Nelson, Margaret F., 1922-2018

Margaret Faye Dawson Nelson was an American Cherokee Nation academic, community organizer, and politician. Born and raised in Claremore, Oklahoma, she studied at Northwestern Oklahoma State University and Oklahoma State University (OSU). She worked as a professor at OSU, collaborated on Ohoyo Ikhana: A Bibliography of American Indian-Alaska Native Curriculum Materials (1982), and was a book reviewer for the American Indian Quarterly. She was a member of the National Advisory Council on Indian Education and the Cherokee Nation Election Commission, as well as the president of the North American Indian Women's Association's Oklahoma branch. Upon her retirement in 1990, Dr. Nelson moved to Tahlequah. She was active in many organizations, served on a number of boards and committees, and received accolades and awards and listings in national honor publications. Dr. Nelson was a member of the Tahlequah United Methodist Church.