Birdie Wilcox-Cano

Roberta "Birdie" Wilcox-Cano is an American politician and the first Native American to be elected mayor in the state of Arizona. She has served as the mayor of Winslow, Arizona, since her election in 2020.

Born and raised in Winslow, Wilcox-Cano is of Navajo and Pueblo heritage. She began working for the city of Winslow in 2013, starting as a secretary and rising to community services coordinator before her mayoral election. As mayor, her administration has focused on economic development, addressing housing and energy shortages, and securing over $100 million in funding for a levee project on the Colorado River.

Early life and education Wilcox-Cano was born and raised in Winslow, Arizona. She grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, a time she remembers as having an "energized, communal feel" with a bustling downtown before the town was bypassed by Interstate 40. Her father was a railroader of Navajo and Pueblo heritage, and her mother was a Mormon teacher of Scottish and Irish ancestry. Her Navajo heritage is from the Edgewater clan, and her Puebloan side is San Juan Pueblo Ohkay Owingeh, Winter People. She was scheduled to begin the Flinn-Brown Academy, a 12-session public policy institute, in August 2025.

Wilcox-Cano has stated her vision for Winslow's cultural identity is rooted in its Hopi and Diné/Navajo art, recalling that in her youth, the town "was more like Santa Fe" with a vibrant trade in local crafts, pottery, and jewelry. She has noted that a significant challenge is overcoming the "stagnation and lowered expectations" in the community resulting from decades of economic hardship, stating, "One of the hardest things is trying to convince 10,000 people that they're worth good things again."

Personal life Wilcox-Cano is married to Ernesto "Ernest" Cano and has four children. Her husband was a lieutenant with the Winslow Police Department in 2020 and became the acting chief of the department in November 2024.

The position of mayor of Winslow pays approximately $400 a month and includes medical coverage. Wilcox-Cano supplements her income by working as a substitute teacher at local schools and as a bartender.