Mildred Cleghorn | |
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Eh-Ohn, Lay-a-Bet | |
Chiricahua Apache leader | |
Personal details | |
Born | Mildred Imoch Cleghorn December 11, 1910 |
Died | April 15, 1997 | (aged 86)
Resting place | Fort Sill Post Cemetery, Lawton, Oklahoma[1] |
Spouse | William G. Cleghorn |
Children | Penny Cleghorn |
Education | Haskell Institute; degree in home economics, Oklahoma State University, 1941 |
Known for | First chairperson of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe; educator and traditional doll maker |
Mildred Imoch Cleghorn (December 11, 1910 – April 15, 1997) was first chairperson of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe.[2] Her Apache names were Eh-Ohn and Lay-a-Bet, and she was one of the last Chiricahua Apaches born under "prisoner of war" status. She was an educator and traditional doll maker, and was regarded as a cultural leader.[3] She worked as a home extension agent and as a home economics teacher. She served as tribal chairperson from 1976 until 1995 and focused on sustaining history and traditional Chiricahua culture.[3]
Mildred Cleghorn and her dolls were participants at the 1967 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.[4]
On June 10, 1996, Indian plaintiffs including Elouise P. Cobell, Mildred Cleghorn, Thomas Maulson and James Louis Larose, filed a class action lawsuit against the federal government for its failure to properly manage Indian trust assets on behalf of all present and past individual Indian trust beneficiaries.[5]
Mildred Cleghorn did not live to see the results of the lawsuit, which became known as Cobell v. Salazar. It was settled for $3.4 billion in 2009, in the Indians' favor, a week after what would have been Mildred Cleghorn's 99th birthday.[6]
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