Sarah Winnemucca

Sarah Winnemucca (1844–1891) was a member of the Paiute tribe born in what would later become the state of Nevada. She was the daughter of Chief Winnemucca and granddaughter of Chief Truckee. Her Paiute name was Thocmetony (or Tocmetoni), which means "shellflower."

• Having a great facility with languages, she served as an interpreter and negotiator between her people and the U.S. Army.
• In 1878 when the Bannock Indians revolted and were being pursued by the U.S. Army, Sarah volunteered for a dangerous mission. Locating her father's band being forcibly held by the Bannocks, she secretly led them away to army protection in a three-day ride over 230 miles of rugged terrain with little food or rest.
• As a spokesperson for her people, she gave over 300 speeches to win support for them, and she met with President Rutherford B. Hayes and Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz in 1880.
• Her 1883 autobiography, Life among the Piutes: Their Wrongs and Claims, was the first book written by a Native American woman.
• She started a school for Native Americans, where she taught children both in their native language and in English.
• Sarah Winnemucca died in 1891.