Shirley Hill Witt facts for kids

Shirley Hill Witt (born April 17, 1934) is an amazing American woman who has done many important things. She is an anthropologist, which means she studies human societies and cultures. Shirley is also an educator, an author, and an activist who fights for civil rights.

Shirley is a member of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation, part of the Wolf Clan. She was one of the very first Native American women to earn a Ph.D., which is a very high university degree. She got her Ph.D. in 1969, studying how humans have changed over time. Shirley has written many books and articles about Native Americans. She is also a poet and writes fiction stories. She helped start the National Indian Youth Council and worked to protect the rights of Native American people. She also worked for the United States government, helping to make sure everyone is treated fairly.

Shirley Witt's Education Journey

Shirley Witt loved learning! She earned her first university degree, a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), from the University of Michigan in 1965. The next year, in 1966, she received her Master of Arts (M.A.) degree from the same university.

Shirley then went on to earn her Ph.D. in 1969 from the University of New Mexico. Her special area of study was evolutionary anthropology, which looks at how humans have developed over time. Her Ph.D. project was about people moving into the San Juan Indian Pueblo between 1726 and 1968.

Her Career and Work

Shirley Witt has had a very interesting career, working in different fields.

Teaching and Government Work

From 1970 to 1972, Shirley taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After that, she taught at Colorado College from 1972 to 1974.

Later, Shirley worked for the government. She was the director of the Rocky Mountain Regional Office of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights from 1975 to 1983. This commission works to protect the civil rights of all Americans. From 1983 to 1985, she served as the Cabinet Secretary for Natural Resources under New Mexico Governor Toney Anaya. In this role, she helped manage New Mexico's natural resources.

Working as a Diplomat

In 1985, Shirley Witt joined the U.S. diplomatic corps. This means she worked for the U.S. government in other countries. As an employee of the U.S. Information Agency, she lived and worked in South America (in Venezuela and Paraguay) and Africa (in Somalia and Zambia).

She held several important roles, including Foreign Service Officer and Cultural Affairs Officer. These jobs involved sharing American culture and ideas with people in other countries and building good relationships.

Standing Up for Fair Treatment

In 2000, Shirley Witt was part of a group of 1,100 women who took legal action against the U.S. Information Agency. They believed the agency had not treated women fairly when hiring people. Shirley had waited four years to be hired, even though she thought she had done very well on the hiring test.

Even though the agency did not say they did anything wrong, each woman in the group was awarded a large sum of money. This showed that standing up for fair treatment can make a difference.

Activism for Native American Rights

Shirley Witt was very active in the Indian rights movement during the 1960s. This movement worked to get better rights and respect for Native American people.

In 1961, she helped create the National Indian Youth Council. She was also its first vice president. Soon after, she joined protests in the Puget Sound area to help secure fishing rights for Native Americans. These rights were promised by old treaties.

Later in the 1960s, she worked with Herbert Blatchford, who also helped start the Council. They worked together to improve the Gallup Indian Center in New Mexico. Shirley was finishing her Ph.D. there at the time.

Books Shirley Witt Has Published

Shirley Hill Witt has written or helped write several books:

• Witt, Shirley Hill and Steiner, Stan, The Way: An Anthology of American Indian Literature, Vintage Books, 1972, ISBN: 9780394717692
• Witt, Shirley Hill, The Tuscaroras, Crowell-Collier Press, 1972, ISBN: 9780027932706
• Witt, Shirley Hill and Ballejos, Gilberto Chávez, El Indio Jesús: A Novel, University of Oklahoma Press, 2000, ISBN: 9780806132303
• Witt, Shirley Hill and Ballejos, Gilberto Chávez, Tomóchic Blood, AuthorHouse, 2006, ISBN: 9781425932626
• Shreve, Bradley G., Red Power Rising: The National Indian Youth Council and the Origins of Native Activism (foreword), University of Oklahoma Press, 2012, ISBN: 9780806184999