Ada Deer, Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin, died Tuesday, Aug.
15, 2023. She was the first woman to
serve as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Interior Department and the
first woman chair of her tribe. On Nov.
15, 1994, the Ho-Chunk Nation Constitution became an official document as it
was endorsed by the President of the Ho-Chunk Nation JoAnn Jones, Vice
President Wilfrid Cleveland, Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Ada Deer,
and members of the Ho-Chunk Legislature.
The official constitution changed the nation’s name from
Wisconsin Winnebago to the Ho-Chunk Nation.
During the 1994 signing ceremony at the facility formerly
known as Rainbow Casino, Ada Deer said, “The new constitution will give the
Ho-Chunk Nation an independent form of government with separation of powers and
a system with checks and balances.
“The makeup of which includes General Council, Legislative,
Executive, and Judiciary. Under the new
constitution, the Ho-Chunk Nation will be able to establish a tribal court
system and to apply laws of the tribe.”
Deer went on to say, “You’ve changed your name from
Winnebago, which may have been a Chippewa word, to a word from your own
language, Ho-Chunk.” Ada challenged the
tribal members to read, understand, and honor the new constitution. “You can
amend it, change it, but it is a living document by which you carry out your
authority as a sovereign nation. It’s a
lot of work to be a Ho-Chunk, so do your homework. Read, understand, and implement the
constitution.”
Deer was born in Keshena, Wisconsin, and spent her childhood
on the Menominee reservation. She
attended Shawano High School, became the first member of her tribe to graduate
from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and was the first Native American
to receive a master’s degree from the School of Social Work at Columbia
University.
Additionally, she was a fellow at the Harvard Institute of
Politics, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Her academic honors include Doctor of Humane Letters from the University
of Wisconsin – Madison.
She led the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program
at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, co-founded the Indian Community
School in Milwaukee, and chaired the board of the Native American Rights Fund.
Ada Deer was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993 as
the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.
The position included overseeing the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Bureau had 12,000 employees who provided
services and administered trust responsibilities for more than 500 native
nations and Alaska Native villages.
Approximately one million members of federally recognized tribes lived
on or near the 56 million acres of Indian trust lands served by the Bureau of
Indian Affairs.
She was tireless in her work in advocating for Native
American rights. Ada Deer was
instrumental in the 1973 restoration of her tribe following its termination in
1958. During the termination, the
Menominee tribe became a county instead of a reservation.
In her capacity as the Assistant Secretary for Indian
Affairs, she signed off on federal recognition of hundreds of Alaskan tribes
that had been fighting for sovereignty.
On Aug. 7, 2023, Ada Deer turned 88 years old. She left hospice care that day and attended a
celebration that drew leaders from Wisconsin state and the Menominee
tribe. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers,
United States Senator Tammy Baldwin, and Menominee Chairwoman Gena Kakkak all
paid tribute to Deer. Gov. Evers proclaimed
Aug. 7, 2023, “Ada Deer Day.”