Ola Mildred Rexroat

Ola Mildred Rexroat (August 28, 1917 – June 28, 2017) was the only Native American woman to serve in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Rexroat was born in Argonia, Kansas, to a white father and an Oglala mother. The family moved to South Dakota when she was young, and she spent at least part of her youth on the Pine Ridge Reservation. She attended public school in Wynona, Oklahoma, for a time, and graduated from the St. Mary's Episcopal Indian School in Springfield, South Dakota, in 1932. Rexroat initially enrolled in a teachers college in Chadron, Nebraska, but left before completing her degree to work for what is now the Bureau of Indian Affairs for a year. She earned a bachelor's degree in art from the University of New Mexico in 1939. After college, she again worked for the Bur

Ola Mildred Rexroat

Ola Mildred Rexroat (August 28, 1917 – June 28, 2017) was the only Native American woman to serve in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Rexroat was born in Argonia, Kansas, to a white father and an Oglala mother. The family moved to South Dakota when she was young, and she spent at least part of her youth on the Pine Ridge Reservation. She attended public school in Wynona, Oklahoma, for a time, and graduated from the St. Mary's Episcopal Indian School in Springfield, South Dakota, in 1932. Rexroat initially enrolled in a teachers college in Chadron, Nebraska, but left before completing her degree to work for what is now the Bureau of Indian Affairs for a year. She earned a bachelor's degree in art from the University of New Mexico in 1939. After college, she again worked for the Bur