In the early-80s, George Emeny--a math teacher--taught a social science class on a personal passion: Native American History. The experience of being a white man teaching this subject prompted an epiphany: he had to study Native culture out West, and find a Native mentor. Studying Lakota (Sioux) language at the University of South Dakota, he was referred to the Director of Lakota Studies at new-born Sinte Gleska University on the Rosebud Reservation, Albert White Hat. The rest is history. Albert eventually came to teach at Proctor, live at Proctor (for one term,) and to leave an indelible mark on the human character of this very human school. Below, Albert, now a long-time Trustee of Proctor Academy, is here for trustee weekend with Emily '94, grandson Mark, who will be an applicant for the ninth grade next year, George, Albert and tour guide Aaron Thomas, a sophomore from Chilne, Arizona.
Never underestimate the ability of one man to change the world. Albert White Hat's influence on the nature of Proctor Academy is so deep and thorough that it is hard to image what we would be without him. His brother began making trouble in 1949, when he gained tribal signatures demanding that the reservation schools adhere to South Dakota state standards. Below, fellow trustees listen at a special breakfast meeting this morning:
The success of that initiative eventually brought reservation schools out of a self-defeating system that included Native boarding schools that taught little other than submission to authority. By 1968, Albert and his adoptive brother, (former Proctor teacher) John Around Him had discovered teachings of Lakota language and culture that had been illegal to teach for 100 years in the United States of America. They dedicated themselves to bringing that culture and language "to the surface." Here is Albert asserting, "Humor has always been important to our people. Humor is how we survived."
Albert went on to help found that college,
Sinte Gleska, named after a heroic warrior ("
Spotted Tail" 1823-1881) who dreamed of the survival of Lakota culture through mastery of roles within the culture of Wasicu (the white man). At first, classes met in church basements and abandoned hallrooms. Resistance to teaching Lakota language and culture came from the inside: government-run schools had taught fear and submission to authority more than they had taught arithmetic.
Trustees Michael Cave and Caroline Heatley, and Mike Henriques listen to Albert.
Albert is here with daughter Emily '94 and grandson Mark, who may become an applicant for the Class of 2014 next year. Emily's presence enriched the experience of students about to initiate Senior Projects, when--in assembly--she preempted their project descriptions by explaining how her Senior Project, in 1994, shaped her entire life and career. Today, she is a national leader for Indian Land Management. These are the faces of seniors listening to Emily!
At this morning's Trustee meeting, Chris Norris spoke of the many gifts Proctor has received as the result of our long relationship with Albert, John Around Him, and the Lakota people. The effects are subtle beyond the Inipi (sweat lodge) ceremony and presence of Native students today. Chris referred to the knowledge that small pieces are always part of a greater whole. At assembly, Albert related a story in the magical manner that I have appreciated over three decades.
When he was young, Albert looked out over a canyon, and saw the ridge and all the sky filled with hawks. Every hawk was different, but each was a hawk. He was amazed, and returned to tell an elder in the tribe. The elder said, "You are fortunate to have seen the hawk nation." "Today," Albert told us this morning, "I look at you as the hawk nation. You come from many places, but you come here. You are together here...at Proctor." Albert finished by singing a powerful song in Lakota, the language that was illegal to teach until he taught it...the language he taught Kevin Costner as script writer for Dancing With Wolves...the language he teaches youth today at Sinte Gleska University.
To be in the presence of Albert White Hat is to experience love and wisdom. I have never heard a Proctor assembly as silent and attentive as this morning's, as he offered a song to greet the sun as friend, and I treasure every moment with him. Never underestimate the ability of one man to change the world.
