More than 120 people gathered on Aug. 1 in Keshena to celebrate the 80th birthday of Ada Deer, the pioneering former chair of the Menominee Restoration Committee and former head of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The event also served as a fundraiser to establish the Ada Deer Leadership Scholarship, which will award an annual scholarship to a young woman graduate of the Menominee Indian High School.
“Ada Deer devoted her life to being a staunch supporter of higher education and it seems only fitting that this scholarship be created in her name,” said Michael Chapman, organizer of the event. “This scholarship honors her commitment to education, leadership and perseverance.”
More than $20,000 was raised at the event, which featured guest speaker Gloria Steinem, the American feminist, journalist and social activist who led the feminist movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Chapman said fundraising efforts are just beginning.
“Our goal is to raise at least $40,000 for this on-going scholarship for MIHS,” Chapman said.
Deer, who was born on the Menominee Reservation in 1935, became a nationally recognized advocate and organizer for American Indians. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Columbia University School of Social Work, Deer was the first woman appointed Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs and was the first Native American woman to run for Congress in Wisconsin.
Sponsors of the birthday scholarship event included the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin, Menominee Tribal Enterprises, Menominee Casino and Resort, Menominee Tribal Clinic, Native American Rights Fund, Menominee Indian School District, Elke Chenevey and the Sokaogan Chippewa Community.
