Ada Deer

Ada Elizabeth Deer (August 7, 1935 – August 15, 2023) was an American scholar and civil servant who was a member of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and a Native American advocate. As an activist she opposed the federal termination of tribes from the 1950s. During the Clinton administration, Deer served as Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs. Due to all of her advocacy and organization on behalf of Native people, she was recognized as a social work pioneer by the National Associate of Social Workers in 2010. Deer was an active member of the Menominee tribe, which is located in the northeast part of Wisconsin. Deer's mother was an advocate for Native American rights, and Deer followed in her mother's footsteps. As the oldest of five children, Deer helped take care of her siblings. Deer's mother began taking her to Menominee council meetings when she was four. She subsequently served in Puerto Rico with the Peace Corps for two years. Deer later went on to become a Menominee social worker.

Native American advocacy Following the completion of her graduate work, Deer returned to the Midwest to be closer to the Menominee Nation, settling in Minneapolis. She found few local services in place for Native Americans living in urban settings. Due to her background in social services, Deer worked to advocate on their behalf with federal authorities. Under the Menominee Termination Act of 1954, Congress ended the special relationship between the Menominee tribe of Wisconsin and the federal government, and the Menominee tribe had been governed by a corporate body called Menominee Enterprises, Inc (MEI). The selling of land as an economic stimulus to non-Indians was a direct result of poor economic conditions that the Menominee had been living in since termination. DRUMS members gained two seats on the MEI Board, and by the end of the following year had obtained a majority of MEI Board seats. After successfully stopping the land development in 1972, DRUMS later began the fight to reverse termination and regain status as a federally recognized and sovereign Indian tribe. Originally in opposition to MEI, members of DRUMS eventually gained positions in MEI offices where they began lobbying the United States Congress for Menominee restoration. As part of these efforts, Deer directly engaged with Senators and Representatives in Congress and crafted legal briefs advocating for Menominee sovereignty. Due to her advocacy, on December 22, 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Menominee Restoration Act.

Federal government In 1992, Deer ran for Congress. She almost became the first Native American woman elected, but narrowly lost her race to Republican Scott L. Klug.

During this period, she was a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. From January to May 1997, she served as Chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission.

Political activity

Deer was involved in electoral politics beginning in the 1970s. In both 1978 and 1982, Deer ran for Secretary of State of Wisconsin, losing both elections. Deer endorsed State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski's campaign for Senate in the 2022 election.

Educational career Deer taught in the School of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1977 until 1993, holding the title of Distinguished Lecturer. Beginning in 1977, she was also a lecturer in the American Indian Studies program and from 2000 to 2007 was the program's director.

Death Deer died at a hospice of natural causes in Fitchburg, Wisconsin on August 15, 2023, at age 88. She was surrounded by loved ones, and was remembered as a calming presence.

Honors and achievements 1957: First member of the Menominee Tribe to graduate from the University of Wisconsin–Madison 2003: Included as one of 51 "accomplished practitioners and educators" in the book Celebrating Social Work: Faces and Voices of the Formative Years (Council on Social Work Education) 2007: Wisconsin Historical Society Robert and Belle Case La Follette Award for Distinction in Public Service 2010: Recognized as a Social Work Pioneer by the National Association of Social Workers 2023: In Wisconsin, August 7 was proclaimed Ada Deer Day in honor of her 88th birthday.

Works Making a Difference: My Fight for Native Rights and Social Justice. (New Directions in Native American Studies Series, vol. 19). University of Oklahoma Press, 2019. .