2005 ELDER RECOGNITION AWARD [HUNTER GRAY, 5/2/05] AND --SPEAKING TO THE DEMOCRATS AT IDAHO FALLS [HUNTER BEAR, 5/08/05] -JOHN SALTER'S LETTER TO CLARION-LEDGER 7/25/05 -- MICMAC MAN IN NATIONAL MUSEUM FILM FOOTAGE -GENE MCCARTHY [1916-2005] -- AND MORE -- [THIS PAGE UPDATED 12/14/05]
1968: Left to Right -- John R Salter, Jr [Hunter Gray], John Salter III, John R Salter [Frank Gray]
NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR:
I am honored -- humbled -- by the 2005 Elder Recognition Award of Wordcraft
Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. This is one of several
awards voted by the Caucus [board] of this organization of writers,
storytellers, film makers, and journalists. I was nominated by
Alice Hatfield Azure [Mi'kmaq] -- an honor in its own right. As are
other fine expressions of appreciation, this is extremely meaningful to
me and our family. And to all of those with whom I have worked and
for whom I have written -- and from whom I have always learned much
indeed -- this is for them a tribute as well.
I am in very good company. Among the honorees is Alice's other nominee,
Catherine A. Martin for Film-Direction in The Spirit of Annie Mae. And
Emory Dean Keoke, with Kay Marie Porterfield, received the award for
research with respect to their American Indian Contributions to the
World [5 volume set]. [Emory is an old friend and former student.]
[The previous recipient of the Wordcraft
Elder Recognition Award was Maurice Kenny, Mohawk, teacher and playwright and
poet, who received it in 2000.]
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR]
Mi'kmaq /St. Francis
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk
www.hunterbear.org
Protected by NaŽshdoŽiŽbaŽiŽ
and Ohkwari'
WORDCRAFT CIRCLE OF NATIVE WRITERS AND STORYTELLERS
Again, good news on being recognized as
an elder, in the truest sense of the
word, not a self-proclaimed font of wisdom or a publicity hound, but someone
who has, through deeds and words, earned the title. I've never heard you
describe yourself as an elder and it calls to mind the old saying, "If you
meet the Buddha on the path, kill him." Meaning, of course, that the true
Buddha would never identify himself as such. [John Salter, 4/28/05]
Dear Hunter,
Congratulations! It is wonderful to hear that your work is being
acknowledged for its excellence.
I hope that you are well.
Best wishes, Kathy Marden
5/02/05
I'm greatly enjoying your
on-line diary. It's sort like
having another very perceptive pair of eyes.
Best, Barry Cohen
5/02/05
Congratulations!! I can't think of anyone
more worthy. It looks like you may have found Emory, how appropriate;
keep in touch, glad to hear you are fine. You and the family
are always in my thoughts and prayers.
Alta Bruce 5/02/05
Injury Control Specialist
Indian Health Service
Box 160, #1 Hospital Road
Belcourt, ND 58316
Note the
many tributes to Hunter Gray for a lifetime of organizing.
Duane Campbell [DSA Anti-Racism Commission]
5/02/05
Note by Hunter Bear: 5/03/05
Awww, that's sweet. We knew that.
Sheila Michaels 5/03/05
On that damned lupus thing, I
can only say that,
like everyone else you know, I admire your hanging in there
and hope for a miracle.
Bill Mandel 5/05/05
Hunter, [from Scott Jones 5/19/05]
From Bob Gately:
Your words are indeed a
blessing, Hunter Bear..and if the salt of the earth
loses it savor, wherefore goes it for its savor
? To those who know where
we're coming from and bless our endevors, I imagine. You are
my blessing, to
be sure.
While we pray for your continued good health, we pray also
that all the
ideals that you have championed for over all these years, as
well as my ole
mans, will endure and that peace and harmony with one another
will prevail
\in the future ever being born. . . [Robert Gately, 5/28/05]
Congratulations on the elder recognition award! It seems like just yesterday you were nominated. Nice short bio as well. Robert C., Solidarity Organizer 5/30/05
Hello Folks, [From Scott Colborn]
5/31/05
There are occasionally people that you meet that you will
remember for the
rest of your life. I'm privileged to know Hunter Gray and to
call him a
friend. You can read below about a recent award that Hunter
received, that
will take it's place among many others.
This is a man who has worked his entire life to help bring
people together
and to help us realize our oneness with each other.
Congratulations, Hunter, from one of your many friends. Keep
up your good
work and may your days be long and joy-filled.
All the best.
Walk in Beauty, Peace. Scott [Colborn]
www.thewayhomestore.com
" I have been reading
your website -- and am continually moved by remembrance
and by your amazing accomplishments . . ."
Chuck Levenstein
6/17/05
How are you holding up? You are one of
the shining
points in American humanity... I'm curious as to which
one of life's little ephemeral (spelling??)
pleasures
you have adopted as a bright spot in your day. For
me, while I was ill, it became the cup of coffee alone
or with a good friend. To this day a solitary cup of
coffee has special meaning to me. I imagine that you
might find a quiet drive to the countryside and
putting a few rounds through one of your rifles could
be very therapeutic.... Sitting here I can
imagine
you smiling at your rifle after having just delivered
a few rounds to it's God given down range target.
Beautiful blue sky overhead with puffy clouds
sprinkling the horizon, mountains, and you and the
rifle..... Therapy, pure guilty sinful therapy.
Eric Meinhardt 6/20/05
Dear Hunter,
Celine Nally 10/20/05
NOTE BY HUNTER
BEAR 6/5/05
News stories on my Award/Honor are now appearing in various newspapers. This, from our Idaho State Journal [Pocatello region], Sunday, June 5 2005, was featured very prominently [bigger than this Web version.] In addition, the paper even had a conspicuous inset once again providing my quoted comments in full.
Gray honored by Native writers group
Hunter Gray, Pocatello, (formerly John R. Salter
Jr.) of 2000 Sandy Lane has received the 2005 Elder Recognition Award
from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers.
This large organization, which also includes filmmakers and journalists, was
founded in 1992-1993, primarily to stimulate high quality creativity in
Native circles in the United States and Canada.
In association with the University
of Lethbridge, it recently sponsored the First Nations Writing and Literary
Festival at Lethbridge, Alberta, on May 11 - 14 at which the Honors and
Awards Banquet was held.
When notified of the award, he commented: "I was nominated by Alice Hatfield
Azure [Mi'kmaq] - an honor in its own right. As are other fine expressions
of appreciation, this is extremely meaningful to me and our family. And to
all of those with whom I have worked and for whom I have written - and from
whom I have always learned much indeed - this is for them a tribute as
well."
Gray, who is 71 years of age, was
born John Randall Salter Jr. and grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona, - in a
family with very close ties to the Navajo Nation and Laguna Pueblo. His
native father, born Frank Gray, had been adopted and partially raised by a
non-Indian couple named Salter who changed his name. Years ago, Hunter Gray
returned legally to the Gray name.
Gray has been a social justice organizer in many parts of the U.S. since his
early adulthood. Trained as a sociologist, he has taught extensively in
colleges and universities - including Tougaloo College in Mississippi and
Navajo Community College [now Dine' College] at Navajo Nation. In 1994, he
retired as a full professor and former departmental chairman [and former
chairman of Honors] at the American Indian Studies Department, University of
North Dakota. He and his wife, Eldri, and their family have lived at
Pocatello since 1997.
For two years Gray has been
battling a virulent version of systemic lupus [SLE], a potentially lethal
genetic disease for which there is now no cure.
His writings have reflected his varied and often colorful experiences.
Although he has done prize-winning fiction, most of his written work
involves Native rights, labor, civil rights and civil liberties issues: in
dozens of publications as well as portions of various books.
His own book is "Jackson,
Mississippi: An American Chronicle of Struggle & Schism" (1979 and Krieger,
1987); and he has written short monographs on various social justice and
related topics.
He is presently at work on his autobiography as well as a study of Iroquois
activists in the Rocky Mountain fur trade of the early 19th century. He also
maintains a large Web site, Lair of Hunterbear at
www.hunterbear.org
SPEAKING TO THE DEMOCRATS AT IDAHO FALLS [HUNTER BEAR, 5/08/05]
Things went well last night at
Idaho Falls [a good ways to the north of
Pocatello and on the edge of the Teton Basin] where I was the
keynote
speaker at the well attended Truman Day Banquet sponsored by the
Bonneville
County Democrats and drawing from a broad area. Between 250 and
300 people
paid $35 and $40 per plate [depending on just when they bought the
ticket]
for a rather sparse but tasty banquet plate. The affair was held
at the Red
Lion hotel.
Eldri and I sat at the lead table, with Josie and Cameron [who
drove us up
to Idaho Falls in a heavy rain] and with the capable master of
ceremonies
and his wife -- and, very pleasantly indeed, with Cameron's
grandparents, Mr
and Mrs Lin Whitworth of Inkom. Lin, a crusty Western populist
almost
exactly my age, is Idaho's veteran senior union labor person and a
hard
fighter. An old-time railroad man who spent years in the state
senate, he
did well as Congressional candidate last fall despite very little
money.
Among others, we were pleased to meet and visit with Jerry Brady,
who has
been publisher of the Idaho Falls newspaper and, last fall, did
very well as
gubernatorial candidate. [He plans to run again.] Mr Brady worked
with the
late Senator Frank Church in substantially assisting the formation
of the
1963 Civil Rights Bill which became, of course, the key '64 Act --
and his
wife, with whom we also visited, had worked in DC in the old days
with
Marion Berry and other SNCCers.
I spoke for the better part of an hour on the Civil Rights Movement
--
bringing in some contemporary dimensions. I used the Deep South
as an
example where positive social/political change could occur against
tremendous odds -- if committed people fought for it in sensible
and
systematic and hard-fighting fashion. The audience, mostly but
not
completely Anglo, was extremely attentive and visibly receptive.
Of course
I brought in my recently received and very welcome honor -- the
Elder
Recognition Award from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and
Storytellers.
http://www.wordcraftcircle.org/HnA2005.htm And I quoted my
youngest son, Peter [Mack] who, in his congratulatory e-mail,
referred to me
as "the toughest son of a bitch" he knows -- thus abruptly ending
my
self-perceived venerable saintliness.
Idabo, like any human setting, is complex. I would caution our
Eastern
friends about making quick "pop" judgments and classifications --
e.g. "red
states," etc. [BTW, that term bothers me in its ambiguity since,
as with
many older folk, it connotes other interesting things in the
historical
sense.] The dominance of Republican conservatism is not, in my
opinion, all
that deep. Some of it comes in the wake of the demise of Labor in
two out
of three of its traditional Gem State bastions: hard rock metal
mining in
the Coeur d'Alenes and lumbering in the Clearwater and adjoining
districts.
The third citadel of Labor does hold on at Pocatello and environs
in the
Union Pacific railroad operations -- although UP has been
sporadically
shifting workers out of state -- and there is also considerable
phosphorous
mining and refining in this general area. Boise, far to our
west, is
becoming a major high-tech place and this may carry good potential
Labor
developments.
Historically, it's worth pointing out that Idaho has had one of
the heavier
socialist backgrounds; the Coeur d'Alenes were the primary
birthplace of the
Western Federation of Miners which became Mine, Mill and Smelter
Workers; an
Idaho jury in 1907 acquitted Bill Haywood and George Pettibone and
freed
Charles Moyer in the infamous Steunenberg murder frameup; and one
of the
last really big IWW strikes in the West was the essentially
successful
lumber strike in the mid-1930s which saw company gunmen shooting
down
pickets with several deaths and many injuries. [Idaho's criminal
syndicalism
law, by far and away the most extreme in the Western states, is
still
technically on the books.] More recently, the state has had very
liberal
Democrat Senator Frank Church [ousted in the Reagan wave of 1980]
and, in
the 1990s, Larry Echohawk, Pawnee Indian, a Democrat who served as
attorney
general and then almost won the governorship. At least part of
the Idaho
Republican delegation is currently and openly critical of the
Patriot Act
and its various collateral feathers. And nationally, the "gun
control"
issue is dead for the time being in national Democratic circles
-- which
has very positive ramifications in the Mountain West and adjoining
areas
like the Plains. I picked up evidence of a good deal of support
for Howard
Dean last night.
Alone in the entire throng, and in traditional Western fashion
[everywhere
but in church], I wore my Stetson -- and my size 16 mountain boots
as well.
In any event, I drew a very long, standing ovation. At the
conclusion of
the event, many came up and several, including Lin Whitworth,
allowed
heartily that I am a tough s.o.b. "And so are you," said I to Lin.
Josie and Cameron, who had never heard me really speak like this
before,
were impressed -- and that means much.
As Ever, Hunter [Hunter Bear]
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Micmac /St. Francis
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk
www.hunterbear.org
Protected by NaŽshdoŽiŽbaŽiŽ
and Ohkwari'
Check out Surprise Tribute:
http://www.hunterbear.org/special_tribute_page_for_hunter.htm
In our Gray Hole, the ghosts often dance in the junipers and sage,
on the
game trails, in the tributary canyons with the thick red maples,
and on the
high windy ridges -- and they dance from within the very essence
of our own
inner being. They do this especially when the bright night moon
shines down
on the clean white snow that covers the valley and its
surroundings. Then
it is as bright as day -- but in an always soft and mysterious and
remembering way. [Hunter Bear]
Struggle is beautiful.
I am glad you did this in many ways!
best
sam [friedman] 5/09/05
From Peter Gray Salter [5/10/05]
Sounds like you tailored
your speech expertly -- if anyone needs a message
of hope, it's a room full of Democrats in Idaho in 2005. My
friend -- the
city editor in Idaho Falls -- speaks highly of Brady.
Doesn't sound like you had to tailor your dress.
I'll call soon to hear more about it. In the meantime, a
couple of things:
1. Working like hell to put the finishing touches on a 16-page
special
section on the effect Whiteclay -- and the 11,000 cans of beer
it sells
daily -- has on Pine Ridge. (16 pages -- that's bigger than
your whole
newspaper). It comes out Sunday but it prints Wednesday. I'll
send you a
copy.
2. I found this advance story on the Democratic fund-raiser.
The reporter's
description of you probably put more people in the seats.
The keynote speaker is Pocatello native John Hunter Gray, a
former
civil-rights activist.
If Gray's Web site, www .hunterbear.org, is indicative of what
Democrats
will hear Saturday night, things will be lively.
A picture on his site shows a newspaper clipping of Gray,
known then as
professor John R. Salter Jr., beaten and bloody. The caption
below the
picture reads: "Bad beatings at Jackson: June 13, 1963 -- two
days after
Medgar Evers was shot and killed. It helps a lot to have, as I
have since
the hatch, a thick skull and a thick hide. When a horde of
police charged, I
stood my ground -- facing them. I was clubbed several times,
into bloody
unconsciousness; then taken to the Fairgrounds Stockade
Concentration Camp;
finally to a hospital; then to jail. We were in the hard-core
South, deeply
involved in the Movement, from 1961 well into 1967."
Gray retired as a professor of Indian Studies from the
University of North
Dakota in 1994. He is the author of one book, "Jackson
Mississippi: An
American Chronicle of Struggle and Schism."
Later
GENE MCCARTHY [1916-2005] HUNTER BEAR
I faithfully carry, on my
1998 Jeep Cherokee wagon [the unembellished
version], with its trusty and necessary 4WD, several
stickers: One says
"Organize," one indicates UAW, and one proclaims "I'm a
Gun-Toting Idaho
Democrat." I think the late and good Gene McCarthy would
approve of them
all for he was [as I am] a good union man and a Life Member of
NRA. I have a
respectable collection of conventional hunting firearms and
one .22 Mag
revolver -- to all of which I'm devoted [as I am, I hasten to
say as an
organizer, to tactical nonviolence]. Anyway, I've always
liked and
respected Gene McCarthy who was, as I shall explain,
responsible for a
"brief" traffic ticket.
[As an aside, I was never impressed with Allard [Al]
Lowenstein, the
ostensible political wizard, who gave his efforts to McCarthy
early on in
the developing '68 campaign and then abandoned him for Robert
Kennedy when
RFK announced his intentions. Ours had been the first
Movement home in the
Jackson/Tougaloo region to which Al came, representing the
national
Democratic party, in July, 1963. He quickly alienated some of
us -- and
eventually most Movement folks. I saw him last in Jackson at
a large civil
rights retrospective in late '79, we visited and Beba met him,
and he was
shot to death by Dennis Sweeny -- a deranged Movement veteran
-- a few
months later at New York.]
When we finally left the South -- to which we had gone in '61
-- in the
Summer of '67, we went to Seattle where we spent an
interesting year. There
we put a McCarthy sticker on our little state-of-the-art '66
Volvo. Nothing
unusual about that in the Pacific Northwest. When we left
Seattle in the
summer of '68, Martin King was dead and so was Robert Kennedy,
but Gene
McCarthy lived on and our sticker [which had, as Eldri
recalls, a Yellow
Daisy on it], remained faithfully. We stopped for a few days
in my hometown
of Flagstaff and I parked in front of our home -- as I had
with many
vehicles and license plates since I'd gotten, in the very far
off past, my
archaic but trusty '29 Model A coupe. At that time, Flag
[which in my
childhood had to struggle to claim 4,000], had no more than
7,000 people and
it now has almost 70,000.
The City Limits had long before, owing to rapid population
growth, caught up
with our out-on-the-northern edge home. [The San Francisco
Peaks smiled
right down as always.] I hadn't been parked there for more
than half an hour
when someone called my folks and said I had a parking ticket
on my
windshield. I went out, looked at the unpleasant and
unexpected missive,
seeing no reason for the parking ticket and noting the cop's
name. It did
seem quickly obvious that a Washington state plate with a
Gene McCarthy
sticker had a lot to do with this.
The cop's parents -- and especially his mother -- were friends
of my
parents. The conclusion of this was typically small town. My
mother,
against my wishes [I planned to visit the Mayor who I knew],
called the
cop's mom, and she called her son and raised Hell. With a
George Wallace
sticker on his police car, he rushed over and retrieved the
ticket,
destroying it with profuse apologies.
Before long, we were heading eastward, eventually to wind up
on the very
bloody South/Southwest side of Chicago where I organized for a
number of
productive years. Flagstaff eventually adjusted to the
massive and
regrettable influx of out-of-staters and, even with an
Illinois plate, I was
no longer bothered when we went home. Since the Illinois and
subsequent
state drivers' license processes covering our residences
seemed too complex
for me, I always renewed my drivers's license at Flag where
things remained
pleasantly simple [like Idaho] and the resident highway
patrolmen were
consistently cordial.
My dad had come to like Robert Kennedy, with whom he had
visited on Indian
education challenges. I always respected that. But we do
always think well
of Gene McCarthy. In the often arid Demo Desert, he had rare
courage and,
more than that, a fine vision.
Himter Gray
[Hunter Bear]
MICMAC MAN IMMORTALIZED IN FILM AT NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN [HUNTER BEAR AUGUST 6 2005]
Thomas, our grandson/son,
has been in DC for the Association of American
Indian
Physicians annual convention -- and, concurrently, his
comparable meeting of
the Association of Native American Medical Students. He's
gone a couple of
times to the very new National Museum of the American Indian
and, among
other exhibits, was looking at a compilation of film footage
of American
Indians in the Chicago setting. Among other sequences, our
old friend,
Susan K. Power was indicated as the major founder of the
American Indian
Center. And in another section of the footage, a man was
being interviewed.
Something suddenly seemed very familiar and Thomas went
through it all
again.
The man being interviewed in Chicago was sitting next to
Micmac Man, the
fine painting of me which had been done by my brother,
Richard, in '79, and
secured by Alice Hatfield Azure. In time, she donated it to
NAES College --
the Chicago-based Native ed program of which she was an
officer. And then,
retrieving it for me, she and her friends passed it into our
most grateful
hands early this last March. [Several photos of it, BTW, are
on our
Tribute.]
And it now resides grandly and superciliously on a wall in our
Idaho home,
right here.
Thomas is impressed.
The Native world is indeed cohesive -- and the Moccasin
Telegraph tolerates
no anonymity.
Best, H
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq /St.
Francis
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk
www.hunterbear.org
Protected by NaŽshdoŽiŽbaŽiŽ
and Ohkwari'
Key newspaper special
section on Pine Ridge and Whiteclay now out -
NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR: [posted widely]
5/16/05
A few days ago, I sent out a
post which, among other things, quoted from a
note by my youngest son, Peter [Mack.] He's a key editor for
Lee
Enterprises and is at the Lincoln Journal Star. Here is an
excerpt from my
post containing part of his -- making reference to their then
forthcoming
major Special Section on the Pine Ridge Oglala Reservation
and the border
town of Whiteclay, Nebraska. The articles, written by
reporters Kevin
Abourezk and Colleen Kenney,
appeared on schedule yesterday [Sunday, May 15,
2005.] Rich with contemporary focus -- and history. Photos.
"Whiteclay, Nebraska is a border town adjoining the very large
Pine Ridge
Res in South Dakota. As Pete
indicates, it's a very heavy [and, to put it
mildly, increasingly controversial] purveyor of alcohol. I
should add that
our Pocatello paper is somewhat physically bigger than he
implies, but his
basic point is very well taken. H
____________________________________________________________________________
>From Pete:
In the meantime, a couple of things:
1. Working like hell to put the finishing touches on a 16-page
special
section on the effect Whiteclay -- and the 11,000 cans of beer
it sells
daily -- has on Pine Ridge. (16 pages -- that's bigger than
your whole
newspaper). It comes out Sunday but it prints Wednesday. I'll
send you a
copy." [Peter Gray Salter]
-------------------------------------------
http://www.journalstar.com/special_section/whiteclay
[From the Lincoln
Journal Star itself: full listing of the 27 articles in the
Sunday, May 15
issue and their respective links.]
http://www.indianz.com/
[Provides synopsis of the package and link to the
Journal Star.]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NatNews/?yguid=66720841
[Listing of the
articles in the May 15 issue of the Journal Star and their
respective
links.]
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Micmac /St.
Francis
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk
www.hunterbear.org
Protected by NaŽshdoŽiŽbaŽiŽ
and Ohkwari'
Check out Surprise Tribute:
http://www.hunterbear.org/special_tribute_page_for_hunter.htm
In our Gray Hole, the ghosts often dance in the junipers and
sage, on the
game trails, in the tributary canyons with the thick red
maples, and on the
high windy ridges -- and they dance from within the very
essence of our own
inner being. They do this especially when the bright night
moon shines down
on the clean white snow that covers the valley and its
surroundings. Then
it is as bright as day -- but in an always soft and mysterious
and
remembering way. [Hunter Bear]
Hunter sent me a copy of the book last week.
I take
pride in words in his dedication: "Our trails have touched
and paralleled one another many times..."
William "Bill" Mandel 7/25/05
-------------------------------------------------
for son John -- thank you! thank you! for writing that
excellent letter to the Clarion-Ledger. And my cheers to
you and to your wonder-full parents, old friends who are
very dear to me.
Paz, Clyde Appleton 7/25/05
---------------------------------------------
Here's a comment from Jackson, from a person with no
movement background
or connection:
"Reber- I read the letter to the editor in the Clarion
Ledger this
morning and remembered that Salter was a friend of yours and
intended to
send it to you. It contains his web site and invitation to
read further
about him which I intend to do, although I believe you
furnished it to
me a year or so ago."
Reber Boult 7/25/05
--------------------------------------------
I will add a (non-religious) Amen to all that has been said.
best
sam [friedman] 7/26/05
-------------------------------------------------
Many of us saw the beautiful letter that your son wrote to
the Clarion-Ledger. What a kid!
Susan Klopfer 7/27/05
---------------------------------------------------
Hi Son of John Salter, [7/28/05]
I am pleased to see that you are traveling in your father's
footsteps. This
is the thing that will make his legacy a great one. Last I
saw you and your
wonderful Mother, you were just a small boy emerging into a
world filled
with hanging moss and the sounds of 500 students. My name is
Colia Liddell
Lafayette Clark. I was instrumental in bringing a willing
John Salter into the
Mississippi struggle. He was a wonderful teacher and unusual
in that he was
willing to give his time, expertise and energy to assist in
making a
movement happen in Jackson. Because of his hard earnest work
light came to a
very dark place bringing with it a waterfall of positive
change. Please
remind him that his student thinks of him often and that I
cannot image that
he is anything but the big bad bear that took on the racist-facist
State of
Mississippi. His legacy is one of hope. He can never die
though he may fade
away, his work through you, his students and the people of
Mississippi will
live and justify his coming this way. I will write more
later. Please send
me an address where I can communicate through formal mail.
Sincerely,
Colia Liddell LaFayette Clark
____________________________________________________________________
What a wonderful
letter from John III. What a
wonderful act/gift to receive
from a son. --
Tim McGowan August 10 2005
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq /St.
Francis
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk
www.hunterbear.org
WALKING
MUCH, ONCE AGAIN [HUNTER BEAR] 5/22/05
Our own especially good news
is that I am walking -- on the steep slopes --
once again. More on that in a moment, but first:
The attached excerpt from a long obit is from the Quincy,
California paper
of just a couple of days ago. In 1988, right after receiving
his M.A. from
UND, Beba [John] became exec director for the Roundhouse
Council at
Greenville, in northeastern California for several good years
-- not far
from Reno. The program serves Native people, mostly the
Mountain Maidu.
Maria and Thomas went out there for two years, living in
nearby Quincy --
where Samantha was born in '91. Occasionally, Maria checks
the regional
news in that setting.
It is quite possible that Mr Smith, with a surviving
grandfather at Grand
Cayman Island, B.W.I, is of African background. Natives,
Blacks, Chicanos
are special risk groups for this malevolently hideous disease
-- but anyone
can get Lupus. In any case, he -- apparently relatively young
-- is simply
one more SLE victim. As far as I know, there is no organic
correlation
between Lupus and Leukemia -- but Leukemia and other blood
cancers can
definitely result from certain chemo drugs, such as Imuran and
Methotrextate
and Cytoxin, which are often used for SLE. A year and a half
ago, a pushy
Rheumatologist strongly advised me to use one of those three,
I did not, and
we left him pronto. I take 20 pills or so a day, but we have
sharply
reduced Prednisone, replacing it with Plaquenil. We think it
unlikely that
I will take any of the chemo drugs save as a last resort.
Since anything can always happen with SLE, I have had, of
course, Last Rites
from the Catholic Church.
Some may recall that, a few weeks ago, in the latter stages of
our first
hike into the hills since the really heavy snow and ice faded
[major rains
have continued off and on in these parts], my legs completely
gave out close
to home and Josie had to bring her Jeep Liberty to rescue me.
This sad
event raised the possibility that I am in decline, so to speak
--
"progressive deterioration" of some sort. But as I told the
nice young
Mormon "Elders" [19 or 20] who came by some days ago, I
believe in fighting
right down to the wire -- I ain't no 'Possum. And they
vigorously agreed,
but did offer to mow our large lawn simply as a helpful
service.
Then, a week ago, Maria and I and Hunter [Shelty] took a very
good hike
up -- and down -- with nothing untoward. A couple of days
ago, we went
successfully even further. This morning, even with Josie and
Cameron off to
early church [LDS] at Cameron's home town of McCammon, about
40 minutes
south of Poky, and Thomas' phone more or less inactive for the
moment, we
chanced it once again and went the full length we had on that
grim day of
the Collapse of the Legs.
And no great problems. All OK. We kind of hoped to see a
rattler or two,
and I took my snakebite kit for the first time since late
fall, but no such
friends under the shady sage or on the edges of the cool mud.
With the
reduction in Prednisone, and the walking as well, I am now
steadily losing
weight. My feet continue to be painful and numb and walking
can be tough.
And, as I remarked to Sam Friedman during his fine visit here
a month or so
ago, my feet -- Size 16 -- may now be getting even longer.
"Damion Smith passed away at Stanford Cancer Center, Palo
Alto, after a long
battle with leukemia and lupus. He was born in Santa Maria,
and raised in
Lompoc. At the time of his passing he was residing in Quincy.
He leaves to
mourn his loving wife, Kathryn Elena (Katie); daughters
Mackenzie Danielle,
5 years old and Raygen Leigh Smith, 4 years old."
Yours, H
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Micmac /St.
Francis
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk
www.hunterbear.org
Protected by NaŽshdoŽiŽbaŽiŽ
and Ohkwari'
From David McReynolds:
____________________________________________________________
Note by Hunter Bear:
You don't have to worry about
dementia.
And maybe, in the very remote future, some archaeologist
will
discover your fossilized tracks and produce headlines with
the astounding discovery that Bigfoot ultimately grew
cleats.
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Hunter, Good
to hear on the
walkin, and on
a regular basis.
It's good to
connect.
Thinking of
you ,
To the core
amigo,
Tim [McGowan] 5/23/05
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Micmac /St.
Francis
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk
www.hunterbear.org
Protected by NaŽshdoŽiŽbaŽiŽ
and Ohkwari'
Check out Surprise Tribute:
http://www.hunterbear.org/special_tribute_page_for_hunter.htm
In our Gray Hole, the ghosts often dance in the junipers and
sage, on the
game trails, in the tributary canyons with the thick red
maples, and on the
high windy ridges -- and they dance from within the very
essence of our own
inner being. They do this especially when the bright night
moon shines down
on the clean white snow that covers the valley and its
surroundings. Then
it is as bright as day -- but in an always soft and mysterious
and
remembering way. [Hunter Bear]