Joseph de la Cruz: 1937 - 2000, Quinault political leader

Abstract

Clyde Warrior was a Ponca who helped propel the American Indian rights movement in the 1960s. Richard (Skip) Hayward was the Pequot most responsible for starting Foxwoods, the world's largest casino. Chickasaw John Herrington was the first Native American astronaut. Now there's a place to meet them all---and many other noteworthy Native Americans, including Navajo poet Laura Tohe and Luiseno performance artist James Luna.Native Americans Today: A Biographical Dictionary focuses on the lives of contemporary Native Americans. Such treatments are rare, as most Native American biographies are historical (pre-1900) and cover familiar figures. Profiles collected here are written to be enjoyable as well as instructive, presented as examples of personal storytelling that should be savored, not only for their factual content, but also for the humanity they evoke.The book focuses on Native American lives in the United States and Canada, mainly after 1900, though a few older figures are included because their lives evoke strikingly modern themes. The author, an expert in Native American subject matter, knows (or knew) several of the people in the entries, adding a special vibrancy to the writing. Among those profiled are former U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, activist Eloise Cobell, and controversial political prisoner Leonard Peltier, as well as writers, artists, and musicians. The compilation also includes non-Native Americans whose lives and careers impacted Indian life.