Joe DeLaCruz

Joe DeLaCruz (Joseph B. DeLaCruz, July 16, 1937 – April 16, 2000 ) was a Native American leader in Washington, U.S., president for 22 years of the Quinault Tribe. He was reputed for his "thorough, in-depth knowledge of probably every Indian tribe in North America." According to Suzan Harjo, "His programs became models for Native Americans everywhere."

DeLaCruz was significantly involved in the rising militancy among Native Americans in the early 1970s. He participated in the 1970 confrontations at Fort Lawton in Seattle, Washington that led to the founding of the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation and the Daybreak Star Cultural Center.

He was elected president of the National Tribal Chairmen's Association (1977) president of the National Congress of American Indians (1981), serving four years in the latter post.