Della C. Warrior
Della Warrior, M.A. (Otoe-Missouria) is President and CEO of Multi-Indigenous Community Action Group (MICA). MICA draws on a deep pool of world-class experts, both Indigenous and others, to bring new frameworks and resources to Indian Country, including partnerships, funding opportunities, ideas, and hands-on technical assistance. The organization - which Warrior cofounded with Wilma Mankiller in 2006, has secured $64 million for Native projects and programs and is rooted in the resilience of Indigenous peoples and respect for their wisdom to know best how to nurture their communities.
Previously, Warrier was the first female chairperson of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe from 1989-1992. She then began work at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe in 1993 and was the President of IAIA from 1998 to 2006. During this period, the Institute received a 10-year national accreditation for its two-year and first four-year academic degree programs making IAIA one of the very first Tribal Colleges to attain such distinction. In 2013, Warrior was named as the new director of the New Mexico Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico. During her eight years of leadership, the museum saw an update of exhibits and a regular rotation of new exhibits were added leading to an increase in attendance.
In 2018, Warrior was the recipient of the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums (ATALM) Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of her work which has significantly contributed to the preservation and understanding of Indigenous cultural heritage.
She has served on boards of the Smithsonian鈥檚 National Museum of American Indians, the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities, Wings of America, the American Indian College Fund, the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium, and the Cultural Resource Fund. Warrior is a graduate of Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and the Graduate School of Education from Harvard University.