Linda Aranaydo

Dr. Linda Susan Aranaydo (Muscogee Creek, born 1948) is a Native American physician. She was one of the original landing party that arrived on November 9, 1969, setting the stage for the Occupation of Alcatraz. When the students returned to the island on November 20, she taught in the school and worked with Luwana Quitiquit (Pomo) to run the kitchen for the occupants.
Recognizing the health issues related to her Muscogee Indian Tribe, as a single mother of two Aranaydo decided to get a B.A. in social sciences at University of California, Berkeley. She taught school for a decade before earning an M.D. at the University of California, San Francisco. After earning her M.D., she worked in a variety of careers, from being a provider at Native American clinics, providing technical assistance to Native American clinics, direct, individual teaching services to Indian clinics.
Dr. Aranaydo's work to help her Native American community avoid preventable diseases earned her the David Vanderryn Award for Outstanding Community Service as a Family Physician in 1995. She has served on several councils and boards, including the Governor's Task Force on Early Childhood Education in 1977, the California State American Indian Education Council from 1978 to 1980, and is the current Director of Medical Services for the California Rural Indian Health Board.