'I think her legacy will live among us' Native American Pioneer, Ada Deer, remembered by many

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Hearts are heavy tonight on the Menominee Reservation after a leader who fought for justice over her lifetime lost her battle with cancer. Ada Deer is being remembered as a pioneer who restored federal recognition of the Menominee Tribe. 

"Termination was a disaster politically, economically and culturally," said Ada Deer at a rally years ago where she spoke out after the Menominee Tribe lost federal recognition in the 1960's.

Anahkwet Reiter lives on the reservation where Ada Deer is a household name. 

"At our casino there's the Ada Deer Room and she was a mover and shaker and did lots of things to help us," said Reiter.

A Grass Roots Effort with Deer at the center successfully convinced congress to fully restore the Menominee in 1973 and President Nixon signed it.

"I think her legacy will live among us," said Reiter.

Deer became the first female chairperson of the Menominee Nation, as well as the first Native American woman to serve on the Bureau of Indian Affairs and won a big political nomination. 

"The night that she won the nomination as the democratic nominee in the second congressional district, she went up to the microphone and said: 'I've waited my whole life to say this, "Me-nominee."

"Which was the best pun in Wisconsin politics that I've ever heard," said Ben Wikler. Chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. 

"Ada was a singular force. She would see something about the world that needed to be changed and not stop until it was changed," said Wilker.

He is also Deer's godson.

She was so sweet with so many people and also the most blunt and direct person that anyone's ever met. She would tell people what they were doing wrong and how they could change it, but it always came from this place, this deep well of care and of vision to try to make things better," said Wikler. 

"She then in her wheelchair gave a 15-minute stem winder and challenged everyone in the room to do more to change the world," said Wikler.

"I very much loved that what she was a straight shooter, she told you what she thought when she thought it and she's gonna be very missed," said Reiter.

"I think Ada's example, the way she lived her life and the challenge that she issued to everyone was to not let someone else's no stop us from saying yes to ourselves," said Wikler.

Photo from Wikler of Deer's 88th birthday party this month.