Wyandotte Indians: Adapting, persevering, thriving

This week, the campus community and more than 1,000 local/area middle school and high school students heard the inspiring story of the Wyandotte Nation Indian tribe of northeastern Oklahoma from its chief, Billy Friend. Chief Friend was the keynote speaker for this year's Lichtman-Behm Genocide Lecture Series, which this year explored the topic of genocide of Native American people.

Chief Friend walked us through the history of the displacement and losses faced by the Wyandottes, who were the last tribe to leave Ohio. Once with numbers around 25,000, Wyandotte Nation was decimated to about 500 after forced removal. In the mid-1960s, the tribe regained its status and began to grow and prosper.

With its culture, history, language and traditions virtually stripped away, the Wyandottes' story is inspiring. Today, the culture has been successfully revived. "We are teaching the language to preschoolers. Dances and songs are being brought back. Elders are teaching beading and artisan work to the children," Chief Friend said. "We have begun to see a nation of people rise up out of the ashes."

The Wyandottes have rebuilt their community with a strong commitment to economic development, providing quality housing, healthcare, jobs, education and infrastructure to its people. In September, they opened a cultural center and museum that will go a long way in preserving and celebrating their culture, he said.

The story of the Wyandotte Nation is one of adaptation and perseverance; the now 6,000-member tribe is thriving.

"It's been an amazing journey for me ... an amazing journey for the Wyandotte people," said Chief Friend, explaining that he grew up not really understanding what it meant to be Wyandotte. "To me, it's just a wonderful story. I love what I do because I know it's going to impact the next seven generations. My children and my grandchildren are going to grow up knowing what it means to be Wyandotte."

The Lichtman-Behm Genocide Lecture Series concluded Thursday night with a cultural presentation with music and dance by the SouthEastern WaterSpider drum group.