Mary Riddle

Mary Riddle, also known as Kingfisher, was the early Native American woman pilot. She was born in 1912 in Portland and was a member of the Clatsop and Quinault Indian Nation in her home state of Washington.

   She decided to prove that women could be as good as male pilots. She received her pilots license with very few lessons. 

  In 1930 Mary flew to Washington D.C. to present President Hoover with tribal gifts from her tribe in the Northwest. On May 19, 1930, Mary soloed and then she appeared in the Portland Rose Festival. She was dressed in her tribal costume and rode a horse up to her plane. She was asked to help form an all-women’s stunt team, but she decided to fly on her own. 

  She was a barnstormer and became well-known because she was American Indian, and she was a fabulous pilot. Mary wore traditional clothing and attracted huge crowds to her performances.

  1937 was a special year for Mary when she earned her commercial pilots license.   

  This was a tremendous achievement for a woman Native-American. 1937 was a year that discrimination was very prevalent in the United States. She was able to overcome the negative language that was said about her. Mary proved that a women could excel at anything she attempted.

  Mary was a member of the Seattle chapter of the 99s.  She wanted to learn how to parachute and attended the Spartan School in Tulsa. The school president didn’t want her to take lessons because she was an Indian and a woman. She convinced them that she was serious and would be a superior student. She showed her intelligence when she graduated with honors.  

  In 1937 Mary’s parachute didn’t open correctly and it tangled around her legs, and she broke her back. After that accident she gave up her flying career. 

 Even though Mary wasn’t flying she couldn’t stay away from airplanes. During World War 11 she was aluminum sheet metal worker and helped maintain planes for the United States Air Force’s Civil Service. Her fellow workers found that she was pleasant and very knowledgeable. At first, they didn’t accept Mary, but they learned that she was a proficient pilot not just a women American Indian pilot.