Native Spirit Warriors, 1942 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80302 (2024)

18/06/2024

A young Ute woman. Photo from 1880-1900

18/06/2024

Samuel Pack Elliott (born August 9, 1944) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and a National Board of Review Award.
𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐞 : www.giftnativestore.com/tee102
He has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Emmy Awards. Elliott was cast in the musical drama A Star Is Born (2018), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the corresponding prizes at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards. He also won a National Board of Review Award. Elliott starred as Shea Brennan in the American drama miniseries 1883 (2021–2022), for which he won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.
Elliott is known for his distinctive lanky physique, full mustache, and deep, sonorous voice. He began his acting career with minor appearances in The Way West (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), season five of Mission: Impossible, and guest-starred on television in the Western Gunsmoke (1972) before landing his first lead film role in Frogs (1972). His film breakthrough was in the drama Lifeguard (1976). Elliott co-starred in the box office hit Mask (1985) and went on to star in several Louis L'Amour adaptations such as The Quick and the Dead (1987) and Conagher (1991), the latter of which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film. He received his second Golden Globe and first Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Buffalo Girls (1995). His other film credits from the early 1990s include as John Buford in the historical drama Gettysburg (1993) and as Virgil Earp in the Western Tombstone (also 1993). In 1998, he played the Stranger in The Big Lebowski.
In the 2000s, Elliott appeared in supporting roles in the drama We Were Soldiers (2002) and the superhero films Hulk (2003) and Ghost Rider (2007). In 2015, he guest-starred on the series Justified, which earned him a Critics' Choice Television Award, and in 2016 began starring in the Netflix series The Ranch. Elliott subsequently had a lead role in the comedy-drama The Hero.
𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗧-𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁 ❤️
𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲:👉 www.giftnativestore.com/tee102

18/06/2024

Claude Iron-Cedar. Yankton Sioux. North Dakota. Photo by De Lancey W. Gill. 1912. Source - National Anthropological Archives.

17/06/2024

Stella Yellow Shirt, Dakota Sioux, with baby, by Heyn Photo, 1899

17/06/2024

❤️GRAHAM GREENE - Born June 22, 1952, on the Six Nations Reserve in Ohsweken, Ontario, Mr. Greene is a 68 year old FIRST NATIONS Canadian actor who belongs to the ONEIDA tribe. He has worked on stage, in film, and in TV productions in Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his 1990 performance in "Dances with Wolves". Other films you may have seen him in include Thunderheart, Maverick, Die Hard with a Vengeance, the Green Mile, and Wind River. Graham Greene graduated from the Centre for Indigenous Theatre in 1974 & immediately began performing in professional theatre in Toronto and England, while also working as an audio technician for area rock bands. His TV debut was in 1979 and his screen debut in 1983. His acting career has now spanned over 4 decades & he remains as busy as ever. In addition to the Academy Award nomination for Dance with Wolves, he has been consistently recognized for his work, and also received nominations in 1994, 2000, 2004, 2006, and 2016. Graham Greene lives in Toronto, Canada, married since 1994, and has 1 adult daughter.
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www.giftnativestore.com/tee102

16/06/2024

GERONIMO.......On this day, February 17th, 1909 Geronimo dies of pneumonia at age 80, while still a captive of war at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.~ This rare cabinet card Image shows the great Apache Resistance leader leaning against a tree. photographed by William E. Irwin, Chickasha, Indian Territory with inscription in period script on the cards reverse, "Jeronamo (sic), from the Apache tribe, now in captivity at Ft. Sill.”~ "We are vanishing from the earth, yet I cannot think we are useless or Usen would not have created us. He created all tribes of men and certainly had a righteous purpose in creating each. For each tribe of men Usen created He also made a home. In the land created for any particular tribe He placed whatever would be best for the welfare of that tribe. When Usen created the Apaches He also created their homes in the West. He gave to them such grain, fruits, and game as they needed to eat. To restore their health when disease attacked them He made many different herbs to grow. He taught them where to find these herbs, and how to prepare them for medicine. He gave them a pleasant climate and all they needed for clothing and shelter was at hand. Thus it was in the beginning: the Apaches and their homes each created for the other by Usen himself. When they are taken from these homes they sicken and die.How long will it be until it is said, there are no Apaches?" ~ Geronimo, 1906.Geronimo often spoke of his desire for his people's eventual return to their ancestral homelands in Arizona. Tragically, his life ended at Fort Sill, Oklahoma far away from the beloved lands he had been forcefully taken from and imprisoned by the United States Government for defending. ~ Bedonkohe Apache leader Geronimo [Goyaałé], Mescalero-Chiricahua.

16/06/2024

Why Isn’t This Map in the History Books?
By the age of 10, most children in the United States have been taught all 50 states that make up the country. But centuries ago, the land that is now the United States was a very different place. Over 20 million Native Americans dispersed across over 1,000 distinct tribes, bands, and ethnic groups populated the territory.
History is not there for you to like or dislike. It is there for you to learn from it. And if it offends you, even better. Because then you are less likely to repeat it. It’s not yours for you to erase or destroy.
❤️𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱
𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲:👉 https://www.giftnativestore.com/poster20

16/06/2024

❤️Well worth reading
Actor, film director, film producer and musician Keanu Charles Reeves (Keanu Charles Reeves),
❤️Get your t-shirt: https://www.giftnativestore.com/tee72
Missed the first 20 minutes of the party dedicated to the end of filming of his new movie at one of the clubs in New York.
He waited patiently in the rain to be let in.
No one recognized him.
The club owner said: “I didn't even know Keanu was standing in the rain waiting to get in - he didn't say anything to anyone.”
"He travels by public transport."
"He easily communicates with homeless people on the streets and helps them."
- He was only 60 years old (September 2, 1964)
- He can only eat hot dogs in the park, sitting among normal people.
- After filming one of the "Matrix", he gave all the stuntmen a new motorcycle - in recognition of their skills.
- He gave up most of the salaries of the costume designers and computer scientists who drew the special effects on "The Matrix" - deciding that their share of the film's budget was assessed short.
- He reduced his salary for the movie "The Devil's Advocate" to have enough money to invite Al Pacino.
- Almost at the same time his best friend passed away; His girlfriend lost a child and soon died in a car accident, and his sister suffered from leukemia.
Keanu didn't fail: he donated $5 million to the clinic that treated his sister, refused to be filmed (to be with her), and founded the Leukemia Foundation, donating significant amounts from each fee for the movie.
You may have been born a man, but stay a man..
Also read about Keanu
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16/06/2024

This photograph shows a Wishxam (also spelled Wishham or Wishram) woman making pounded salmon near Celilo Falls. It was taken by Edward Curtis in 1910.

The sexual division of labor in pre-contact and early contact Columbia River Indian societies mirrored that of almost all known foraging societies. Men focused on hunting and fishing while women gathered plant foods and prepared the meat and fish. At The Dalles-Celilo fishery in the eastern Columbia Gorge, women would carry salmon a quarter mile or more from the river, using open mesh baskets that they made themselves. After cleaning the fish, they would cut them into sections and hang them to dry in specially designed sheds.

In addition to dried and smoked salmon, women also made pounded salmon. After gutting and beheading the fish, women cut the salmon into strips and put them in the hot sun. When the flesh was soft, they shredded the fish, thoroughly mixed it with roe or berries, then left it out in the sun to dry. After it was dry, they pounded it into a fine powder using a maple mortar and stone pestle (shown in the photograph above), then packed it tight into baskets that they made. This pounded salmon, known as ch'láy in Sahaptin or itk'ilak in Chinookan, could last for years and was considered a great delicacy among the Indians of the region. It was a staple trade item prior to white settlement.

Preparing fish was difficult work, and many early white observers expressed objections to how hard Columbia River Indian women labored. Missionary Henry Perkins, for example, commented in 1838 that Wasco women “have to labor like slaves. Every day we see them out beside their houses, sitting almost naked on the ground, in the wind and the sun, manufacturing large coarse mats, on which to dry and in which to preserve their salmon. They are untiring at it as the Virginia slaves….”

Although many early white observers thought Indian women worked like “slaves,” recent ethnographic research calls into doubt this interpretation of women's roles in Columbia River Indian societies. Anthropologist Lillian Ackerman, for example, argues that among Plateau Indians, “the work of both genders was equally valued.” Although preparation of salmon was hard work, Ackerman points out that “once a woman put her labor into preparing the salmon, it belonged to her; she made the decisions on its use autonomously.” She argues that, rather than being a mark of “slavery,” the work women performed in the preparation of fish enhanced their economic autonomy and social position.

Further Reading:
Ackerman, Lillian A. A Necessary Balance: Gender and Power among Indians of the Columbia Plateau. Norman, Okla., 2003.

Curtis, Edward S. The North American Indian. Volume 8. The Nez Perces, Wallawalla, Umatilla, Cayuse, the Chinookan Tribes. Norwood, Mass., 1911.

15/06/2024

Wise words from Apache Chief Cadete -
You say that because you learn from books you can build all these big houses and talk to each other any distance, and do many wonderful things, now let me tell you what we think:

You begin when you are little to work hard and work until you are men in order to begin fresh work. You say you work hard in order to learn to work well, after you get to be men then you say the labor of life commences, then you build the houses, and ships, and towns, and everything, then after you got them all, you die and leave them behind. Now we call that slavery, you are slaves from the time you begin to talk till you die. We are free as air, we never work, our wants are few and easily supplied, the river, the wood, and plains yield all that we require, and we will not be slaves.

15/06/2024

❤️Well worth reading
Actor, film director, film producer and musician Keanu Charles Reeves (Keanu Charles Reeves),
❤️Get your t-shirt: https://www.giftnativestore.com/tee67
Missed the first 20 minutes of the party dedicated to the end of filming of his new movie at one of the clubs in New York.
He waited patiently in the rain to be let in.
No one recognized him.
The club owner said: “I didn't even know Keanu was standing in the rain waiting to get in - he didn't say anything to anyone.”
"He travels by public transport."
"He easily communicates with homeless people on the streets and helps them."
- He was only 60 years old (September 2, 1964)
- He can only eat hot dogs in the park, sitting among normal people.
- After filming one of the "Matrix", he gave all the stuntmen a new motorcycle - in recognition of their skills.
- He gave up most of the salaries of the costume designers and computer scientists who drew the special effects on "The Matrix" - deciding that their share of the film's budget was assessed short.
- He reduced his salary for the movie "The Devil's Advocate" to have enough money to invite Al Pacino.
- Almost at the same time his best friend passed away; His girlfriend lost a child and soon died in a car accident, and his sister suffered from leukemia.
Keanu didn't fail: he donated $5 million to the clinic that treated his sister, refused to be filmed (to be with her), and founded the Leukemia Foundation, donating significant amounts from each fee for the movie.
You may have been born a man, but stay a man..
Also read about Keanu
❤️Visit the store to support Native American products 👇
https://www.giftnativestore.com/tee67

15/06/2024

Long before the arrival of the white man, women enjoyed a major role in the family life, economy, and government of the Cherokee Indians. The Cherokees originally lived in villages built along the rivers of western North Carolina, northwestern South Carolina, northern Georgia, and eastern Tennessee. When white men visited these villages in the early 1700s, they were surprised by the rights and privileges of Indian women.

Perhaps most surprising to Europeans was the Cherokees’ matrilineal kinship system. In a matrilineal kinship system, a person is related only to people on his mother’s side. His relatives are those who can be traced through a woman. In this way a child is related to his mother, and through her to his brothers and sisters. He also is related to his mother’s mother (grandmother), his mother’s brothers (uncles), and his mother’s sisters (aunts). The child is not related to the father, however. The most important male relative in a child’s life is his mother’s brother. Many Europeans never figured out how this kinship system worked. Those white men who married Indian women were shocked to discover that the Cherokees did not consider them to be related to their own children, and that mothers, not fathers, had control over the children.

Europeans also were astonished that women were the heads of Cherokee households. The Cherokees lived in extended families. This means that several generations (grandmother, mother, grandchildren) lived together as one family. Such a large family needed a number of different buildings. The roomy summer house was built of bark. The tiny winter house had thick clay walls and a roof, which kept in the heat from a fire smoldering on a central hearth. The household also had corn cribs and storage sheds. All these buildings belonged to the women in the family, and daughters inherited them from their mothers. A husband lived in the household of his wife (and her mother and sisters). If a husband and wife did not get along and decided to separate, the husband went home to his mother while any children remained with the wife in her home.

The family had a small garden near their houses and cultivated a particular section of the large fields which lay outside the village. Although men helped clear the fields and plant the crops, women did most of the farming because men were usually at war during the summer. The women used stone hoes or pointed sticks to cultivate corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, and sunflowers. Old women sat on platforms in the fields and chased away any crows or raccoons that tried to raid the fields.

In the winter when men traveled hundreds of miles to hunt bears, deer, turkeys, and other game, women stayed at home. They kept the fires burning in the winter houses, made baskets, pottery, clothing, and other things the family needed, cared for the children, and performed the chores for the household.

Perhaps because women were so important in the family and in the economy, they also had a voice in government. The Cherokees made decisions only after they discussed an issue for a long time and agreed on what they should do. The council meetings at which decisions were made were open to everyone including women. Women participated actively. Sometimes they urged the men to go to war to avenge an earlier enemy attack. At other times they advised peace. Women occasionally even fought in battles beside the men. The Cherokees called these women “War Women,” and all the people respected and honored them for their bravery.

By the 1800s the Cherokees had lost their independence and had become dominated by white Americans. At this time white Americans did not believe that it was proper for women to fight wars, vote, speak in public, work outside the home, or even control their own children. The Cherokees began to imitate whites, and Cherokee women lost much of their power and prestige. In the twentieth century, all women have had to struggle to acquire many of those rights which Cherokee women once freely enjoyed.

Color Quatie's family
The black disc in the diagram is Quatie, a Cherokee girl. Can you figure out which of the people in the diagram belong to her family and color them in? Remember, in early Cherokee culture the family unit was traced through the wives and not the husbands. The major members in each family were the mothers, aunts, grandmothers, brothers, and uncles, not fathers. After you color your choices, draw a big circle around all the people who would live together in the same household. (CLUE: This answer would include fathers.)

14/06/2024

A VERY WORTHY READ!
Keanu Reeves was abandoned by his father at 3 years old and grew up with 3 different stepfathers. He is dyslexic. His dream of becoming a hockey player was shattered by a serious accident. His daughter died at birth. His wife died in a car accident. His best friend, River Phoenix, died of an overdose. His sister has leukemia.
And with everything that has happened, Keanu Reeves never misses an opportunity to help people in need. When he was filming the movie "The Lake House," he overheard the conversation of two costume assistants; One cried because he would lose his house if he did not pay $20,000 and on the same day Keanu deposited the necessary amount in the woman's bank account; He also donated stratospheric sums to hospitals.
In 2010, on his birthday, Keanu walked into a bakery and bought a brioche with a single candle, ate it in front of the bakery, and offered coffee to people who stopped to talk to him.
After winning astronomical sums for the Matrix trilogy, the actor donated more than $50 million to the staff who handled the costumes and special effects - the true heroes of the trilogy, as he called them.
He also gave a Harley-Davidson to each of the stunt doubles. A total expense of several million dollars. And for many successful films, he has even given up 90% of his salary to allow the production to hire other stars.
In 1997 some paparazzi found him walking one morning in the company of a homeless man in Los Angeles, listening to him and sharing his life for a few hours.
Most stars when they make a charitable gesture they declare it to all the media. He has never claimed to be doing charity, he simply does it as a matter of moral principles and not to look better in the eyes of others.
This man could buy everything, and instead every day he gets up and chooses one thing that cannot be bought: To be a good person.
Keanu Reeves’ father is of Native Hawaiian descent 🪶
Photo by: openart

14/06/2024

Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa was born on August 1, 1979, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
❤️I think you will be proud to wear this T-shirt 👇
https://www.giftnativestore.com/tee53
He is the son of Coni (Lemke), a photographer, and Joseph Momoa, a painter. His father is of Native Hawaiian and Samoan descent; and his mother, who is from Iowa, is of German, Irish, and Native American ancestry. His interest in biology led him to take classes at a community college in Des Moines, Iowa, before moving to Fort Collins, Colorado, where he waited tables. He later moved to back to Hawaii to reconnect with his father and enrolled in the University of Hawaii’s marine biology program. Japanese-born American international fashion designer Takeo Kobayashi discovered Momoa, then aged 19, and encouraged him to pursue a modeling career. Momoa left the university and worked briefly in that industry before landing his first acting role, as a young lifeguard in the television series Baywatch: Hawaii.
Momoa was cast in his first leading role in a major motion picture in 2010, as the title character in Conan the Barbarian (2011). However, it was his turn as Khal Drogo, the fierce leader of the Dothraki people, during the first two seasons of HBO’s blockbuster television series Game of Thrones (2011–19) that captured the attention of Hollywood directors. In 2014 American director Zack Snyder cast Momoa in the role of Aquaman (a half-human, half-Atlantean being who possesses the powers to manipulate water and communicate with marine animals). Although the film Aquaman was not released until 2018, Momoa appeared in the role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017), two other other Snyder-directed films based on the DC Comics franchise. He was later cast as the legendary swordsman Duncan Idaho in Canadian film director Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel Dune (2021). During the same period, Momoa continued to act in television series: he played the ex-convict Phillip Kopus in The Red Road (2014–15), the fur-trading outlaw Declan Harp in Frontier (2016–18), and Baba Voss, the chief of the Alkenny, in See (2019– ).
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13/06/2024

Stands and Looks Back or Hakikta Najin (1851-1914) was actually an Oglala through he lived all of his later life among the Brule at Rosebud. He was present at the Little Bighorn in 1876. His sister married Charles P. Jordan, the clerk at the Red Cloud Agency in 1877 at the time of Crazy Horse's surrender; Jordan was later a trader on the Rosebud Reservation.
Stands and Looks Back married Mary Spotted Horse about 1890 and had a large family. He was photographed several times by Anderson. His granddaughter, Vera Farmer, served as vice-chair of the Rosebud Sioux council. — Ephriam Dickson

13/06/2024

A'HO✊✊

13/06/2024

❤️GRAHAM GREENE - Born June 22, 1952, on the Six Nations Reserve in Ohsweken, Ontario, Mr. Greene is a 68 year old FIRST NATIONS Canadian actor who belongs to the ONEIDA tribe. He has worked on stage, in film, and in TV productions in Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his 1990 performance in "Dances with Wolves". Other films you may have seen him in include Thunderheart, Maverick, Die Hard with a Vengeance, the Green Mile, and Wind River. Graham Greene graduated from the Centre for Indigenous Theatre in 1974 & immediately began performing in professional theatre in Toronto and England, while also working as an audio technician for area rock bands. His TV debut was in 1979 and his screen debut in 1983. His acting career has now spanned over 4 decades & he remains as busy as ever. In addition to the Academy Award nomination for Dance with Wolves, he has been consistently recognized for his work, and also received nominations in 1994, 2000, 2004, 2006, and 2016. Graham Greene lives in Toronto, Canada, married since 1994, and has 1 adult daughter.
❤️I think you will be proud to wear this T-shirt 👇
https://www.giftnativestore.com/tee89

12/06/2024

Raoul Trujillo is a Native American actor born and raised in New Mexico. He is the son of a Choctaw father and a Spanish-speaking mother. Trujillo has had a diverse career in the entertainment industry, with roles in feature films, television, and stage productions.
He is best known for his role as Sapa Inca Atahualpa in Mel Gibson's film "Apocalypto." In this movie, he portrayed the leadership and fighting spirit of a Native American king with finesse and strength. Additionally, Raoul Trujillo has appeared in numerous other films and television shows such as "The New World," "Riddick," "Da Vinci's Demons," and "Mayans M.C."
In addition to his on-screen roles, Raoul Trujillo has had a notable career in theater and performing arts. He has been involved in various stage projects, including independent plays and performances at major theaters.
In the realm of film, Raoul Trujillo has demonstrated his diverse acting abilities across different genres and roles. From portraying a powerful indigenous king in "Apocalypto" to playing a member of a criminal gang in "Riddick," he has showcased his adaptability and versatility.
Furthermore, Raoul Trujillo has contributed to the Native American community through social and cultural activities. He often uses his influence to honor and preserve indigenous cultures and participates in charitable activities and community support campaigns.
Trujillo's roles and contributions not only enrich the diversity of the entertainment industry but also highlight and honor the values and stories of Native Americans in the global community.

12/06/2024

Navajo Women. New Mexico. ca 1935. Photo by T. Harmon Parkhurst. Source - UNM University Libraries.

12/06/2024

Samuel Pack Elliott (born August 9, 1944) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and a National Board of Review Award.
𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐞 : https://www.giftnativestore.com/look
He has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Emmy Awards. Elliott was cast in the musical drama A Star Is Born (2018), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the corresponding prizes at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards. He also won a National Board of Review Award. Elliott starred as Shea Brennan in the American drama miniseries 1883 (2021–2022), for which he won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.
Elliott is known for his distinctive lanky physique, full mustache, and deep, sonorous voice. He began his acting career with minor appearances in The Way West (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), season five of Mission: Impossible, and guest-starred on television in the Western Gunsmoke (1972) before landing his first lead film role in Frogs (1972). His film breakthrough was in the drama Lifeguard (1976). Elliott co-starred in the box office hit Mask (1985) and went on to star in several Louis L'Amour adaptations such as The Quick and the Dead (1987) and Conagher (1991), the latter of which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film. He received his second Golden Globe and first Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Buffalo Girls (1995). His other film credits from the early 1990s include as John Buford in the historical drama Gettysburg (1993) and as Virgil Earp in the Western Tombstone (also 1993). In 1998, he played the Stranger in The Big Lebowski.
In the 2000s, Elliott appeared in supporting roles in the drama We Were Soldiers (2002) and the superhero films Hulk (2003) and Ghost Rider (2007). In 2015, he guest-starred on the series Justified, which earned him a Critics' Choice Television Award, and in 2016 began starring in the Netflix series The Ranch. Elliott subsequently had a lead role in the comedy-drama The Hero.
𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗧-𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁 ❤️
𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲:👉 https://www.giftnativestore.com/look

12/06/2024

Bev was born Beverly Mae Stabber in 1939, near a creek on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Her mother and auntie were both pregnant concurrently, with due dates just days apart. The two young Lakota women wanted to relocate to Pine Ridge to give birth at the hospital. However, at the insistence of Bev’s grandmother, both babies were delivered the Lakota way, peacefully by the grandmother and aunties at the family encampment.

Lakota is Bev’s first language, and her early life was immersed in traditional Lakota values and ceremonies and was full of the nurturance of a large, extended family. The first time Bev heard the English language was on the first day of kindergarten at the Oglala boarding school in Pine Ridge. She recalls being with other Lakota children who were afraid and crying because they were away from families for the first time. Bev remembers feeling startled by the first-grade teacher who could speak both English and the Lakota language. Bev’s formative years on the reservation were full of love, values, and life lessons she would carry with her throughout a nursing career of over 60 years.

At nine years old, the family relocated to Rapid City, SD. Bev recalls walking with her father down Main Street for the first time and seeing a sign that read: “No Indians Allowed.” She did not understand why people would treat her or her family in such a way. “I grew curious about why people would view me so differently.” When she asked her father, he simply explained, “it is because they don’t know us.”

Today, at 83, Bev has a calm, nurturing spirit about her. She credits much of her success to her grandfather, who would sing morning and evening prayers, followed by singing stories to teach the Lakota values of fortitude, wisdom, courage, generosity, honor, respect, and humility. “He would sing us stories,” she reflects. “The drum, matching our heartbeat, would engrain those lessons into our hearts.” These values-built Bev’s confidence in knowing who she was, so she would respond with curiosity rather than anger while facing adversity. Following that incident on Main Street, Bev found herself in the library, speaking with the librarian, whom Bev would now credit as an early mentor. “I walked in and did not know what a library was. I just heard they had books to read. All I knew was I wanted to read, to learn.” From that moment, Bev was not only curious but inspired. She wanted to see the world. Yet, how would a poor girl be able to travel? Even attending school seemed improbable due to cost. Fortunately, another mentor would enter Bev’s life: Sister Benedict.

Having met through an industrial relations course at Rapid City High School, Sister Benedict saw Bev’s dream of becoming a nurse and helped her secure a scholarship. These events allowed Bev to graduate from St. John’s McNamara School of Nursing in 1962. Sister Benedict helped Bev in other ways, as well. While in school, while checking on a patient, Bev was asked to leave the room because she was Native American. Sister Benedict would not let that stand. Instead, she spoke to the patient and shared words that would inspire Bev more than 60 years later: “You must shore up your courage and get back in there.” A gentle reminder of the values her grandfather had taught her since she was young.

Following graduation, Bev and her husband traveled to Arizona, Washington DC, Thailand, and Mexico, where she would continue to experience moments of impact and find mentors. They spent most of their time in Arizona raising their two sons and furthering Bev’s career. In 2009, Bev retired from Arizona State University’s College of Nursing and returned home to South Dakota. However, her retirement was short-lived, and she found it was time to pass on the lessons she had been learning along the way.

Bev was asked to lead the way in creating the Native American Nursing Education Center (NANEC) mentoring program for the SD State University. Walking into NANEC on Mount Rushmore Road, you cannot help feel a sense of calm. The subtle smell of cleansing sage fills the air; the staff are warm and inviting. There is also a library with nursing and Native American books, a copy machine for students, school supplies, and private study areas. But Bev’s favorite room of all is Wicozani Otipi – the welcoming space with comfortable furniture and snacks for students.

Bev cannot think of a more meaningful and vital way to leave a legacy. Her students know they are always welcome. Young Lakota people should always feel welcome and wanted, and their dreams can come true. The impact of her work will continue to influence many generations to come.

Native Spirit Warriors

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