Jean Chaudhuri
A smiling young Native American woman, dark hair in a white headband
Jean Chaudhuri, from a 1971 newspaper
Born
Ella Jean Hill

May 29, 1937
Okemah, Oklahoma
DiedFebruary 17, 1997
Tempe, Arizona
Occupation(s)Community leader, writer, activist

Ella Jean Hill Chaudhuri (May 29, 1937 – February 17, 1997) was an American community leader, activist, and author. She was a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, executive director of the Tucson Indian Center, and director of the Traditional Indian Alliance. She was inducted into the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame posthumously, in 2013.

Early life

Ella Jean Hill was born in Okemah, Oklahoma, the daughter of Wilbur Hill and Mary Anna Hill.[1] She was a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation,[2] and spoke Creek as her first language.[3][4] She graduated from Central High School in Tulsa in 1955, and attended Oklahoma City University, where she met her husband.[3]

Career

Chaudhuri was involved in a variety of programs for and by Native Americans in Oklahoma,[5] Florida,[6][7] and Arizona. In 1972, she ran unsuccessfully for city commissioner in Tallahassee.[2][8][9] She was executive director of the Tucson Indian Center,[3] and director of the Traditional Indian Alliance of Greater Tucson.[10] Under her leadership, the Alliance founded a health clinic in Tucson,[11] and dance classes organized by her sister, Richinda Sands.[12] In 1979, she came under FBI scrutiny when some Alliance members charged that she had mishandled funds.[13][14]

In Phoenix, she was president of the Arizona chapter of Indian Women in Progress (IWP).[15] She was founder and co-chair of the Native American Heritage Preservation Coalition,[16] and was active with the Phoenix Indian School Preservation Coalition Project.[4] Chaudhuri wrote and produced a musical comedy, Indians Discover Christopher Columbus, in 1992. She also wrote and performed a one-woman play titled Four Seasons of an Indian Woman's Life. She and her husband wrote A Sacred Path: the Way of the Muscogee Creeks (2001), which he completed and published after her death.[17][18]

Chaudhuri received the Jefferson Award from the American Institute of Public Service in 1977.[19][20] Among several posthumous honors,[21] she was inducted into the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame in 2013.[4]

Personal life

In 1957,[22] Ella Jean Hill married Joyotpaul Chaudhuri (1933–2020), a political science professor born in India.[23] They had two sons, Joydev and Jonodev. She died from complications of diabetes in 1997, aged 59 years, in Tempe, Arizona.[24][25] Her son Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri was named chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission in 2014,[26] and in 2019 he became ambassador for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Washington, D.C.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Indian Heritage is Topic". Tallahassee Democrat. 1972-04-16. p. 51. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 Datt, Carol Ann (1972-02-06). "Mom's an Activist". Tallahassee Democrat. p. 41. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 Winters, John A. (1972-09-22). "Freedom Fires Indian Activist". Tucson Daily Citizen. p. 91. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 "Jean Chaudhuri". AWHF. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  5. ↑ "Indian Tribes Meet Tonight". Tallahassee Democrat. 1970-07-08. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Indian Meet is Set". Tallahassee Democrat. 1971-10-29. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Indian is Topic". Tallahassee Democrat. 1971-03-14. p. 49. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Datt, Carol Ann (1972-02-06). "Activist Mom (continued)". Tallahassee Democrat. p. 46. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  9. ↑ "Jean Chaudhuri". Tallahassee Democrat. 1972-02-13. p. 24. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Harris, Pat (1975-08-22). "Fashion History Traced by Indians". Tucson Citizen. p. 21. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Sortore, Nancy (1975-06-08). "New Directions for Urban Indians". Arizona Daily Star. p. 65. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ English, Sandal (1974-02-25). "Indians Dance to Preserve Tribes' Cultural Heritage". Arizona Daily Star. p. 9. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Vigil, Maria I. (1979-02-14). "Dissidents in Indian Alliance Put Issues Before Sandwiches". Tucson Citizen. p. 38. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Vigil, Maria I. (1979-02-14). "Indian Dissidents Stop in For Lunch (continued)". Tucson Citizen. p. 40. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Big Park Sought at Indian School". Arizona Republic. 1991-06-26. p. 11. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Chaudhuri, Jean; Chee, Ben (1994-02-08). "Heritage Park is Success Thanks to Native Americans". Arizona Republic. p. 17. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ Chaudhuri, Jean (2001). A sacred path : the way of the Muscogee Creeks. Joyotpaul Chaudhuri, Los Angeles. American Indian Studies Center University of California. Los Angeles, Calif.: UCLA American Indian Studies Center. ISBN 0-935626-54-9. OCLC 45763939.
  18. ↑ Collins, Reba Neighbors (2001-04-29). "Text gives scathing look at Indians' treatment". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  19. ↑ "Indian Worker Receives National Award". Arizona Daily Star. 1977-05-23. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "People Helping Other People". Arizona Daily Star. 1978-01-25. p. 22. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "8 Receive Valley Civil Rights Honors". Arizona Republic. 2003-01-18. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Marriage Licenses". The Daily Oklahoman. 1957-12-03. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ Joy Chaudhuri (obituary), Tempe Mortuary.
  24. ↑ "Obituary for Jean Chaudhuri (Aged 59)". Arizona Republic. 1997-02-21. p. 100. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ Amparano, Julie (1997-02-20). "Indian Activist's Death Leaves Work Unfinished". Arizona Republic. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-08-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ↑ U. S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Nomination of Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri to be Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission (November 12, 2014).
  27. ↑ "Chaudhuri named Muscogee (Creek) Nation Ambassador". Indian Country Today. May 8, 2019. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
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