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MARK OF LEADERSHIP: HONORING THE PEACEFUL CHIEFS
A couple of decades ago, a young Native American scholar was lecturing a group of students at the University of Minesota. He said: "This country has honored too long the war chiefs. There is also a tradition of peace chiefs who deserve to be memorialized and honored."
That scholar was Alfonso Ortiz, the late Pueblo anthropologist. When he died last year, there was not enough notice. Both Albuquerque newspapers published obituaries. So did The New York Times. The Associated Press carried a small brief in its daily summary of prominent deaths. But, I wonder -- and forgive this morbid question -- how would that death have been covered if it was that of a war chief? How would the news media cover the death of Russell Means or any other "activist" leader? As a newspaper editor, I can tell you: a war chief is always a big story.
It's too bad. There are peace chiefs in every community. Some are quiet, effective behind the headlines. Others make headlines because they repeatedly challenge injustice.
There are many peace chiefs worth noting, heroes actually. These men and women are as important to us today as the great leaders of any time in history. I picked one small slice of time, the late 1960s and early 1970s. But it could also be today. Or yesterday. As Vine Deloria Jr., an example of the leadership produced in the 1970s era and an inspiration for many then and today, once wrote, "In every generation there will arise a Brant, a Pontiac, a Tecumseh, a Chief Joseph, a Joseph Garry, to carry the people yet one more decade further."
Some of this century's heroes managed federal programs. Others were lawyers. Some carried the people yet one more decade further as the elected leaders of their tribes.
Let's start the journey in the Pacific Northwest in October 1966. The Confederated Colville Tribes had recently polled its members on the federal policy of termination. A "yes" vote meant ending the tribe's relationship with the United States and the liquidation of tribally-owned assets, those being equally distributed among members. The result was one-sided: more than two-thirds of the membership voted for termination.
Termination was a promise. Tribes...