III
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION S. RES. 142
Recognizing the heritage, culture, and contributions of American Indian,
Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women in the United States.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH26, 2025
Ms. M
URKOWSKI(for herself, Mr. SCHATZ, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BENNET, Mr.
B
LUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. CORTEZ
M
ASTO, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. DAINES, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr.
H
EINRICH, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. KING,
Ms. K
LOBUCHAR, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr.
P
ADILLA, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. SCHIFF, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms.
S
MITH, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. VANHOLLEN, Mr. WARNER, Ms. WARREN,
Mr. W
YDEN, and Ms. DUCKWORTH) submitted the following resolution;
which was considered and agreed to
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the heritage, culture, and contributions of Amer-
ican Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women
in the United States.
Whereas the United States celebrates National Women’s His-
tory Month every March to recognize and honor the
achievements of women throughout the history of the
United States;
Whereas approximately 5,300,000 American Indian, Alaska
Native, and Native Hawaiian women, alone or in com-
bination, live in the United States;
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Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-
ian women—
(1) have helped shape the history of their commu-
nities, Tribes, and the United States;
(2) have fought to defend and protect the sovereign
rights of Native Nations; and
(3) have demonstrated resilience and courage in the
face of a history of threatened existence, constant remov-
als, and relocations;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-
ian women contribute to their communities, Tribes, and
the United States through military service, public service,
and work in many industries, including business, edu-
cation, science, medicine, literature, and fine arts, includ-
ing Pablita ‘‘Tse Tsan’’ Velarde, a Santa Clara Pueblo
artist and painter whose art work depicted traditional
Pueblo life and preserved Pueblo stories and knowledge,
and whose paintings were commissioned for display at
Bandelier National Monument;
Whereas, as of 2025, more than 4,400 American Indian,
Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women are bravely
serving as members of the Armed Forces of the United
States;
Whereas, as of 2025, more than 43,000 American Indian,
Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women, alone or in
combination, are veterans who made lasting contributions
to the Armed Forces of the United States;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-
ian women broke down historical gender barriers to en-
listment in the military, including—
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(1) Laura Beltz Wright, an Inupiat Eskimo sharp-
shooter of the Alaska Territorial Guard during World
War II;
(2) Minnie Spotted Wolf of the Blackfeet Tribe, the
first Native American woman to enlist in the United
States Marine Corps in 1943; and
(3) Marcella LeBeau of the Cheyenne River Sioux
Tribe, a decorated veteran who served as an Army com-
bat nurse during World War II and received the French
Legion of Honour for her bravery and service;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-
ian women have made the ultimate sacrifice for the
United States, including Lori Ann Piestewa, a member of
the Hopi Tribe who was the first Native American
woman to be killed in action while serving on foreign soil
and the first woman serving in the Armed Forces of the
United States to be killed in the Iraq War in 2003;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-
ian women have contributed to the economic development
of Native Nations and the United States as a whole, in-
cluding Elouise Cobell of the Blackfeet Tribe, a recipient
of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, who—
(1) served as the treasurer of the Blackfeet Tribe;
(2) founded the first Tribal-owned national bank;
and
(3) led the fight against Federal mismanagement of
funds held in trust for more than 500,000 Native Ameri-
cans;
Whereas, as of 2024, more than 11,600 American Indian,
Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women owned an
employing business;
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Whereas, as of 2024, Native women-owned businesses em-
ployed more than 72,000 workers and generated more
than $11,200,000,000 in revenue;
Whereas, as of 2019, American Indian and Alaska Native
women have opened a net average of 30 new employing
businesses per day;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-
ian women have made significant contributions to the
fields of medicine and health, including—
(1) Susan La Flesche Picotte of the Omaha Tribe,
who is widely acknowledged as the first Native American
to earn a medical degree; and
(2) Annie Dodge Wauneka of the Navajo Nation,
who—
(A) advocated for better public health, edu-
cation, and living conditions on the Navajo Nation
leading to her becoming 1 of the first female council
members for the Navajo Nation in 1951; and
(B) was the first Native American to receive a
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-
ian women have contributed to important scientific ad-
vancements, including—
(1) Floy Agnes Lee of the Santa Clara Pueblo,
who—
(A) worked on the Manhattan Project during
World War II; and
(B) pioneered research on radiation biology and
cancer;
(2) Native Hawaiian Isabella Kauakea Yau Yung
Aiona Abbott, who—
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(A) was the first woman on the biological
sciences faculty at Stanford University; and
(B) in 1997, was awarded the Gilbert Morgan
Smith medal, the highest award in marine botany
from the National Academy of Sciences; and
(3) Mary Golda Ross of the Cherokee Nation, who—
(A) is considered the first Native American en-
gineer of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration;
(B) helped develop spacecrafts for the Gemini
and Apollo space programs; and
(C) was recognized by the Federal Government
on the 2019 1 dollar coin honoring Native Ameri-
cans and their contributions;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-
ian women have achieved distinctive honors in the art of
dance, including Maria Tallchief or Wa-Xthe-Thon-ba of
the Osage Nation, who—
(1) was the first major prima ballerina of the United
States and was a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement
Award from the Kennedy Center; and
(2) was recognized by the Federal Government on
the 2023 1 dollar coin with her sister Marjorie Tallchief
of the Osage Nation, Yvonne Chouteau of the Shawnee
Tribe, Rosella Hightower of the Choctaw Nation, and
Moscelyne Larkin of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Okla-
homa and the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, col-
lectively known as the ‘‘Five Moons’’, for the legacy they
left on ballet;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-
ian women have accomplished notable literary achieve-
ments, including Northern Paiute author Sarah
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Winnemucca Hopkins, who wrote and published 1 of the
first Native American autobiographies in United States
history in 1883;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-
ian women have regularly led efforts to protect their tra-
ditional ways of life and to revitalize and maintain Native
cultures and languages, including—
(1) Esther Martinez, a Tewa linguist and teacher
who developed a Tewa dictionary and was credited with
revitalizing the Tewa language;
(2) Mary Kawena Pukui, a Native Hawaiian scholar
who published more than 50 academic works and was
considered the most noted Hawaiian translator of the
20th century;
(3) Katie John, an Ahtna Athabascan of Mentasta
Lake, who was the lead plaintiff in lawsuits that
strengthened Native subsistence fishing rights in Alaska
and who helped create the alphabet for the Ahtna lan-
guage;
(4) Edith Kenao Kanaka‘ole, a Native Hawaiian lan-
guage and cultural practitioner who—
(A) founded her own hula school, Ha¯lau o
Kekuhi;
(B) helped develop some of the first courses in
Hawaiian language and culture for public schools
and colleges; and
(C) was recognized by the Federal Government
on the 2023 quarter honoring her significant con-
tributions and accomplishments perpetuating Native
Hawaiian culture and arts; and
(5) Dr. Gladys Iola Tantaquidgeon, a Mohegan med-
icine woman and anthropologist, who worked for 50 years
at the Tantaquidgeon Indian Museum in Connecticut, the
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oldest Native American owned and operated museum in
the United States, which she founded with her father and
brother to preserve the culture and history of their Tribe,
and which contributed to the Tribe’s Federal recognition
in 1994;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-
ian women have excelled in athletic competition and cre-
ated opportunities for other female athletes within their
sport, including Rell Kapoliokaehukai Sunn, who—
(1) was ranked as longboard surfing champion of
the world; and
(2) co-founded the Women’s Professional Surfing
Association in 1975, the first professional surfing tour
for women;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-
ian women have played a vital role in advancing civil
rights, protecting human rights, advocating for land
rights, and safeguarding the environment, including—
(1) Elizabeth Wanamaker Peratrovich, Tlingit, a
member of the Lukaa.a´di clan in the Raven moiety with
the Tlingit name of aagal.aat, who—
(A) helped secure the passage of House Bill 14,
commonly known as the Anti-Discrimination Act of
1945 (H.B. 14, Laws of Alaska. 17th Regular Ses-
sion, Territorial Legislature. Feb. 16, 1945), in the
Alaska Territorial Legislature, the first anti-dis-
crimination law in the United States; and
(B) was recognized by the Federal Government
on the 2020 1 dollar coin honoring Native Ameri-
cans and their contributions;
(2) Zitkala-Sa, a Yankton Dakota writer and advo-
cate, whose work during the early 20th century helped
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advance the citizenship, voting, and land rights of Native
Americans; and
(3) Mary Jane Fate, of the Koyukon Athabascan vil-
lage of Rampart, who—
(A) was the first woman to chair the Alaska
Federation of Natives;
(B) was a founding member of the North Amer-
ican Indian Women’s Association; and
(C) was an advocate for settlement of Indige-
nous land claims in Alaska;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-
ian women have succeeded as judges, attorneys, and legal
advocates, including—
(1) Eliza ‘‘Lyda’’ Conley, a Wyandot-American law-
yer and the first Native woman admitted to argue a case
before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1909;
and
(2) Emma Kailikapiolono Metcalf Beckley Nakuina,
a Native Hawaiian who served as the first female judge
in Hawaii;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-
ian women are dedicated public servants, holding impor-
tant positions in the Federal judicial branch, the Federal
executive branch, State governments, and local govern-
ments;
Whereas American Indian and Alaska Native women have
served as remarkable Tribal councilwomen, Tribal court
judges, and Tribal leaders, including Wilma Mankiller,
who—
(1) was the first woman elected to serve as Principal
Chief of the Cherokee Nation;
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(2) fought for Tribal self-determination and the im-
provement of the community infrastructure of her Tribe;
and
(3) was recognized by the Federal Government on
the 2022 quarter honoring her legacy of leadership for
Native people and women;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-
ian women have also led Native peoples through notable
acts of public service, including—
(1) Kaahumanu, who was the first Native Hawaiian
woman to serve as regent of the Kingdom of Hawaii; and
(2) Polly Cooper, of the Oneida Indian Nation,
who—
(A) walked from central New York to Valley
Forge as part of a relief mission to provide food for
the Army led by General George Washington during
the American Revolutionary War; and
(B) was recognized for her courage and gen-
erosity by Martha Washington;
Whereas the United States should continue to invest in the
future of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native
Hawaiian women to address the barriers those women
face, including—
(1) access to justice;
(2) access to health care; and
(3) opportunities for educational and economic ad-
vancement; and
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-
ian women are the life givers, the culture bearers, and
the caretakers of Native peoples who have made precious
contributions, enriching the lives of all people of the
United States: Now, therefore, be it
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Resolved, That the Senate— 1
(1) celebrates and honors the successes of 2
American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai-3
ian women and the contributions those women have 4
made and continue to make to the United States; 5
and 6
(2) recognizes the importance of providing for 7
the safety and upholding the interests of American 8
Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women. 9
Æ
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