Women's History Month

Following the Native American Women’s Footprints

March is Women’s History Month, a time for Native American people to reflect upon the mother, sister, and daughter ancestors who left behind dreams, traditions, and footprints for us to follow. While we honor the past and celebrate our culture, we also recognize new trails being blazed by Indigenous women. The following list highlights both remarkable Navajo women who have made, and are still making, history in their respective fields.

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HILARY TOMPKINS (1968 -    )

Law

Hilary Tompkins is a highly accomplished attorney and member of the Navajo Nation. As the first American Indian woman confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior, she has left clear, indelible footprints for future legal scholars and professionals to follow. During her tenure as Solicitor, Ms. Tompkins fought in the highest courts in the land to protect Native American rights and promote tribal sovereignty.

Born at the Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico, she was adopted by a Quaker family and raised in a multi-racial family in New Jersey. As an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, Ms. Tompkins was awarded a Chief Manuelito Scholarship, allowing her to pursue higher education at Dartmouth College. After earning her B.A. degree in 1990, she was eager to reconnect with her Indian heritage. Her footprints led back to her Navajo Reservation, where her legal career would begin by working in the Navajo Nation’s court system.

Led by her passions for the law, the environment, and Native communities, Ms. Tompkins’ footprints led to Stanford University Law School where she earned her law degree. Students who follow Hilary Tompkins’ footprints will find themselves serving as associate editor of the Law Review, teaching as a law professor (University of New Mexico School of Law), serving as chief legal counsel for a Governor. Ms. Tompkins continues to leave footprints as an accomplished Washington D.C. attorney in environmental, energy, and Native American law.  

LUCI TAPAHONSO (1953 -     )

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Poet, Writer

Luci Tapahonso is known for the lyrical and evocative language in her poetry. Young poets and artists can trace her early footsteps from Shiprock, New Mexico where she was raised speaking Navajo as her first language  She later learned English, and this bilingual upbringing has influenced her writing, allowing her to explore the intersections between Navajo and American Culture. All Native poets and students can trace her lyrical footprints through her collections of poems and memoirs.

Despite belonging to a generation for which speaking Navajo was forbidden, Tapahonso’s Native language is still an undercurrent that informs her writing. Native American writers, artists and students can appreciate, learn from, and add to the footprints left by Luci Tapahonso. Many scholars have followed her footsteps to the world of academia. She has held teaching positions at several universities, including the University of Kansas and the University of Arizona, and  has been recognized for her contributions to Native American literature and education.

In 2013, Luci Arapahonso was named the Poet Laureate of the Navajo Nation, the first Native American woman to hold the position. From her works, readers learn about the Navajo culture’s value of speaking well and the immense wealth one possesses by knowing stories, songs, prayers, and poems. After receiving her M.A. in English from the University of New Mexico, she also played a key role in establishing the Indigenous Studies Graduate Studies Program at the University of Kansas.