24 Famous Indigenous and Native Americans Making History

Lily Gladstone is an actor who rose to fame for her performance in Scorsese’s crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon. She portrayed an Osage woman who survived a series of murders after oil was found on Osage land. She is the first Native American woman to win a Golden Globe for best actress. She grew up on the Blackfeet reservation in Montana, and she gave part of her acceptance speech in Blackfoot.

Sterlin Harjo is a director of film and television focusing on Native American actors and experiences. Harjo executive produced, directed and co-wrote the groundbreaking comedy-drama series Reservation Dogs on FX. The series follows Native youth in Oklahoma as they commit petty crimes to earn enough money to leave their reservation. The series has been praised for its touching storylines and representation of Indigenous experiences.

Wes Studi is a Native American actor and film producer, best known for his roles in Dances With Wolves and The Last of the Mohicans. In 2019, he was awarded an Academy Honorary Award, becoming the first native American to receive an Oscar. He has over 100 acting credits, and the New York Times ranked him as one of the 25 greatest actors of the 21st century.

Link Wray was a legendary guitar player popular in the 50s who helped establish the modern sound of rock and roll with his use of distortion. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023 as part of the Musical Influence category. The Hall of Fame calls Wray “the original punk, the inventor of the power chord” and describes his 1958 single “Rumble” as “the most influential and enduring rock-guitar instrumental of all time.” His mother was Shawnee.

Vincent Neil Emerson is a country singer-songwriter and guitar player. He has released three albums, Fried Chicken and Evil Women (2019), Vincent Neil Emerson (2021), and The Golden Crystal Kingdom (2023).

He is part of the Choctaw-Apache tribe on his mother’s side. Songs like “The Ballad of the Choctaw-Apache" and “Little Wolf’s Invincible Yellow Medicine Paint,” invoke his Native identity and the history of his tribe. His music has also been featured in Reservation Dogs.

Award-winning artist Lauren Good Day is famous for intertwining old traditions with modern culture. Her art has been featured at some of the nation’s most prestigious shows, including Santa Fe Indian Market, Heard Guild Museum Market, and the Autry American Indian Arts Marketplace. She started her art career at age six with beadwork and Tribal regalia and then expanded into quillwork, ledger drawings, rawhide parfleche and clothing.

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Best known for her majestic landscape paintings, Cherokee artist Kay Walkingstick is famous for incorporating various elements into her paintings that are viewed as being distinctly Native American like well-known chiefs, warriors and influential figures.

A native of Shawnee, Oklahoma, and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Creed Humphrey is the current center for the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL. In 2022, Creed was selected for the Pro Bowl and was part of the team that won Super Bowl LVII. Creed is a proud member of the Potawatomi Nation. "There’s not a ton of representation with Native Americans throughout sports," Creed told potawatomi.com. "So I’m very happy to be able to be a person that younger kids to look up to."

Jason Momoa is proud of his native heritage and talks about it every chance he gets, whether it’s in front of the camera or on the red carpet. He is Native Hawaiian on his father’s side. He is deeply involved in protecting his native land and helped to protest the development of Mauna Kea, Hawaii's tallest mountain. He also identifies as Pawnee, from his grandmother’s side.

Quannah Chasinghorse is an Indigenous model and activist with a shared heritage of Lakota and Navajo ancestry. She is known for using her platform to support Indigenous sovereignty and sustainability. She made headlines at the 2022 Met Gala by combining contemporary looks with intricate Native jewelry and headpieces.

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If Gil Birmingham looks familiar, that’s because he’s been a staple of film and television for decades. He’s best known for his portrayal of Billy Black in the Twilight Saga film series and as Tribal Chairman Thomas Rainwater in the Paramount Network's television series Yellowstone.

Louie Gong is an artist, educator and public speaker who was raised by his grandparents in the Nooksack tribal community. Although he is best known for his highly sought-after, hand-drawn custom shoes, Louie has received international recognition for his art. His latest project, The Sasquatch Collection, in conjunction with Brooks Running and the Snoqualmie Tribe Ancestral Lands Movement, pays homage to Indigenous lands.

Tommy Orange is an American novelist and indigenous writer from Oakland, California. His first book, There, There, was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize and received the 2019 American Book Award. The highly acclaimed book follows a dozen Native American characters whose lives converge at a big powwow at the Oakland Coliseum. He is a graduate of the MFA program at the American Indian Arts School.

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When Sharice Davids was sworn into the 116th House of Representatives, she made headlines by becoming one of the first Native American women elected to Congress, alongside fellow Native American Deb Haaland. She was also the first openly LBGTQ+ Native American woman elected to Congress. She is currently the representative for Kansas’ second district, where public education and affordable higher education are two of her biggest interests.

Deb Haaland made history when she became the first Native American to serve as cabinet secretary in the United States Congress. But this wasn’t the first ceiling she broke through. After running for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico in 2014, Secretary Haaland became the first Native American woman to be elected to lead a state party. In Congress, she focused on environmental justice, climate change, missing and murdered Indigenous women and family-friendly policies.

Visual and performance artist Kent Monkman is a Canadian First Nations artist of Cree ancestry and a member of the Fisher River band situated in Manitoba's Interlake Region. Known for his thought-provoking works which intermingle Western European and American history, Monkman explores the complexities of the Indigenous experiences in art form.

Juane Quick-to-See Smith is an abstract artist whose work has been featured in galleries and museums since the 1970s. Much of her art focuses on the destruction of the environment and governmental oppression of Indigenous cultures. Smith has had over 90 solo exhibits in the past 30 years. She has also organized and curated over 30 exhibitions and lectured at more than 185 universities, museums and conferences internationally.

Joy Harjo is an American poet, musician, playwright and author who became the first-ever Native American Poet Laureate in 2022. Her flagship poem “American Sunrise,” tells the struggle between the contemporary world and Indigenous identity.

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Cheri Madsen is a Paralympic wheelchair racing athlete and is the first Native American female to win an Olympic exhibition bronze medal.

In 2002, John Herrington became the first member of a Native American tribe to fly in space. His mission took him to the International Space Station where he honored his heritage by carrying six eagle feathers, a braid of sweet grass, two arrowheads and the Chickasaw nation’s flag on a planned spacewalk. He is also a retired United States Naval Aviator and engineer.