Tim Mickleburgh
Ada Deer
Ada Deer was a social worker, educator, activist, candidate for public office and, from 1993-97, the head of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Ada Deer, a Native American activist and former head of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, died on Aug. 15 at age 88. When she entered hospice a few days before, her godson, Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, posted a lengthy thread on “X” (formerly Twitter) about her legacy.
“Ada came of age in the Termination Era, when the U.S. sought to terminate the federal recognition of tribal nations — but Ada fought back,” Wikler wrote. “Leading the Menominee Restoration Committee, she enlisted allies from her tribe, across WI, and nationwide — and passed a bill through Congress. The Menominee Restoration Act was signed by President Nixon on December 22, 1973. In the years after, Ada became the first woman chair of the Menominee Nation.”
On Wednesday, Gov. Tony Evers posted on X: “Ada was one-of-a-kind. We will remember her as a trailblazer, a changemaker, and a champion for Indigenous communities.”
And Wenona Wolf, director of political engagement for the governor, thanked Deer for her trailblazing work, also on X. “You showed Native women like myself that we belong. We belong in meetings where decisions are made. We belong in positions of leadership. We belong in spaces we would have never dreamed of occupying. Thank you Ada Deer. I will always cherish the moments I shared with you.”
Deer grew up on Wisconsin’s Menominee reservation, In 2019, Bill Lueders reviewed Deer’s memoir, Making a Difference: My Fight for Native Rights and Social Justice, published by the University of Oklahoma. Read the review here.
