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We Must Give Back What This Minstrel Gave Us
A lyrical and plainspoken voice for the oppressed.
A gentle but forceful critic of his people's assailants.
A strong, proud vision of Native people as we were.
These are the gifts Floyd Red Crow Westerman has given Native people.
These are the obligations and responsibilities we are left to carry on in his absence.
To the public, he will be remembered as Ten Bears, the wise Lakota elder who gave fireside counsel to Kevin Costner's Dances With Wolves.
But Westerman was much more than a movie character to those who knew him.
So much more to those who loved him.
For Gwen Westerman Griffin, he was and will remain uncle Floyd. The man who would tease her and call her his "magic butterfly."
A smiling, mischievous minstrel who always had time to lend a hand to someone in need.
"Anytime anybody called on him he was there," said Westerman Griffin, an English professor at Minnesota State University in Mankato. "He would bring his guitar with him. He would talk."
This week, Westerman's lifelong endeavor to set the record straight for Native people ended. As an actor, musician and activist, Westerman fought until his final days to educate non-Indians about the trials his people have had to endure.
Born on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Reservation in South Dakota, Westerman had plenty of his own trials with which to contend, including boarding school abuse and an alcoholic father.
As a man, he would carry the lessons of his youth into his activism.
In 1973, when his old classmate, Dennis Banks, and other Native activists took control of Wounded Knee, S.D., sparking a 71-day standoff, Westerman crept past a military cordon around the village to make his way to his friends.
He went on to become AIM's voice in song, traveling the country to raise funds for the group's cause.
His career took a slightly different path when, in 1987, he answered a casting call for an episode of "MacGyver." Westerman landed the role and went on to appear in a number of supporting TV and film roles.
In 1990, fame came calling.
Appearing as Ten Bears in Costner's epic "Dances With Wolves," Westerman instantly became one of the most recognizable faces in Indian Country.
"He was the picture of the Lakota," said Wilmer Mesteth, a longtime friend of Westerman's and spiritual leader of the Oglala Lakota.
And Westerman worked hard to present a proud and honest portrayal of Native people in the movie, said his niece. Many Native people hailed the movie for using real Indians and using the Lakota language.
"It was an incredible opportunity to put forward Indian people during that time period as Indian people, not artifacts," Westerman Griffin said.
Westerman did not take for granted his newfound fame, she said, offering his name and weight to any cause he found worthy.
In his final years, he had begun work on a six-part documentary called "Exterminate Them: America's War on Indian Nations." With the help of his niece, he had completed the first part, "California Story," and had begun work on the second installment, "Great Plains Story."
Westerman Griffin said she doesn't plan to let her uncle's death end efforts to complete the documentary.
Nor does she plan to let his relentless efforts to improve the lives of Native people die with him.
"It's going to take a lot of us to fill in the void that this one man is going to leave," she said. "It's going to take so many of us to carry on his work."
Most views in the last week:
- Tell us what you think about the 'Navajobama' T-shirt, and we'll send your comments to the manufacturer—and to the Obama for President campaign. (No profanities, please.)
- A Native American gay wedding ceremony takes place at a Two Spirit gathering in Montana.
- Omission disappoints Native Americans attending the presidential candidate's speech in Wisconsin. Others express concern over Obama's stance on Indian gaming.
- Here's how our petite, 5-foot-4 Navajo reporter managed to elbow her way through a mob of crazed sports journalists and ask the Super Bowl superstar what he knows about Indian people. And as for that football player who looked down her blouse ...
- Floyd Red Crow Westerman's death has left a void in Indian Country and a burden Native people must find a way to shoulder in his absence.
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Comments?
Goodbye
There was so much that Red Crow did for Native rights and issues. He always did it with a humility that has always represented his people.
You will be missed, my brother...
Toksa aka...wakantanka nici un.
~Two Hawks
Floyd Westerman
Brother Red Crow,
You taught us many things in your time. I will miss you until it's time for me to cross the river.
My family and I will never forget you.
Paul Ahkolik, Inupiaq Eskimo
Corpus Christi, TX
I will miss him too
I have a lot respect for elders no matter what nationality, creed or color they have mcse training
Its always good to have new
Its always good to have new heroes. Keeps the people focused on the positve. Paruresis
flood
It is usually due to the volume of water within a body of water, such as a river or lake, exceeding the total capacity of the body, and as a result some of the water flows or sits outside of the normal perimeter of the body. mold removal
The largest and most
The largest and most elaborate flood defenses can be found in the Netherlands, where they are referred to as Delta Works with the Oosterschelde dam as its crowning achievement. fire damage restoration
Crow Westerman carried the
Crow Westerman carried the truth of the indian nations with him in his eyes and in his heart. I pray that the lessons he has tried to teach the white man will finally be heard, although I fear they will not.
__________________________________
servicii imobiliare complete
What does "Nyeahweh!" in the
What does "Nyeahweh!" in the second comment mean?
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He'll be missed
TenBears is the first one to put his shoulder to work by helping the natives to do water damage restoration after the flood. He brought construction equipment and raised enough funds to rebuild what was destroyed by water. They all worked smiling, seeing the flood as divine sign not a disaster.
Good-bye My Brother
The world has lost another "Great Warrior". My sorrow is so strong that words cannot express, for I am left speechless. May you go to the land of your Fathers before you, where the great white buffalo roams free, so you can lay your head down under the forever blue sky. Nyeahweh!
Jeanette Corbelle
Auburn, California
(Southern Band Of Tuscarora)
Floyd was our friend, hope to see him sometime,somwhere
We are friends from germany, Floyd Redcrow Westerman was always a friend of us and anytime we need him, he was there.
We spent plenty of time with him playing guitar and have much fun.
We are so sad to lost a friend.
Susan, Sandra, Tina and Detlef Suhre
Floyd's passing and his spirit lives on
I was left sadly unbelieving when I read of Floyd RedCrow Westerman's having walked on to the spirit world this past Friday. As a non-native person now living in Sweden, his Lakota background represented a midwestern historical sense most former Minnesotans never were allowed to know. His music and voice will live on and I still recall his role as Arther in the film "Clearcut" (1991). His presence and smooth way of presenting ideas and spiritual guidance will be missed. His artistry will live on and we still can support some of his institutional work. The native soul of N America must find itself again and we need leaders, musicians, artists to continue to make his lifelong mission a success.
"There is an ancient Indian saying that something lives only as long as the last person who remembers it. My people have come to trust memory over history. Memory, like fire, is radiant and immutable while history serves only those who seek to control it, those who douse the flame of memory in order to put out the dangerous fire of truth. Beware these men for they are dangerous themselves and unwise. Their false history is written in the blood of those who might remember and of those who seek the truth." -spoken by Floyd Westerman as Albert Hosteen in The X-Files episode "The Blessing Way",
condolences to all who learned to appreciate Floyd and his spirit … his journey is beginning once again
Bradley Knopff
Stockholm (Sweden)
Thank You, Gentle Warrior
Thank you so much, Mr. Floyd Red Crow Westerman, for telling the truth about the Indian Nations to anyone who would listen. Thank you for standing up for truth and justice at a time when people believed the lies that the history books taught about Indian people. Thank you for your dignity, your faith and your courage.
Thank you, Gentle Warrior.
H.R. Hudson, New Jersey, USA
Rest in Peace, Red Crow
I am the white man, I am not the Native American. I wish my voice would carry for all non-natives. Floyd Red Crow Westerman was a man of special favor. He carried the truth of the indian nations with him in his eyes and in his heart. I pray that the lessons he has tried to teach the white man will finally be heard, although I fear they will not.
This man will never be forgotten as long as we remember him; his spirit will live on in our hearts.
My deepest condolences to his family,
Jane Waters
Ocean Shores, Washington
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