Charles Curtis’s Kaw Ancestry

Charles Curtis, the 31st vice president of the United States, carried both Native American and European ancestry and was an enrolled citizen of the Kaw Nation. Born in Kansas Territory in 1860, he grew up so closely tied to his mother’s people that his first words were in French and Kansa, and he learned English only afterward. That background made him the first Native American to serve in Congress and the first Native American vice president in U.S. history.

Previous Fact Next Fact