[1] Owanah Patricia Anderson was born on February 18, 1926, in Boswell, Oklahoma, to parents Samantha (Jones) and John Boyt Pickens.
[1] She had a brother, Lon Michael Pickens, and attended high school in Boswell, Oklahoma, where she was elected as valedictorian of her graduating class.
[2] In 1980, Anderson was the only Native American representative for the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe that was held that year in Madrid, Spain.
[2] In recognition of Anderson's strong leadership and 15-year commitment to the Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA), the non-profit organization decided to name an annual merit-based scholarship after her.
The scholarship, first awarded for the 2014-2015 academic year,[8] provides funding to indigenous women who are enrolled tribal citizens of the continental United States or Alaska for pursuing an Associate's degree or higher as full time students.
The couple divorced, and later she met Henry Anderson, an attorney in Wichita Falls, Texas, whose children she helped raise.