Akers, Dolly Smith Cusker, 1901-1986

Dolly Smith Cusker Akers, also known as Day Eagle Woman, was born on March 23, 1901, in Wolf Point, Montana, the daughter of William Henry and Nellie Trexler Smith. She attended school in Wolf Point and in Riverside, California. In September of 1917, at the age of 16, Dolly married George M. Cusker in Plentywood. They lived and worked on a ranch north of Poplar. Cusker died in 1941 and Dolly later married John Akers, who died in 1959. Prior to her marriage to Cusker, Dolly was a welfare worker and state coordinator of Indian reservations in Montana.

Akers entered politics with her election to the Assiniboine - Sioux tribal council at Fort Peck, as the first woman elected to the council. Akers remained active in tribal politics for 40 years and was elected 57 times as a tribal delegate to Washington D. C.

In addition to tribal politics, Akers was also active in state politics. She was elected to the state Legislature in 1932 and served in the 1933 Legislative Assembly, where she was the first Indian woman to be elected. Although she was elected as a Democrat, she eventually joined and was active in the Republican party. While in the Legislature, Akers served on the Federal Relations Committee, of which she was chairman, and was a special representative of the Governor to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Later, she was appointed the Governor's delegate to the 1960 White House Conference on Children and Youth

Akers was also a member of the Montana State Advisory Committee of the Farmers Home Administration; the National Council of American Indians, where she served as vice-president; and the state Inter-Tribal Policy Board, where she served as secretary.

Dolly Akers died in June 5, 1986, in Helena, Montana. She had one daughter, Alvina Welliver, of Helena.

From the guide to the Dolly Smith Cusker Akers papers, 1927-1985, (Montana Historical Society Research Center)