constant discrimination in Hollywood, Wong traveled to Europe and worked in English, German, and French films. She also appeared in productions on the London and New York stages.

Wong was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. She died on February 3, 1961. She is remembered as an international film star, fashion icon, television trailblazer, and a champion for greater representation of Asian Americans in film. She continues to inspire actors and filmmakers today.

Wong was born January 3, 1905, in Los Angeles. Her birth name was Wong Liu Tsong, and her family gave her the English name Anna May. She was cast in her first role as an extra in the film “The Red Lantern” (1919) at 14 and continued to land small roles as extras until her first leading role in “The Toll of the Sea” (1922).

Her career spanned motion pictures, television, and theater. She appeared in more than 60 movies, including silent films and one of the first movies made in Technicolor. Wong also became the first Asian American lead actor in a U.S. television show for her role in “The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong” (1951).

After facing constant discrimination in Hollywood, Wong traveled to Europe and worked in English, German, and French films. She also appeared in productions on the London and New York stages.

Wong was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. She died on February 3, 1961. She is remembered as an international film star, fashion icon, television trailblazer, and a champion for greater representation of Asian Americans in film. She continues to inspire actors and filmmakers today.

Coleman was born on January 26, 1892 in Atlanta, Texas during a time of overt racism and segregation laws. After being refused admission into every U.S. flying school she approached, Coleman learned French. She traveled to Paris in 1920 to attend the well-known Caudron Brothers’ School of Aviation in Le Crotoy, France. She was the only student of color in her class.

On June 15, 1921, Coleman received her international pilot’s license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. She returned to the U.S. and performed in her first airshow in September 1922. She became known for “loop-the-loops” and making a figure 8.

Coleman used her growing fame to tour the country, giving flight lessons, performing in shows, and encouraging African Americans and women to learn how to fly. She also made a point of refusing to speak or perform anywhere that segregated or discriminated against African Americans.

Bessie Coleman died on April 30, 1926 as a passenger in a practice flight for a celebration in Jacksonville, Florida. Her flying career, although brief, inspires many young African Americans to pursue the field of aviation. Her legacy continues through the establishment of aviation clubs and tributes, including the 1995 U.S. postal stamp issued in her honor.

Kanakaʻole, or “Aunty Edith”, as she is commonly known, was a renowned practitioner of and authority on modern Hawaiian culture and language. She learned hula from her mother, who was instructed by the acclaimed dancer Akoni Mika.

Kanakaʻole believed that the oli, or Hawaiian chants, formed the basis of Hawaiian values and history. She started composing oli in 1946 and choreographed hula to go with many of her chants.

In the 1950s, she toured the contiguous United States, western Canada, and much of Asia with a hula group named after her daughter Nalani. She also founded her own hālau (hula school), Halau O Kekuhi.

Kanakaʻole assisted in the development of the first Hawaiian language program for public school students at the Keaukaha School in Hilo. In the 1970s, she created college courses and seminars on subjects including ethnobotany, Polynesian history, genealogy, and Hawaiian chant and mythology.

In 1979, she received the Distinction of Cultural Leadership award, the state’s highest honor. It is given to an individual who has made significant outstanding lifetime contributions to Hawai’i in areas of culture, arts, and humanities.

Edith Kanakaʻole died on October 3, 1979. Her teachings, beliefs, and practices are maintained by the Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation (EKF), a Hawaiian cultural-based non-profit 501(c)(3) organization established in 1990.

Coleman was born on January 26, 1892 in Atlanta, Texas during a time of overt racism and segregation laws. After being refused admission into every U.S. flying school she approached, Coleman learned French. She traveled to Paris in 1920 to attend the well-known Caudron Brothers’ School of Aviation in Le Crotoy, France. She was the only student of color in her class.

On June 15, 1921, Coleman received her international pilot’s license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. She returned to the U.S. and performed in her first airshow in September 1922. She became known for “loop-the-loops” and making a figure 8.

Coleman used her growing fame to tour the country, giving flight lessons, performing in shows, and encouraging African Americans and women to learn how to fly. She also made a point of refusing to speak or perform anywhere that segregated or discriminated against African Americans.

Bessie Coleman died on April 30, 1926 as a passenger in a practice flight for a celebration in Jacksonville, Florida. Her flying career, although brief, inspires many young African Americans to pursue the field of aviation. Her legacy continues through the establishment of aviation clubs and tributes, including the 1995 U.S. postal stamp issued in her honor.

• Maya Angelou – celebrated writer, performer, and social activist
• Dr. Sally Ride – physicist and first American woman in space
• Wilma Mankiller – first woman principal chief of the Cherokee Nation
• Nina Otero-Warren – leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement
• Anna May Wong – first woman Chinese American Hollywood film star, director, and producer

• Maya Angelou – celebrated writer, performer, and social activist
• Dr. Sally Ride – physicist and first American woman in space
• Wilma Mankiller – first woman principal chief of the Cherokee Nation
• Nina Otero-Warren – leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement
• Anna May Wong – first woman Chinese American Hollywood film star, director, and producer

• Maya Angelou – celebrated writer, performer, and social activist
• Dr. Sally Ride – physicist and first American woman in space
• Wilma Mankiller – first woman principal chief of the Cherokee Nation
• Nina Otero-Warren – leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement
• Anna May Wong – first woman Chinese American Hollywood film star, director, and producer

Wilma Mankiller was the first woman elected chief of the Cherokee Nation. Mankiller’s administration revitalized the Cherokee Nation through extensive community development, including improvements to health care and education. Mankiller’s leadership on social and financial issues made her tribe a national role model.fter leaving office, she remained a strong voice worldwide for social justice, native people, and women. In her 1993 autobiography, she said she wanted to be remembered for emphasizing that Cherokee values can help solve contemporary problems. Mankiller received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.

Wilma Mankiller was the first woman elected chief of the Cherokee Nation. Mankiller’s administration revitalized the Cherokee Nation through extensive community development, including improvements to health care and education. Mankiller’s leadership on social and financial issues made her tribe a national role model.fter leaving office, she remained a strong voice worldwide for social justice, native people, and women. In her 1993 autobiography, she said she wanted to be remembered for emphasizing that Cherokee values can help solve contemporary problems. Mankiller received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.

Otero-Warren emphasized the necessity of using the Spanish language in the suffrage fight in order to reach Hispanic women. She also spearheaded the lobbying effort to ratify the 19th Amendment in New Mexico.

Otero-Warren strove to improve education for all New Mexicans and worked to advance bicultural education and to preserve cultural practices among the state’s Hispanic and Native American communities.

Otero-Warren emphasized the necessity of using the Spanish language in the suffrage fight in order to reach Hispanic women. She also spearheaded the lobbying effort to ratify the 19th Amendment in New Mexico.

Otero-Warren strove to improve education for all New Mexicans and worked to advance bicultural education and to preserve cultural practices among the state’s Hispanic and Native American communities.

Wong was born January 3, 1905, in Los Angeles. Her birth name was Wong Liu Tsong, and her family gave her the English name Anna May. She was cast in her first role as an extra in the film “The Red Lantern” (1919) at 14 and continued to land small roles as extras until her first leading role in “The Toll of the Sea” (1922).

Her career spanned motion pictures, television, and theater. She appeared in more than 60 movies, including silent films and one of the first movies made in Technicolor. Wong also became the first Asian American lead actor in a U.S. television show for her role in “The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong” (1951).

After facing constant discrimination in Hollywood, Wong traveled to Europe and worked in English, German, and French films. She also appeared in productions on the London and New York stages.

Wong was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. She died on February 3, 1961. She is remembered as an international film star, fashion icon, television trailblazer, and a champion for greater representation of Asian Americans in film. She continues to inspire actors and filmmakers today.

Wong was born January 3, 1905, in Los Angeles. Her birth name was Wong Liu Tsong, and her family gave her the English name Anna May. She was cast in her first role as an extra in the film “The Red Lantern” (1919) at 14 and continued to land small roles as extras until her first leading role in “The Toll of the Sea” (1922).

Her career spanned motion pictures, television, and theater. She appeared in more than 60 movies, including silent films and one of the first movies made in Technicolor. Wong also became the first Asian American lead actor in a U.S. television show for her role in “The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong” (1951).

After facing constant discrimination in Hollywood, Wong traveled to Europe and worked in English, German, and French films. She also appeared in productions on the London and New York stages.

Wong was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. She died on February 3, 1961. She is remembered as an international film star, fashion icon, television trailblazer, and a champion for greater representation of Asian Americans in film. She continues to inspire actors and filmmakers today.