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Native American leader Ada Deer remembered
Ada Deer, a prominent Native American leader from Wisconsin, died. The week following Deer's death, an emotional ceremony was held in her memory.
MADISON, Wis. - Ada Deer, a prominent Native American leader from Wisconsin, died at age 88 on Aug. 16.
A week after Deer's death, an emotional ceremony was held in her memory.
Deer was responsible for many "firsts." She was the first Menominee member to earn an undergraduate degree from UW-Madison, the first Native American to earn a master's degree from the Columbia University School of Social Work, and the first woman to lead the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
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Ada Deer with Gwen Moore and Ben Wikler onstage during the WisDems 2023 Convention on June 10, 2023. (Photo by Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images for Democratic Party of Wisconsin)
"How many other families she was part of, how many people called her aunt, how many people felt she was a part of the fabric of their lives," said Ben Wikler, Deer's godson and chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. "How she showed up, how she remembered. How she asked questions of each of us and how she challenged us to be better versions of ourselves."
Family said Deer passed away from natural causes. She had entered hospice care last month. She was born Aug. 7, 1935 on the Menominee reservation in Keshena.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.