20 Famous Native Americans to Know, From Actors to Country Singers and Beyond
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November kicks off Native American Heritage Month. To pay homage to the rich ancestry of Native Americans, it helps to know of current-day people who share in the heritage. With that in mind, we gathered this list of 20 famous Native Americans, some of whom may surprise you. From politicians and singers to actors and athletes, ahead you'll learn about just a few of the many, many Native Americans who have and continue to contribute to modern culture.
But first: a moment for perspective. According to the National Congress of American Indians, there are 574 federally recognized Indian Nations. In Canada, there are more than 630 First Nation communities. All this to say, there are many different indigenous tribes across North America, and with them, countless members and citizens with endless stories to share. While those featured here have certainly made their mark on the world, they are but a few of the innumerable Native Americans worth reading up on.
May this list inspire you to continue your research this Native American Heritage Month and beyond. Need recommendations? Check out our list of 22 must-read Native American authors.
Sterlin Harjo
Belonging to the Seminole and Muscogee Nations, Sterlin Harjo is co-creator of the FX series Reservation Dogs (2021–2023) about four indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma. Hilarious at times and heartbreaking at others, the series is "the first and only TV series where every writer, director and series regular is Indigenous," according to NPR. The show has been nominated for dozens of awards, including a 2022 Peabody Award win and Critics Choice Award nominations for cast members D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Devery Jacobs, and Paulina Alexis.
Harjo's co-creator on the series, Taika Waititi, also has indigenous roots, but not in North America. The New Zealander's father is Maori.
Cary Morin
Lauded as “one of the best acoustic pickers on the scene today,” the Native Crow musician fuses bluegrass, folk, blues, and rock in a unique sound that has taken him across the globe, including performances at the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center. His upcoming album, Innocent Allies (out January 26, 2024) pairs songs with paintings by pioneering Western artist Charles Marion Russell, whose works were displayed and revered in Morin's childhood home. The first single from the album, "Big Sky Sun Goes Down," is out now.
Cheri Madsen
Cheri Madsen is a four-time Paralympian, winning 10 medals for the U.S. in track and field events since 1996. While she's perhaps best known for her wheelchair-bound athleticism, Cheri wasn't always differently abled. She was born with the use of her legs before losing the ability to an unknown viral infection in her spine when she was three. Cheri is from Nebraska and is an Omaha Native American.
Deb Haaland
American politician Deb Haaland is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and a 35th-generation New Mexican. Currently, she's the 54th United States Secretary of the Interior and the first Native American to serve as cabinet secretary.
Gil Birmingham
You may recognize Gil Birmingham as Tribal Chairman Thomas Rainwater from the TV show Yellowstone. The 70-year-old actor, who has Comanche ancestry, also played the role of Billy Black in The Twilight Saga.
John Herrington
Astronaut, engineer, and US Naval Aviator John Herrington made history in 2002 when he became the first Native American to fly into space. To honor the historic moment, he brought six eagle feathers, a braid of sweet grass, two arrowheads, and the Chickasaw nation’s flag along for the ride. He proudly paraded them on a spacewalk to the International Space Station.
Lily Gladstone
Lily Gladstone is currently campaigning for best lead actress in the upcoming awards season for her breakout role as Mollie Kyle in Martin Scorese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, based on a true story. Gladstone is of Siksikaitsitapi and NiMíiPuu heritage on her father's side and grew up on the reservation of the Blackfeet Nation in Browning, Montana.
Louie Gong
Louie Gong is another Native American artist—only his best-known medium is sneakers. Over the years, he's partnered with Converse, Vans, and Brooks Running—just to name a few. Much of his work is inspired by his multi-racial Canadian-American roots and Nooksack heritage.
Joy Harjo
Joy Harjo is a U.S. Poet Laureate. Specializing in modern and classic poetry and prose, Joy has written over a dozen books—but that's not all. The Native American poet also has a way with music, which she's showcased in seven award-winning albums. She comes from Mvskoke (Creek) heritage.
Quannah Chasinghorse
Born in the Navajo Nation in Arizona, Quannah Chasinghorse is an indigenous model of Lakota and Hän Gwich’in ancestry. With Hän Gwich’in tattoos (the traditional face tattoos of women indigenous to Alaska and Canada), she's redefining beauty norms one shoot at a time. The 21-year-old model has been featured in Vogue, Elle, and National Geographic, and has been applauded for her advocacy for indigenous sovereignty.
Vincent Neil Emerson
This country singer-songwriter from Texas celebrates and honors his Choctaw-Apache roots, apparent in tracks like “Little Wolf’s Invincible Yellow Medicine Paint” on his latest album The Golden Crystal Kingdom (out November 10). On his previous album, the track “The Ballad of the Choctaw-Apache” tells the story of his grandmother's tribal community on the Texas-Louisiana border, which was displaced in the 1960s to make way for the Toledo Bend Reservoir.
Jason Momoa
Jason Momoa is not only a stellar actor but a dedicated environmental activist too. Proud of his Pawnee and Native Hawaiian ancestry, he uses his platform for good to showcase his love of the land and inspire others to get involved. He's a regular advocate for recycling and the protection of water resources, not to mention an ally to those recovering from the Maui wildfires.
Tommy Orange
Tommy Orange—a citizen of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma—is an indigenous novelist from Oakland, California. His first book, There, There, was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize and took home the 2019 PEN/Hemingway Award. His second book, Wandering Stars, is a sequel to his first and is set to debut in 2024.
Kent Monkman
Kent Monkman is a visual and performance artist with Cree roots. A Canadian First Nations artist, Kent is known for painting, film/video, and art installations highlighting the marriage between Western European and American art history, as well as settler encounters.
Tantoo Cardinal
First Nations and Métis actress Tantoo Cardinal's decades-long career is legendary. Most recently, she appeared as Lizzie Q, Mollie Kyle's mother, in Killers of the Flower Moon, but you've also seen her in Dances with Wolves (1990), Legends of the Fall (1994), ABC's Stumptown (2019–2020), and Prime Video's Three Pines, to name a few. She even joined fellow indigenous actor Wes Studi in voicing an elder in the cartoon series Spirit Rangers.
Sean Sherman
Sean Sherman is a James Beard award-winning chef of Sioux origin. Also known as the Sioux Chef, Sean is dedicated to "revitalizing and reidentifying indigenous cuisine." Most recently, he was awarded the 2023 Julia Child Award.
Sharice Davids
Sharice Davids was one of the first Native American women elected to Congress, not to mention the first openly LGBTQ+ Native American woman to fill the role. A member of the Ho-Chunk nation, the 43-year-old represents Kansas’s third district, where she has a strong focus on economic and community development.
Wes Studi
You may recognize West Studi from his roles in Dances with Wolves and The Last of the Mohicans. The 75-year-old actor and producer is of Cherokee descent. Most recently, he voiced the role of the elder Sun on the cartoon television series, Spirit Rangers, which follows three Native American children who become park rangers. It's currently viewable on Netflix.
Winona Laduke
Winona Laduke is known for her quest to break glass ceilings. In 1996 and 2000, she ran alongside presidential nominee Ralph Nader on the Green Party ticket. The 64-year-old activist, economist, and environmentalist is a staunch advocate for the Native American community. She is an Anishinaabekwe (Ojibwe) enrolled member of the Mississippi Band Anishinaabeg.
Link Wray
The 1958 guitar track Rumble was so powerful that, even without lyrics, it was banned on some American radio stations for fear it would incite violence. The same track inspired countless rock guitarists in the generations that followed, so it's no wonder that Link Wray (1929–2005) was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023. Raised in North Carolina, Wray is said to have endured racial discrimination growing up due to his Shawnee heritage. PBS's 2019 documentary Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World is named for Wray's most famous track.
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