Owanah Anderson

Owanah P. Anderson (February 18, 1926 – March 24, 2017) was a Choctaw author and Indigenous rights activist. Though Anderson published two books, Jamestown Commitment: The Episcopal Church and the American Indian and 400 Years: Anglican/Episcopal Mission Among American Indians, and co-authored multiple other publications, she was most recognized for her work with the Native American Ministries of the Episcopal Church as well as for her achievements in improving the lives of indigenous peoples, especially women. Anderson held a variety of jobs throughout her professional career that focused on expanding women's access to healthcare as well as their educational and professional opportunities.

Early life Owanah Patricia Anderson was born on February 18, 1926, in Boswell, Oklahoma, to parents Samantha (Jones) and John Boyt Pickens.

Career and activism

For indigenous women Anderson participated in the 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas, by acting as co-chairperson of the Texas executive committee for the state conference preceding the national one. Efforts of the women involved led to the National Women's Agenda's approval. The comprehensive agenda called for reproductive freedom, action against rape and violence, action in support of lesbian rights and the rights of women of color, and the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Following her involvement in the 1977 Women's Conference, she worked to raise awareness on Native American women's issues regarding access to healthcare and educational opportunities by serving on the Committee on Rights and Responsibilities of Women formed by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for about three years until 1980. From 1978 to 1981, Anderson also served on President Jimmy Carter's Advisory Committee on Women.

In 1979, she founded and directed the Ohoyo Resource Center for the U.S. Department of Education to provide women with resources needed to network and advance their careers. Ohoyo is actually the Choctaw word for "woman", and the resource guide Anderson co-authored, Ohoyo One Thousand: Resource Guide of American Indian and Alaska Native Women, definitely positively impacted indigenous women's lives, especially when it helped keep the women connected to their networks when the center closed down in 1983. Furthermore, during her time working with the Association on American Indian Affairs, she directed the National Women's Development Program. In 1982, the document was republished as Ohoyo One Thousand: Resource Guide of American Indian and Alaska Native Women as an expanded edition with now more than one thousand women listed and two hundred and thirty one tribes represented. In 1997, Anderson's book, 400 Years: Anglican/Episcopal Mission Among American Indians, was published as an expansion on her previous book, Jamestown Commitment. provides funding to indigenous women who are enrolled tribal citizens of the continental United States or Alaska for pursuing an Associate's degree or higher as full time students. To be eligible, students must at least have a 2.5 out of 4.0 GPA and be enrolled in a tribe, regardless of whether it is recognized at federal or state levels.

Personal life

Sometime after graduating high school, Anderson married her first husband and had a son, Steven Shelton, who she raised on her own. The couple divorced, and later she met Henry Anderson, an attorney in Wichita Falls, Texas, whose children she helped raise. In 1983, Henry Anderson died, and Owanah Anderson moved to New York to become chairperson of the National Committee on Indian Affairs of the Episcopal Church.