LaNada War Jack

Last updated

LaNada War Jack
Born
LaNada Vernae Boyer

1947 (age 76–77)
Fort Hall Indian Reservation, Bingham County, Idaho, US
NationalityAmerican
Other namesLaNada Means, LaNada James, LaNada Boyer
Years active1968–present

LaNada War Jack (born LaNada Vernae Boyer, 1947), also known as LaNada Boyer and LaNada Means, is an American writer and activist. She was the first Native American student admitted to the University of California at Berkeley in 1968. She led the drive to create the Native American Student Organization and became its chair. As a leader of the Third World Strike at UC Berkeley in 1969, she was arrested but succeeded in obtaining approval for the first ethnic studies courses to be included in the university's curricula. A few months later, she became one of the organizers of the Occupation of Alcatraz in 1969. After the occupation, she completed her bachelor's degree at the University of California, Berkeley and went on to study law at Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C. While in Washington, she participated in the takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs office in 1972.

Contents

Returning to Idaho in 1974, War Jack (then known as Boyer) was involved in tribal politics and served a two-year term on the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation of Idaho Tribal Council. In 1979, she moved to Nevada and operated a ranch near Wadsworth, gaining certification in permaculture from the Permaculture Institute at Tagari Garden Farm, near Sisters Creek, Tasmania. Along with her husband, Gus James, a Northern Paiute, she worked on preserving natural resources for American Indian use. When they divorced in the early 1990s, she returned to Idaho and earned a master's degree in public administration and a PhD in political science from Idaho State University. She served for three years as the Executive Director of the Shoshone Bannock Tribes. She has continued her activism on behalf of Native people and is a distinguished professor at Boise State University, teaching Native law and governance courses.

Early life and education

LaNada Vernae Boyer was born in 1947 on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in Bingham County, Idaho to Olive May (née Burns) and Edward Queep Boyer. [1] Her mother was a veteran of World War II and had worked as a welder in the Vancouver shipyard before returning to the reservation to raise her family. On her maternal side, her grandparents were Edith (née Bartlett), a teacher descended from Teash Ocean, and John Burns, son of the Bannock chief, Tahgee. [2] Her father had also served in the United States Navy in Vancouver and later became a council member and chair of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation of Idaho during the termination period. He represented the tribe in their land claims, and testified before the U.S. Congress on civil rights, education, and water rights in the 1960s. In the 1970s, he founded the Shoshone-Bannock Legal Research Project to continue the cultural and civic protection of American Indians. [3] He was descended from war chief Tah mon mah. [4]

Boyer attended school on the reservation and in the American Indian boarding schools system. [5] She was a good student but was frequently expelled and had to change schools because she spoke out about the institutional environment. [4] [6] "Children were beaten for speaking their native language, practicing their culture, and following their own religions". [5] In 1965, because there were no jobs on the reservation, Boyer moved to San Francisco, through the U.S. government relocation program. [5] [7] She married Theodore L. Means, a relative of Russell Means. The couple had two children but divorced in 1967. [8] [9] In January 1968, she enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley, becoming the first Native American student admitted to the institution. Active in student politics, she led the drive to create the campus Native American Student Organization and became its chair. [5] [10]

Student activism (1969–1973)

In January 1969, Means became involved in the Third World Strike, [9] [11] which demanded that the university included histories of communities of color in their curricula to be taught by people of color. It united students from the Afro-American Students Union, the Asian American Political Alliance, the Mexican-American Student Confederation, and the Native American Student Organization. [11] Means was among the students arrested during the protests and suspended for her leadership of the demonstrations, along with Manuel Ruben Delgado and Ysidro Macias. [12] In the 1960s, it was rare for political movements to have women in leadership positions and supporting Means in her authority to lead became a symbol for indigenous feminism. [13] Within three months, the strikes were successful in securing an agreement for launching the first ethnic studies department in the United States at UC Berkeley. [11]

Since the 1964 Occupation of Alcatraz, the island had been a powerful symbol to urban Indians in the San Francisco Bay Area. [14] [15] In 1969, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors granted Lamar Hunt preliminary approval for the commercial development of Alcatraz. [16] Shortly after, in October, the San Francisco Indian Center, the primary meeting place and administrative center for social services for the Bay Area's urban Indians burned. [17] The United Council of the Bay Area proposed Alcatraz as a replacement facility and began plans to take over the island. [18] On November 9, 1969, Means and Richard Oakes led 12 other students to occupy Alcatraz Island overnight. Lacking food and shelter, they left the following day. [9]

Distancing herself from "so called Indian leaders" who were distrusted because of their age and social status in mainstream society, Means urged the student activists to plan a return to the island when John Folster, Adam Fortunate Eagle, and George Woodward were out of town. [6] [9] The students chose November 20, because the leadership were scheduled to be away at a national Indian educational conference. [9] Means, one of the few who remained on the island for the 19-month occupation, brought her 2-year-old son, Deynon and on Sundays would leave to check on her apartment and communicate with her professors. [4] [19] Consciously choosing to bring their families, activists hoped to convey the generational and inter-tribal nature of their quest for indigenous rights. [13] She wrote the grant proposal for $300,000 seeking to create a cultural and university facility on Alcatraz [14] [20] and served in a leadership role throughout the occupation, traveling throughout the United States and speaking to raise support for their cause. [5] She became friends with Jane Fonda, who assisted her in obtaining engagements and television appearances. [9] The Occupation of Alcatraz became a symbol of the struggle of indigenous people to re-establish their identity and led to over 50 other occupations of government facilities. [21]

When the occupation ended, Means completed her education in 1971, graduating with honors in Native American Law & Politics. [5] [22] One of the founding members of the Native American Rights Fund, she served on its executive board for a decade. [22] She relocated to Washington D.C. and enrolled in law school at the Antioch School of Law. [23] In November 1972, she took part (as LaNada Boyer) in the occupation of the offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The activists remained in the building for a week seeking to raise awareness of government failures in providing for American Indians and in treaty violations. [24] [25]

Politics (1976–1990)

Boyer returned to the reservation, and in 1974, ran for a seat on the Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Council. [26] In 1976, she ran again, and was successful in obtaining a seat on the Tribal Council, serving a two-year term. [23] During her time on the Council, the tribe was in a dispute with the Power County Board of Commissioners over zoning rights, hunting and fishing rights, and representation for non-Native residents on the tribal council. Boyer's position was that the reservation was created for tribal members and should remain within the purview of tribal law. [27]

In 1979, Boyer married Alvin Ray "Gus" James, [28] [29] a Paiute involved in the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation resource rights litigation with the federal government. [30] By the early 1980s, James was living in Nevada and operating a ranch near Wadsworth, where they engaged in permaculture for their organic garden. [29] She earned a Certificate in Permaculture Design in 1985 from the Permaculture Institute at Tagari Garden Farm, near Sisters Creek, Tasmania. [22] She had two more children and assisted Gus in pressing the water rights case regarding the Truckee River. [4] [30] She also served on the Ad Hoc Committee to Protect Indian Water Rights and represented the organization in public meetings regarding proposed legislation. [31] In 1986 the couple circulated a successful petition to reject a proposed bill to compensate the tribe for water use, but which did not contain provisions for adequate lake levels for spawning fish. [30] That year, James also ran on the Democratic ticket for the Nevada Assembly as a representative for District 34 but was defeated. [32] [33]

Later career (1990–present)

James divorced and returned to Idaho. [34] She enrolled in a master's program at Idaho State University, earning her degree in public administration. [22] In 1997, she worked as a congressional fellow in Washington, D.C. [35] Continuing her studies, she graduated with a PhD in political science in 1999, becoming the first member of her tribe to earn a doctorate. [5] [22] James began using her tribal name LaNada War Jack, [36] and served three years as Executive Director of the Shoshone Bannock Tribes. [22] In 2002, War Jack attended the Land Retention Summit in Epes, Alabama, which allowed advocates and activists to share their stories and advice on retaining and managing their lands. [34] She founded a non-profit organization, the Atzlana Foundation, to focus on protecting indigenous rights to air, land, fishing, and water. [6] War Jack has continued her activism and was involved in the Standing Rock protest of 2016, the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Alcatraz Occupation, and protests against the celebration of Columbus Day. [37] In addition to speaking widely on Native rights issues, she has taught Native American History at Creighton University and lectured at her alma mater, UC Berkeley. [6] [22] She is a distinguished professor at Boise State University and teaches Native law and governance courses. [38]

Works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owyhee, Nevada</span> Census-designated place in Nevada, United States

Owyhee is a census-designated place (CDP) in Elko County, Nevada, United States, along the banks of the Owyhee River. The population was 953 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Elko Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is the primary town of the federally recognized Shoshone-Paiute tribe's Duck Valley Indian Reservation, which covers portions of northern Nevada and southern Idaho, and the majority of its population are Native American.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Winnemucca</span> Northern Paiute author, activist, and educator (c. 1844 –1891)

Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins was a Northern Paiute writer, activist (lecturer) and educator. Her maiden name was Winnemucca.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Trudell</span> Native American activist, author, and poet (1946–2015)

John Trudell was a Native American author, poet, actor, musician, and political activist. He was the spokesperson for the Indians of All Tribes' takeover of Alcatraz beginning in 1969, broadcasting as Radio Free Alcatraz. During most of the 1970s, he served as the chairman of the American Indian Movement, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin</span> Cultural classification of Native Americans

The Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin are Native Americans of the northern Great Basin, Snake River Plain, and upper Colorado River basin. The "Great Basin" is a cultural classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas and a cultural region located between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, in what is now Nevada, and parts of Oregon, California, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah. The Great Basin region at the time of European contact was ~400,000 sq mi (1,000,000 km2). There is very little precipitation in the Great Basin area which affects the lifestyles and cultures of the inhabitants.

The Bannock War of 1878 was an armed conflict between the U.S. military and Bannock and Paiute warriors in Idaho and northeastern Oregon from June to August 1878. The Bannock totaled about 600 to 800 in 1870 because of other Shoshone peoples being included with Bannock numbers. they were led by Chief Buffalo Horn, who was killed in action on June 8, 1878. After his death, Chief Egan led the Bannocks. He and some of his warriors were killed in July by a Umatilla party that entered his camp in subterfuge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bannock people</span> Indigenous people of North America

The Bannock tribe were originally Northern Paiute but are more culturally affiliated with the Northern Shoshone. They are in the Great Basin classification of Indigenous People. Their traditional lands include northern Nevada, southeastern Oregon, southern Idaho, and western Wyoming. Today they are enrolled in the federally recognized Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation of Idaho, located on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Shoshone</span> Grouping of Shoshone tribes in the Great Basin

Western Shoshone comprise several Shoshone tribes that are indigenous to the Great Basin and have lands identified in the Treaty of Ruby Valley 1863. They resided in Idaho, Nevada, California, and Utah. The tribes are very closely related culturally to the Paiute, Goshute, Bannock, Ute, and Timbisha tribes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnemucca (Paiute leader)</span> Native American Northern Paiute war chief (c. 1820–1882)

Winnemucca was a Northern Paiute war chief. He was born a Shoshone around 1820 in what would later become the Oregon Territory.

Adam Fortunate Eagle L.H.D., hereditary member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, is a Native American activist and was the principal organizer of the 1969–1971 Occupation of Alcatraz by "Indians of All Tribes".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duck Valley Indian Reservation</span> Indian reservation in United States, Shoshone-Paiute

The Duck Valley Indian Reservation was established in the 19th century for the federally recognized Shoshone-Paiute Tribe. It is isolated in the high desert of the western United States, and lies on the state line, the 42nd parallel, between Idaho and Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Occupation of Alcatraz</span> American Indian protest in 1969 - 1971

The Occupation of Alcatraz was a 19-month long protest when 89 Native Americans and their supporters occupied Alcatraz Island. The protest was led by Richard Oakes, LaNada Means, and others, while John Trudell served as spokesman. The group lived on the island together until the protest was forcibly ended by the U.S. government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Kelley Creek</span> Massacre of Native Americans by US forces

The Battle of Kelley Creek, also known as the Last Massacre, is often considered to be one of the last known massacres carried out between Native Americans and forces of the United States, and was a closing event to occur near the end of the American Indian warfare era. In January 1911 a small band of Shoshones were accused of rustling cattle and then killing four stockmen who went to investigate the dead cattle. A posse of policemen and citizens was sent to track the band, who were found encamped near Winnemucca, Nevada, in a region known as Kelley Creek. A largely one-sided battle ensued on February 25 that ended with the direct deaths of nine people, eight Daggetts and one posse member. At the time the affair was briefly characterized as a Native American revolt, though it is now mostly regarded as a family's attempted escape from law enforcement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe</span> Federally recognized tribe on the Nevada and Oregon border

The Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of Northern Paiute and Western Shoshone peoples, whose reservation Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes of the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation spans the Nevada and Oregon border next to Idaho. The reservation has 16,354 acres (6,618 ha) in Nevada and 19,000 acres (7,700 ha) in Oregon.

Jean LaMarr is a Northern Paiute/Achomawi artist and activist from California. She creates murals, prints, dioramas, sculptures, and interactive installations. She is an enrolled citizen of the Susanville Indian Rancheria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belva Cottier</span> Sioux activist and social worker

Belva Cottier was an American Rosebud Sioux activist and social worker. She proposed the idea of occupying Alcatraz Island in 1964 and was one of the activists who led the protest for return of the island to Native Americans. She planned the first Occupation of Alcatraz, and the suit to claim the property for the Sioux. Concerned for the health of urban Indians, she conducted a study for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, which resulted in her becoming the executive director of the first American Indian Health Center in the Bay area in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stella Leach</span> Native American nurse and activist

Stella Leach was a Colville-Oglala Lakota nurse and activist who was known for her work in establishing the first American Indian children's wellness center in the San Francisco Bay Area, setting up the health clinic during the Occupation of Alcatraz, and her activism for native American self-determination.

Jennie R. Joe is an American academic, medical anthropologist, and fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology. Initially trained as a nurse, she was one of the health clinic workers during Occupation of Alcatraz in 1969. She is a professor in the Departments of Family and Community Medicine and American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona. Joe was one of the inaugural board members for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian and serves on the board of the Urban Indian Health Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luwana Quitiquit</span>

Luwana Quitiquit was a Native American administrator, activist, and basket weaver. During the Occupation of Alcatraz she worked as one of the cooks who provided food to those living on the island. Her career was as an administrator for various California Indian organizations. Subsequently, she became a well-known doll maker, basketweaver, jeweler, and teacher of Pomo handicrafts. In 2008, she and her family were disenrolled from the Robinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California. She fought the action claiming it was politically motivated until her death. Posthumously, in 2017, her membership, as well as for her other family members, was reinstated in the first known case where a tribe reversed its decision on membership termination without a court ruling.

References

Citations

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.