Patricia Locke, who died in 2001 at age 73, was a ground-breaking worker for the education of American Indians and one of 10 women inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2005.

Locke was a Baha'i, and the first American Indian woman to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly, the administrative governing body for Baha'is of the United States. She was of Lakota and Chippewa heritage and played a leading role in the founding of 17 tribally run colleges in the United States. She also was an influential advocate for the passage of federal laws increasing Indian tribes' autonomy over their children's education.

Born Patricia Ann McGillis on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in Idaho, Locke won a MacArthur Foundation fellowship for her lifelong work to preserve indigenous North American languages. She taught and lectured for more than 40 years and worked to protect sacred Indian sites.

Locke's Indian name was Tawacin Waste Win, which her daughter said means "she has good consciousness-compassionate woman."

See Patricia Locke’s profile in the National Women’s Hall of Fame