I can’t put my figure on an exact time when my love for “all things Indian” began. It just seems like I’ve always been drawn to anything and everything that has to do with the Native cultures of our country. And it doesn’t end there. Although my passion has always been for anything which represents American Indians, I have also had a keen interest in Native cultures from north and south of our borders.
Attempting to “put a finger” on when it all started, it may have been in Miss Boyd’s third grade class (1949-50) at Lowell Elementary School in my hometown of Santa Ana, California. My dad once told me he was certain it was Miss Boyd and the history lessons she presented on Indian life which truly got me interested in school in general.
During the following summer vacation we visited my Grandpa Jim Clucas and his wife (“Aunt” Ferne) in Idaho. My two prized souvenirs I brought home from the trip were a postcard bearing a photograph of Chief Joseph, who immediately became one of my lifelong heroes, and a small obsidian arrowhead, which I still have to this day.
I won’t bore you with all the details of my interest in Indians (and yes, the word Indian is politically correct). But those who have known me, and do know me best – family, friends, teachers, students, and those who have read my books – understand how much the Indian, or Native American, culture means to me.
With that in mind, and with absolutely no hidden political meaning to this writing, I want to commend the DNC, and especially Bernie Sanders, on something I have witnessed during the campaign of the past months and the convention during the first couple days.
Along with all other important issues which have been discussed and brought to the forefront, many of which are extremely important to my wife Joanie and me, was the inclusion of the needs of our Native peoples. This was very evident at the DNC Convention, but more notably to me was the fact that Bernie Sanders was the only candidate from either major party who consistently included Native Americans in his campaign speeches and the debates.
My master’s degree is in education with an emphasis in American Indian Education. In 1974, I wrote what would later become my thesis. It was a curriculum guide for school teachers and was meant to basically help non-Indian instructors teach Native culture and history in a proper and realistic way. Since that time, there have been many gifted educational writers who have published materials in this area. I am truly grateful to them for the work they have done.
As I watched the DNC state delegates announcing their votes, and realized how many of the committees were represented by Native people, I couldn’t help but wonder…. ”Which of them were inspired by a teacher who helped them to take pride in who they are?”
