National Native American Hall of Fame names first 12 historic inductees
Honorees include
Native Astronaut John
Herrington, LaDonna
Harris, Olympian Billy
Mills, Eloise Cobell and
Lori Piestewa
by Debra Krol, Indian Country Today,
first published Oct. 22, 2018
In an evening filled with emotion,
laughter and occasionally tears, 12 Native
people known for their distinction in ath-
letics, activism, education, art and even
reaching the stars were honored during the
inaugural National Native American Hall
of Fame induction ceremony on Oct. 13 at
the Phoenix Indian School Memorial Hall.
Four of the five living recipients were
on hand to accept their awards, while
Jill Momaday accepted on behalf of her
father, daughter of author and poet N.
Scott Momaday, who at age 84, uses a
wheelchair and finds travel difficult.
“My dad extends his best wishes
and deep gratitude,” Momaday said. “His
papers and writings center on what it
means to be Indian in America.”
Attendees heard comments of inspi-
ration, hope and more from such history
changers as forward-thinking educator
Lionel Bordeaux, longtime Native rights
activist LaDonna Harris, Native astronaut
John Herrington and gold-medal winning
Olympian Billy Mills.
Not even a rainstorm during the day
could stop the ceremony, as James Parker
Shield, Little Shell Chippewa, the Hall
of Fame’s CEO and founder said, “I
wanted to ensure that the United States
doesn’t forget the contributions of these
Native Americans.”
The evening’s ceremony was the cul-
mination of that effort, as well as a call
to action to continue to grow the Hall of
Fame. The evening was also enhanced by a
special performance by Martha Redbone,
Cherokee/Choctaw, who sang about the
Indian boarding school era, accompanied
only by her hand drum.
A brief video about each inductee
preceded the award presentation.
People in the audience cheered, or
wept, as each speaker or representative
accepting the induction award on behalf
of that person gave comments about the
singular honor. Every thank you, every
comment was eloquent and heartfelt.
Turk Cobell, son of Eloise Cobell,
accepted the award on behalf of his
mother, the woman who was the key per-
son responsible for the largest monetary
federal court settlement in history for
Native people. “Being as humble as she
was, she didn’t spend years of her life and
her resources for recognition. It was the
right thing to do.”
The first Native American to hold the
rank of prima ballerina, Maria Tallchief
was honored by her daughter, poet Elise
Paschen, who read a special poem com-
posed about her mother.
Dan Deloria, son of Vine Deloria Jr.,
known as one of Indian Country’s best
literary minds, said that “the work Deloria
was doing was what was important; he
looked to elders for guidance.”
Emily Haozous, the granddaughter of
Allan Houser, one of the most renowned
Native American painters and sculptors of
the 20 th century, said of him, “He built a
real narrative of Native people as beauti-
ful, graceful and peaceful.”
Sac and Fox Tribal Council Treasurer
Robert Williamson, who accepted on
behalf of Jim Thorpe, named by many
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as the greatest athlete of the 20 th century,
spoke of his prowess and grace whether
Thorpe was competing in football, track,
baseball or other sports.
Gina Olaya, daughter of Wilma
Mankiller, called her mother “a leader
who would go to Washington, D.C., and
fight for Native American rights and then
come home, put on an apron and cook for
people at ceremonies. Mom dug ditches
along with everybody else.”
LaDonna Harris accepted her honor
surrounded by a group of graduates of her
Americans for Indian Opportunity ambas-
sador program, including MC Harlan
McKosato, Sac and Fox. Harris beamed
as she accepted the award.
“My ancestors should also be honored
here,” said Hall of Fame inductee Sinte
Gliska College President Lionel Bor-
deaux. “Our ancestors left us a challenge,
be who we are instead of what others want
us to be.”
Tears f lowed as John Herrington
delivered a heartfelt speech honoring his
wife Margo, who died in April after a
two-year battle with cancer. Herrington
also honored the people he called “my
heroes – LaDonna Harris, Billy Mills.”
And he recounted a time when fellow
astronaut Tom Stafford invited Herrington
to be part of the Apollo 10 mission anni-
versary. “There was an empty chair on the
stage,” Herrington said. “Tom said to go
sit in that chair. But, I said, I don’t belong
there! ‘You belong there with those Apollo
people,” Tom told me.”
Tears were also flowing as former
Native American Journalists Association
President Patty Talahongva, Hopi, pre-
sented Percy Piestewa with her daughter
Lori’s induction award.
“I’m proud you have chosen to honor
her,” said Piestewa of Lori Piestewa, the
first Native American woman to die in
combat. “We tend to forget that our ser-
vice members are putting their lives on
the line for us.”
Finally, Billy Mills took the stage. “In
a few hours it’ll be the anniversary of my
Olympic gold medal win,” said Mills. In
advice to the audience, he said, “Take our
culture, traditions, spirituality and extract
those virtues and values. Put them into
your daily life.”
Mills said that he used his tribal val-
ues to support him through life, education,
the Olympics and his 57-year marriage.
“Never more has America needed people
of color and American Indians.”
James Shield closed out the evening
with an invitation for the 2018 inductees
to begin planning for the next induction
ceremony – and to help with the National
Native American Hall of Fame’s ultimate
goal: to build a permanent home for the
institution, including a museum with
information and artifacts to educate the
public about these history-changing
Native people.
2018 Inductees to the National Native
American Hall of Fame are:
Lionel Bordeaux, Sicangu Lakota
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(1940 -) Bordeaux is a distinguished
educator and one of the longest-serving
college presidents in the United States;
he’s the president of Sinte Gleska College
in South Dakota.
Eloise Cobell/Yellow Bird Woman,
Blackfeet (1945-2011) Cobell was the
lead plaintiff in the groundbreaking class
action lawsuit Cobell v. Salazar, that
exposed the U.S.’s mismanagement of trust
funds belonging to more than 500,000
Native Americans.
Vine Deloria, Jr., Standing Rock
Sioux (1935-2005) Author, theologian,
lawyer, historian and activist, Vine Delo-
ria, Jr. is widely known for his book,
Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian
Manifesto (1969), which helped generate
national attention to Native American
issues in the same year as the Alcatraz-
Red Power Movement.
LaDonna Harris, Comanche Nation
(1931-) Harris, a longtime Native activist,
has influenced the agendas of civil rights,
feminist, environment and world peace
movement, and is the founder of president
of Americans for Indian Opportunity.
John Herrington, Chickasaw
(1958 -) The first enrolled citizen of a
Native nation to fly in space, Herrington
advocates for getting Native students
involved in the sciences, and for promoting
what Indigenous knowledge can contrib-
ute to modern science and engineering.
Allan Houser, Chiricahua Apache
(1914-1994) Houser is one of the most
renowned Native American painters and
sculptors of the 20 th century.
Wilma Mankiller, Cherokee Nation
(1945-2010) Mankiller was a community
organizer and the first woman elected to
serve as principal chief of the Cherokee
Nation of Oklahoma.
Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota (1938-)
Mills was an Olympic Gold Medalist in
10,000-meter run at the 1964 Olympics,
at the time was the only person from the
Western Hemisphere to win the Olympic
gold in this event. He now supports Native
youth with his Running Strong for Ameri-
can Indian Youth.
N. Scott Momaday, Kiowa (1934-)
Momaday is a novelist, short story writer,
essayist and poet. His novel, House Made
of Dawn (1969) was awarded a Pulitzer
Prize for Fiction.
Lori Piestewa, Hopi (1979-2003)
United States Army soldier Lori Piestewa
as the first Native American woman in his-
tory to die in combat while serving in the
U.S. military and the first woman killed in
the Iraq War. Piestewa Peak in Arizona is
named in her honor.
Maria Tallchief, Osage (1925-2013)
Tallchief was an American ballerina and
was considered America’s first prima bal-
lerina, the first Native American to hold
that rank. She became the first star of
the New York City Ballet, co-founded in
1946 by legendary choreographer George
Balanchine.
Jim Thorpe, Sac and Fox (1887–
1953) The first Native American to win
Olympic gold medals for the United
States, Thorpe is considered one of
the most versatile athletes of modern
sports. He won Olympic gold medals in
the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, and
played American football (collegiate and
professional), professional baseball and
basketball.
For more information, visit the
National Native American Hall of Fame
website at nativehalloffame.org.
November 2018
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Siletz News
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