Post by blackcrowheart on Jan 10, 2006 12:12:37 GMT -5
Road to success goes through rez
www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforksherald/news/columnists/1357087
8.htm
In an unprecedented move during winter graduation this year, Dr. Bob
Boyd, vice president for student and outreach services at UND, broke
into a line of graduates receiving their doctoral degrees to
congratulate Eric Longie, the first person ever from the Spirit Lake
Dakota Nation in Fort Totten, N.D., to receive a doctoral degree.The
announcement brought the audience and Longie's family out of their
seats in a rousing ovation for this shy Dakota man. Eric and I have
known each other casually for several years, but I didn't know about
the long and winding path he had traveled to reach that moment in
Chester Fritz Auditorium on Dec. 16.
In order to realize the significance of Longie's "first-ever"
doctoral degree, it is important to understand a little of the life
story of the Spirit Lake Dakota nation. It has been difficult for
these American Indian people. Their history is filled with atrocities
committed against them; there were times when they barely were able
to eke out a living. And it has been a continuous struggle for them
because of misunderstandings of their cultural ways and who they are.
Yet, they have survived. Some of the results of this nation's
difficult history, however, exhibit themselves in the people's
everyday lives.
When a group of people is under stress, drugs or alcohol ease the
pain for some. For many tribes, these addictions -- learned with the
coming of the white men -- cause havoc.
Longie didn't escape his environment. He lived in a community where
alcohol abuse was the norm, he said. In addition, alcohol abuse was
part of his teen years, he told me.
Yet, Longie had Mercy Jerome, his mother. He recalls her continuous
and wise guidance that gently nudged him toward the field of
education. She praised her son as a good and intelligent man.
Even after his mother had passed on, he remembered her words. But
what finally reined him in "fast and up short" was a car accident. He
was driving drunk. Longie never fully recovery from the accident and
still walks with a limp.
It took two or three times in treatment before he finally conquered
his alcohol addiction. It is hard not to become addicted when your
environment, family and community accept alcohol as a way of life, he
said. It can be tough for young people living on reservations.
Then, why live on the reservation? I asked him.
He said this: He is comfortable on the reservation because of the
culture and customs. He likes powwows, giveaways and community meals.
It is like a big family where he can visit easily with everyone in
the community. "I guess I'm just a `rez boy,'" he said.
Longie agrees with a friend who talked about alcoholism. "I tried to
quit my alcohol addiction," the friend told Longie. "I prayed the
rosary and went to church, but that didn't work. What helped was the
traditional ways." That's when he quit for good, the friend said.
Longie pondered this when he lived off reservation for a while and
thought about why should he return. "I'm Indian and belong with the
people on the reservation."
When Longie lost his son in a car accident four years ago, he was
working on his doctorate at UND. He took a year off and nearly quit.
He lost all his motivation and didn't see any reason to return to
school, he said. But with the help and support of his friends and
some of the people at UND, he returned after a year. That is what
depression can do to you, he said.
Longie said he learned this lesson after the death of this son: He,
Longie, is not as independent as he thought. He had to accept the
help of friends and family. They helped him make it through the loss
of his son and the depression that followed, he said. Longie raised
three sons and a daughter for most of their lives as a single
father. "I am not a particularly good father," he said, "but my
children are my life."
In spite of the struggles Longie experienced on the reservation, it
is also the place where his strength and will came from. For Spirit
Lake, Dr. Eric Longie will be a good role model, and others will
follow in his footsteps.
www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforksherald/news/columnists/1357087
8.htm
In an unprecedented move during winter graduation this year, Dr. Bob
Boyd, vice president for student and outreach services at UND, broke
into a line of graduates receiving their doctoral degrees to
congratulate Eric Longie, the first person ever from the Spirit Lake
Dakota Nation in Fort Totten, N.D., to receive a doctoral degree.The
announcement brought the audience and Longie's family out of their
seats in a rousing ovation for this shy Dakota man. Eric and I have
known each other casually for several years, but I didn't know about
the long and winding path he had traveled to reach that moment in
Chester Fritz Auditorium on Dec. 16.
In order to realize the significance of Longie's "first-ever"
doctoral degree, it is important to understand a little of the life
story of the Spirit Lake Dakota nation. It has been difficult for
these American Indian people. Their history is filled with atrocities
committed against them; there were times when they barely were able
to eke out a living. And it has been a continuous struggle for them
because of misunderstandings of their cultural ways and who they are.
Yet, they have survived. Some of the results of this nation's
difficult history, however, exhibit themselves in the people's
everyday lives.
When a group of people is under stress, drugs or alcohol ease the
pain for some. For many tribes, these addictions -- learned with the
coming of the white men -- cause havoc.
Longie didn't escape his environment. He lived in a community where
alcohol abuse was the norm, he said. In addition, alcohol abuse was
part of his teen years, he told me.
Yet, Longie had Mercy Jerome, his mother. He recalls her continuous
and wise guidance that gently nudged him toward the field of
education. She praised her son as a good and intelligent man.
Even after his mother had passed on, he remembered her words. But
what finally reined him in "fast and up short" was a car accident. He
was driving drunk. Longie never fully recovery from the accident and
still walks with a limp.
It took two or three times in treatment before he finally conquered
his alcohol addiction. It is hard not to become addicted when your
environment, family and community accept alcohol as a way of life, he
said. It can be tough for young people living on reservations.
Then, why live on the reservation? I asked him.
He said this: He is comfortable on the reservation because of the
culture and customs. He likes powwows, giveaways and community meals.
It is like a big family where he can visit easily with everyone in
the community. "I guess I'm just a `rez boy,'" he said.
Longie agrees with a friend who talked about alcoholism. "I tried to
quit my alcohol addiction," the friend told Longie. "I prayed the
rosary and went to church, but that didn't work. What helped was the
traditional ways." That's when he quit for good, the friend said.
Longie pondered this when he lived off reservation for a while and
thought about why should he return. "I'm Indian and belong with the
people on the reservation."
When Longie lost his son in a car accident four years ago, he was
working on his doctorate at UND. He took a year off and nearly quit.
He lost all his motivation and didn't see any reason to return to
school, he said. But with the help and support of his friends and
some of the people at UND, he returned after a year. That is what
depression can do to you, he said.
Longie said he learned this lesson after the death of this son: He,
Longie, is not as independent as he thought. He had to accept the
help of friends and family. They helped him make it through the loss
of his son and the depression that followed, he said. Longie raised
three sons and a daughter for most of their lives as a single
father. "I am not a particularly good father," he said, "but my
children are my life."
In spite of the struggles Longie experienced on the reservation, it
is also the place where his strength and will came from. For Spirit
Lake, Dr. Eric Longie will be a good role model, and others will
follow in his footsteps.