Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin

Your Story:

My dad was a lawyer who advocated for our Ojibwe nation and I suppose you could say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. In 1912 I enrolled in the Washington College of Law and was the first Native American and the first women of color who earned their degree. Then I moved to D.C. with my dad to defend our Nation’s, Turtle Mountain Ojibwe, territorial rights against the government. Then Theodore Roosevelt had me be a clerk for the Office of Indian Affairs, I became one of the two Native Americans employed in the Washington Office at the time. While there I joined the advocacy organization Society of American Indians and did some advocacy work. Everyone there was a little too drama though, so I left in 1919. I attended the Women’s March for Suffrage in 1913. People who would interview me often didn’t know much about my culture so I ended up having to teach them, I didn’t mind though. I continued to work at the Office of Indian Affairs until I retired in 1932.

Your Perfect Match Would Be With Someone Who:

Cares about the suffrage movement, and respects Native Americans.

Your Dealbreaker Would Be:

Anti-feminist, underestimates me.