"I'll Go and Do More" is the story of Annie Dodge Wauneka (1918-1997), one of the most well-known Navajos of all time, an indefatigable, passionate, and controversial woman whom the Navajo Nation called 'Our Legendary Mother'. A daughter of the popular Navajo leader Chee Dodge, Wauneka spent most of her early years herding sheep and raising nine children. After her father's death, she entered politics and was often the only woman on the Navajo Tribal Council during the quarter century that she served. Wauneka became a forceful and articulate advocate for Indian health care, education, and other issues, working both on the reservation and in the halls of Congress to improve the lives of the Navajos. She conducted a weekly radio show in Navajo and drove thousands of miles across back roads to visit hospitals and remote hogans; she buttonholed members of Congress to make sure they understood the issues surrounding Indian heath care; and, she worked to improve educational opportunities and reduce alcoholism on the reservation. Her efforts earned her not only the respect of Navajos but also national recognition as a vital force in the field of Indian health care.
Wauneka received the Medal of Freedom from President Lyndon Johnson and was awarded honorary doctorate degrees from the University of New Mexico, the University of Arizona, and the College of Ganado. Carolyn Niethammer draws upon interviews with family and friends, speeches, and correspondence to offer an arresting and readable portrait of this complex Navajo woman. Wauneka's professional and personal triumphs and challenges - her temper was legendary - are rendered vividly, enabling readers to better appreciate the enduring accomplishments of the Navajos' Legendary Mother. Carolyn Niethammer is the author of "American Indian Cooking: Recipes from the Southwest" (Nebraska 1999) and "Daughters of the Earth: The Lives and Legends of American Indian Women".