While I was preparing for my last year American History exam, a thought kept ringing… In fact, a lot has been done for the African Americans, although they had suffered through much more. Though some may consider it still too little, let us think of those for who even less has been done: the Native Americans - the Indians. What a poor testimony has the white man given to these tribal people! What anguish and oppression have the white men brought! We can think of the first 17th-century settlers; all the kindness and help the Pilgrims proved from the Indians in their time of hardship … And what did the white man give in turn? - The Trail of Tears, extermination of buffalo leading to starvation of so many tribesmen and the constraints of reservations can serve us as landmarks. One cannot but sigh sadly at a thought that these were so-called Christians who have shed so much blood throughout centuries. I said so-called, for I believe that a true Christian is someone that would rather be killed because of his or her beliefs than kill others. Anyway, it is this sympathy for the native tribes of America that has determined my choice of LaDonna Harris as a woman figure to describe.
Born in 1931 to a white Irish-American and a Comanche tribe woman later left by her husband because of the hostility the mixed couple faced, LaDonna was brought up by her grandparents. Her grandmother was a Christian, while her grandfather - a tribal medicine man. The example of mutual respect the couple had given to LaDonna bore fruit in her education in both white and Indian culture. Speaking the Comanche language only until the age of six, LaDonna learned English when she entered public school. Years later, she married Fred Harris whom she had met in high-school. Although not a Native American, Fred, a sharecropper’s son, had proven hardship and poverty comparable to that of LaDonna’s. Supported by his wife, Fred obtained his legal education and run for the office.
With Fred’s election, first to the Oklahoma state senate, then to the U.S. Senate in 1965, LaDonna, by then a mother of three, began an effort similar to the civil rights movement on the behalf of African Americans in Southeast, later overtaking her activity on behalf of the Native Americans. LaDonna Harris is considered an outspoken advocate on issues concerning not only Native Americans, but also women, children and the mentally ill. In 1970, Harris founded Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO), seeking to unite the state’s tribes to combat segregation. She stressed the improvement of economic conditions for Native Americans, securing the civil rights to them at the same time. With time, expanding her activity in line with her interest in the cause of native peoples as a global and not merely national phenomenon, Harris had become interested in the U.S. Peace Corps as an effective instrument to assist in local development for indigenous peoples around the world.
Born in 1931 to a white Irish-American and a Comanche tribe woman later left by her husband because of the hostility the mixed couple faced, LaDonna was brought up by her grandparents. Her grandmother was a Christian, while her grandfather - a tribal medicine man. The example of mutual respect the couple had given to LaDonna bore fruit in her education in both white and Indian culture. Speaking the Comanche language only until the age of six, LaDonna learned English when she entered public school. Years later, she married Fred Harris whom she had met in high-school. Although not a Native American, Fred, a sharecropper’s son, had proven hardship and poverty comparable to that of LaDonna’s. Supported by his wife, Fred obtained his legal education and run for the office.With Fred’s election, first to the Oklahoma state senate, then to the U.S. Senate in 1965, LaDonna, by then a mother of three, began an effort similar to the civil rights movement on the behalf of African Americans in Southeast, later overtaking her activity on behalf of the Native Americans. LaDonna Harris is considered an outspoken advocate on issues concerning not only Native Americans, but also women, children and the mentally ill. In 1970, Harris founded Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO), seeking to unite the state’s tribes to combat segregation. She stressed the improvement of economic conditions for Native Americans, securing the civil rights to them at the same time. With time, expanding her activity in line with her interest in the cause of native peoples as a global and not merely national phenomenon, Harris had become interested in the U.S. Peace Corps as an effective instrument to assist in local development for indigenous peoples around the world.
This and much more information about LaDonna Harris can be found at http://www.answers.com/topic/ladonna-harris
