candacesthomas
Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Photograph courtesy of www.doi.gov/news/benchico.jpg.
Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a chief of the Cheyenne Tribe, has worked as a teacher, policeman, prison counselor, farm laborer, truck driver and a designer of Native American jewelry. However, he is most famous for the fact that is one of the few Native Americans ever to serve in the U.S. Congress. He is a former member of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, where he was chairman of the Indian Affairs committee. While in Congress, Campbell earned a reputation for having a "straight-shooting approach," and his charm, sincerity, charisma, and political blend helped him gain support from a wide variety of groups both within and outside of Congress. As a congressman, he served on the House Committees on Agriculture and on Interior and Insular Affairs. He played an important role in securing legislation to settle Native American water rights, and in 1991 he won a fight to change the name of Custer Battlefield Monument in Montana to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, in honor of the Native Americans who died in battle. He also initiated and guided through Congress legislation to establish the National Museum of the American Indian within the Smithsonian Institution. At the ground breaking ceremony for the National Museum of the American Indian, Campbell is quoted, saying “ "No longer will Native American culture be bottled up in collections and hidden from so many people in the world who wish to share them."
Viola, Herman J. 1993. Ben Nighthorse Campbell: An American Warrior. New York: Crown.
Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Photograph courtesy of www.doi.gov/news/benchico.jpg.
Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a chief of the Cheyenne Tribe, has worked as a teacher, policeman, prison counselor, farm laborer, truck driver and a designer of Native American jewelry. However, he is most famous for the fact that is one of the few Native Americans ever to serve in the U.S. Congress. He is a former member of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, where he was chairman of the Indian Affairs committee. While in Congress, Campbell earned a reputation for having a "straight-shooting approach," and his charm, sincerity, charisma, and political blend helped him gain support from a wide variety of groups both within and outside of Congress. As a congressman, he served on the House Committees on Agriculture and on Interior and Insular Affairs. He played an important role in securing legislation to settle Native American water rights, and in 1991 he won a fight to change the name of Custer Battlefield Monument in Montana to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, in honor of the Native Americans who died in battle. He also initiated and guided through Congress legislation to establish the National Museum of the American Indian within the Smithsonian Institution. At the ground breaking ceremony for the National Museum of the American Indian, Campbell is quoted, saying “ "No longer will Native American culture be bottled up in collections and hidden from so many people in the world who wish to share them."
Viola, Herman J. 1993. Ben Nighthorse Campbell: An American Warrior. New York: Crown.