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10 april i, 2001 Smoke Signals
laCowrse, ' .influential journalist; dies at 62
A Yakama and Umatilla, he was considered by many to be the dean of Native Americans in news media.
By Kara Briggs
(AP) Richard LaCourse, a
Yakama and Umatilla journalist who
led generations of Native Americans
into the news media and founded
several Tribal newspapers, died Fri
day, March 9 in Seattle at 62.
LaCourse was associate editor of
the Yakama Nation Review, an
award-winning Tribal newspaper.
He died from a massive stroke.
During his 33 years in journalism,
LaCourse worked to provide Native
Americans with news while challeng
ing Tribal papers to always pursue
the truth for their readers.
He founded at least three Tribal
newspapers, including one each on
the Yakama and Umatilla Reserva
tions. He was a founder of the
American Indian Press Association in
Washington, D.C., for which in 1972
he became the first Native American
journalist to report on Congress from
a Tribal perspective.
He began his career as a copy edi
tor at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
from 1968 to 1971. At the time, he
was one of a handful of Native Ameri
cans working in the news media. To
day, more than 1,000 Native Ameri
cans in the United States and Canada
work in the Tribal and mainstream
media, and most regard him as the
dean of Native American journalists.
"He really captured a sense of the
Indian intellectual developing a phi
losophy that wasn't necessarily based
on European values," said Mark
Trahant, president of the Maynard
Institute for Journalism Education in
Oakland, Calif. "He captured that
Indian intellectual not only in jour
nalism, but also in writings about his
tory and about the community."
LaCourse was born Sept. 23, 1938,
in Nespelem, Washington. He
graduated from San Luis Rey Col
lege in California with a philosophy
degree in 1961 and later studied
American literature at the Univer
sity of Washington.
At the Yakama Nation Review,
where he had worked since 1989, he
was known as both a kind and cur
mudgeonly editor, his demand for
truth as ever-present at his Pall Mall
cigarette. The newspaper's subtitle,
"Red Cover to Cover," was his idea.
He said the newspaper was a suc
cess if it kept the Tribe's grandmoth
ers informed about world events and
about Tribal families.
"Richard LaCourse served the
Yakama Nation with respect and dig
nity," said Randy Settler, a Yakama
Tribal Council member. "He will be
surely missed by all members of his
family, those who worked with him
and everyone in his Tribe."
As a journalist and historian,
LaCourse covered the American In
dian Movement since its inception.
He left a book-length manuscript
about the movement, called "The
Walking On -
Inspirational and influential
Native journalist Richard
LaCourse passed away in
early March and left behind a
hole in Indian Country that
may never be filled.
LaCourse, a member of the
Yakama Nation and the
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation,
was a mentor and example
for many of today's top
Indian journalists. A funeral
for LaCourse was held on the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
on Wednesday, March 14.
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Buckskin Dossier," and published
articles about it on the Internet.
"Richard was very humble," said
Suzan Shown Harjo, president of the
Morning Star Foundation, a Native
American lobbying group. She
worked with LaCourse in Washing
ton, D.C. "There may be many
people who don't realize it, but he
was a genius and he made history,"
Survivors include his daughter
Shirley J. of Albuquerque, N.M.;
three sisters; and two brothers.
A rosary was held in Pendleton and
the funeral mass was held at St.
Andrews Catholic Church on the
Umatilla Indian Reservation.
Editor's Note: I am greatly sad
dened by the loss of someone I con
sidered a mentor, role model and
friend. I remember my first Native
American Press (now Journalists)
Association Conference I walked
around in awe of all the superstars.
And, then one of those superstars
spoke to me and made me feel wel
come. He assured me of my place
and my role in Indian Country. Ri
chard had a way of making you feel
good. He was a true gentleman.
Thank you Richard, for your kind
ness we at Smoke Signals will
never forget you.
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City of Salem will Rename Squaw Avenue,
awaits Planning Commission Approval
SALEM, OR. (AP) At the
request of Mayor Mike Swaim,
the city council has started the
process of renaming Squaw
Avenue.
A motion, passed unani
mously by the council recently,
directed city staff to find "a
name that is acceptable in our
community" with the help of
residents who live on the street.
Earlier this year, the Legis
lature considered changing all place names in Oregon that contain the word
"squaw," which many people find an objectionable term for American Indian
women.
"What a neat opportunity for people who live on that street to rename the
street," Swaim said. "It's appropriate we get ahead of the curve on this."
The process could take two or three months, said Bill Healy, Director of
Salem's Community Development Department. He said another resolution
must be made by the city council. The matter then will go to the Salem
Planning Commission before it is sent back to the council.
Nebraska's Squaw Creek now Big Elk Creek
BELLEVUE, NE. (AP) The Bellevue, Nebraska City Council reversed
an earlier decision and voted to rename Squaw Creek.
A month ago the council decided the name was not offensive.
But Larry Cascio, the council's president, said in the intervening month
that American Indians explained to him the word's negative connotations.
The creek that runs through northwest Bellevue has been renamed Big
Elk Creek in honor of the last full-blooded leader of the Omaha Tribe.
Governor Mike Johanns has asked counties to rename 14 sites around the
state that use the name squaw.
Some counties have complied, but McPherson County last month rejected
a move to change the name of Squaw Creek, a stream so small it does not
appear on most maps.
Nickname at North Dakota School Divides Campus
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) The University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux
nickname is dividing the campus in a dispute involving administrators, students,
American Indians and a major contributor for an $85 million hockey arena.
Opponents say the nickname demeans American Indians, and they contend it
undermines the university's efforts to offer educational programs for those stu
dents. "I feel a great deal of pain that a university I love so much could be so hypocriti
cal," said Mary Lou Fuller, an education professor who marched in a recent protest
against the nickname.
Supporters say the name is used respectfully and is a source of pride for alumni,
athletes and fans. The school's hockey team won the Division I championship last
year, and its women's basketball team won three consecutive Division II titles,
from 1997-99.
"The University of North Dakota has been the Sioux and the Fighting Sioux for
70 years," said Earl Strinden, the retired head of the school's alumni association.
"This is strongly supported by the citizens of North Dakota."
North Dakota is the latest among at least 20 colleges or universities to face
opposition to Indian team names or mascots since the 1970s.
Oklahoma dropped a character named Little Red and Stanford abandoned the
Indians name. Marquette replaced Warriors in favor of the Golden Eagles, and
Miami of Ohio's fans now cheer for the Red Hawks, not the Redskins. Florida
State's nickname of the Seminoles has the support of the Tribe for which the team
is named.
Tribal leaders of North Dakota's Sioux a name used to refer to Lakota, Nakota
and Dakota Tribes have asked the school to drop the name.
Ralph Engelstad, a casino owner and alumnus, has already put $35 million into
the arena that is named after him.
University President Charles Kupchella was preparing to decide the issue when
Engelstad wrote him in December, saying he was prepared to withhold financial
support of the arena. Members of the state Board of Higher Education were sent
copies, and the board voted to keep the nickname the next day.
Members wanted to end the controversy before the state Legislature convened.
But the sudden action and Engelstad's letter have kept the dispute alive.
Engelstad owns the Imperial Palace casinos in Las Vegas and Biloxi, Missis
sippi, and was a North Dakota goalie in the 1950s. He did not respond to a request
for an interview.
When the board voted to keep the nickname, it also adopted a new logo that was
favored by Engelstad and many alumni. An American Indian artist painted the
logo, depicting an Indian with feathers and war paint.
American Indian students make up more than 3 percent of the school's 11,000
students, the largest minority group on campus.