Czarina Colbert Conlan: Historian, Advocate and Trailblazer Czarina Colbert Conlan (1871-1958) was a Chickasaw and Choctaw pioneer for women’s rights and cultural preservation in Oklahoma. She organized the first women’s club in Indian Territory in 1896 and became the first woman elected to an Oklahoma school board in 1908 – 10 years before women gained the right to vote nationally. As curator of the Oklahoma Historical Society’s American Indian history department for 24 years, she preserved cultural artifacts and tribal histories across the state. She also played a key role in collecting items for the 1913 Century Chest, including letters and documents from First Americans. In 1928, Conlan was one of two women elected as part of a joint Chickasaw-Choctaw delegation to Washington, D.C., to advocate for tribal rights. She served as an officer for the Society of Oklahoma Indians from 1926 to 1936. In recognition of her leadership and impact, she was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall o...