House of Representatives: Lynda Morgan Lovejoy (Navajo). First Native American participant in the Paralympics: Cheri Madsen (Omaha). 1997 First Native American women elected to the Arizona House of Representatives: Sally Ann Gonzales (Yaqui) and Debora Norris (Navajo). First Native American to be awarded the Award for Excellence from the American Public Health Association: Linda Burhansstipanov (Cherokee). First Native American Roman Catholic archbishop: Charles J. Chaput (Prairie Band Potawatomi) 1998 First national awards for Native American music: Native American Music Awards (NAMA). First literary and artistic journal for Native Hawaiians: 'Ōiwi: A Native Hawaiian Journal founded by D. Mahealani Dudoit (Native Hawaiian). 1999 First Navajo to earn a doctorate in history: Jennifer Denetdale (Navajo). 21st century 2000s 2000 First Native American president of the American Public Health Association: Michael E. Bird (Kewa Pueblo/Ohkay Owingeh). First Native American woman to graduate from Yale University School of Medicine: Patricia Nez Henderson (Navajo). 2001 First Native Hawaiian drafted by Major League Soccer: Brian Ching (Native Hawaiian). First Native American to compete in the Indy 500: Cory Witherill (Navajo). 2002 First Native American in space: John Herrington (Chickasaw Nation). First Native American woman to compete in the Winter Olympics: Naomi Lang (Karuk). 2003 First tribe to own a professional sports team: The Mohegan Tribe purchases the Connecticut Sun. First Native American woman killed in combat fighting for the United States in war in Asia: Lori Piestewa (Hopi). 2004 First woman to serve as president of the tribal council for the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation: Cecelia Fire Thunder (Oglala Lakota). First woman tribal chair of the White Earth Ojibwe: Erma Vizenor (Ojibwe). First Native American museum established on the Nationa Mall: National Museum of the American Indian. 2005 First tribe to purchase a professional men's basketball team: The Yakima Nation buys the Yakima SunKings. 2006 First woman to serve as chief of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma: Glenna Wallace (Shawnee). First awards announced in the American Indian Youth Literature Awards. 2007 First Native American president of the American Library Association: Loriene Roy (White Earth Ojibwe). 2008 First Native American woman elected to a statewide executive office: Denise Juneau (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation). First Native American to win the Heisman Trophy: Sam Bradford (Cherokee Nation). 2010s 2010 First woman to become a chief of the Delaware Tribe of Indians: Paula Pechonick (Delaware). First Native American nominated for the United States Poet Laureate: Linda Hogan (Chickasaw).