This is a list of Native American firsts . Native American people were the first people to live in the area that is now known as the United States .[ 1] This is a chronological list of the first accomplishments that Native Americans have achieved both through their tribal identities and also through the culture of the United States over time. It includes individuals and groups of people who are indigenous to contemporary United States. This includes Native Americans in the United States , which includes American Indians, Alaska Natives , and Native Hawaiians .
1539
1581
1587
1615
First Native American received as royalty by English royalty: Pocahontas (Powhatan ).
The Huron people first act as middlemen for French traders and other Native American tribes.
First Native American in New England to meet with settlers leading to ratify a peace treaty: Massaoit (Wampanoag ).
1638
Eliot Indian Bible page
1663
1665
1670
1672
1765
First Native American recorded as preaching Christianity to a non-Native audience: Samson Occom (Mohegan ).
1772
First published literary work by a Native American: A Sermon Preached at the Execution of Moses Paul, an Indian by Samson Occom (Mohegan ).
1794
First Native American published, written report of other Native American peoples in the English language: A Short Narration of My Last Journey to the Western Country by Hendrick Aupaumut (Mohican ).
William McIntosh , Muscogee leader
1812
1821
1822
1825
1827
1828
1829
Wa-o-wa-wa-na-onk or Peter Wilson
1844
1847
1854
First novel published by a Native American: The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murietta by John Rollin Ridge (Cherokee ).
First Native American student periodical publication, A Wreath of Cherokee Rose Buds .
1856
1857
John Rollin Ridge (Cherokee )
1861
1865
1867
1869
1870
1875
1878
First Choctaw tribal newspaper: The Choctaw News .
1879
First Native American declared "a person within the meaning of the law" in the United States: Standing Bear (Ponca ).
1881
1883
1886
1889
1891
Susan La Flesche Picotte (Omaha )
1892
First Native American elected to the United States House of Representatives: Charles Curtis (Kaw/Osage/Potawatomi).
First Native American playwright: Gowongo Mohawk (Seneca), author of Wep-Ton-No-Mah, The Indian Mail Carrier (1892).
1893
1897
1898
Lewis Tewanima (Hopi )
1903
1904
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1916
Choctaw Code Talkers in training
1918
First known use of Indigenous Code Talkers as part of a U.S. military effort: Choctaw, Cherokee, and Navajo were all Code Talkers in World War I .
1921
1922
Alice Brown Davis , first woman chief of the Seminole tribe
1923
1924
1926
First United States–born Native American player to become an NHL regular, which he did with the New York Rangers beginning on November 16, 1926: Clarence "Taffy" Abel (Chippewa ).[ 68] [ 69]
Zitkala Sa (Yankton Dakota ) in 1898
1927
1929
First Native American to serve as Vice President of the United States: Charles Curtis (Kaw/Osage/Potawatomi).
1930
1932
1935
1939
1941
1942
Dance Magazine July 1961 cover featuring Maria Tallchief (Osage )
1943
1944
1945
1946
1949
Herbert K Pililaau (Native Hawaiian )
1950
1952
1953
1956
1957
1958
1959
Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Northern Chyenne ) talks to news crew.
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1966
1967
1969
1970
First broadcast license given to a Native American tribe (Choctaw ): WYRU-AM .
1971
1972
Article from Osawatomie about the Pine Ridge shootout
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
Wilma Mankiller (Cherokee Nation ) and Bill Clinton in 1998
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1993
First play-by-play of an NBA game in a Native language is broadcast in Navajo .
1994
1995
1996
Cheri Masden (Omaha ) in 2013
1997
1998
1999
John Herrington (Chickasaw Nation )
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
2005
2006
2007
2008
2010
2011
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
Barack Obama and Kimberly Teehee (Cherokee Nation ), April 27, 2021
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
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^ "Indian Market Stands Firm on Date" . The Santa Fe New Mexican . September 22, 1980. Retrieved July 10, 2021 .
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