1 SHARICE DAVIDS — HOCHUNK
A U.S. representative from the 3rd District in Kansas, elected in 2019, she became one of the first two Indigenous women (along with Deb Haaland) to serve in Congress. An attorney, she focuses on economic and community development and making healthcare more accessible and affordable to everyone. She’s also a former mixed martial arts fighter, which is “a very difficult thing for a Native person to do,” Marshall says, “and especially a Native woman. Sharice Davids participated quite well in a non-Native-dominated sport.”
2 LOUISE ERDRICH — TURTLE MOUNTAIN CHIPPEWA
A writer of Native American literature and children’s books, she, to 2021’s Pulitzer Prize-winning . Her work explores her Native ancestry and cultural issues confronting modern-day Native Americans. She also owns Birchbark Books & Native Arts, an independent bookstore in Minneapolis. “She’s a great writer,” Marshall says. “I like her novels. And she’s a businesswoman.”
