Annie Dodge Wauneka, born April 11, 1910 in Arizona Territory, is the first Native American to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was a member of the Navajo Nation. She survived the 1918 Spanish influenza epidemic and helped care for other flu victims. This experience helped inspire her interest in public health.
She traveled the Navajo Nation with her father Henry Chee Dodge and noticed the lack of medical treatment and poverty. She translated medical terms into Navajo. She hosted a radio show explaining health issues and better care for the Navajo community. Her work improved care for expectant mothers, babies, alcoholism, sanitation, and housing.
She went on to serve on the advisory boards of the US Surgeon General and the US Public Health Service.
President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963.
She passed away in Arizona in November 1997.
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