Scott J. Davis, Executive Director of Indian Affairs for the State of North Dakota. The pictures on his credenza are of his great-grandfather, grandfather, and his father with his family.
I spoke with Scott J. Davis, a Native American who is now the Executive Director of Indian Affairs for the State of North Dakota. The state’s population is seven percent Native American, while in the country as a whole it is officially one percent. But Scott said Native Americans don’t trust census takers and see no reason to tell them how many people are in their household, so he feels Native Americans are vastly undercounted in the census.
He spoke of the difficulty of being a Native American who has two communities pulling on him and influencing him.
“I’m always walking in two worlds, both personal and professional. Personally, I live off the reservation, my kids to go a non-native school, so we’re in mainstream America.
“Working for the governor, for the white man, there are always some trust issues, I guess. Being educated, I have a masters degree, all that stuff doesn’t change who I am, doesn’t make me forget where I came from, who I really am. All my Native America values: trust, courage, spirituality, humility, respect, wisdom. That’s the basis of who I try to be. That’s been handed down through my family for generations. Prayer. Try to practice all those things. I don’t think you have to be Native American to understand all the challenges of living like this. There’s a lot of things going on out there.”
Scott is enrolled in the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, part of the Lakota Sioux nation. His band is the Hunkpapa, the same band as Sitting Bull, the famous chief. His father’s band is the Turtle Mountain band of Chippewa. Scott is in the Buffalo Boy family.
He said his job is building a bridge between the opportunities he sees for Native Americans and some Native Americans, those whose mindset inhibits them from spotting opportunities when they occur.
“There are opportunities everywhere for Native American people,” Scott said. He cited tribal junior colleges. “Opportunities are here because of people like my folks, who never gave up.
“I have an obligation to my people, to Sitting Bull, to their vision of our tribal nation being strong and prominent. Even if I didn’t work here, I would still have that obligation to be a good father, a good uncle, a good citizen, to volunteer to be a teacher, to be a warrior, basically. Today’s warriors do different things. Not arrows and spears; those weapons today are laptops, your degree, your education, your experience in the business world.”
Scott said there were more Native American doctors, lawyers and business people than ever before, and he wants to steer more Native Americans to educational opportunities that exist.
He does not want the government to do for them what they can do for themselves. That’s the kind of policies he tries to write for the governor of North Dakota.
I am what is considered a 'Senior Citizen.' I recently finished college. In my last semester I worked for Cultural Diversity Resources in Fargo, ND. CDR held a cultural event at the Hjemkomst Center a few years ago. One of the participants of the event was a Native American Honor Guard from Western Minnesota.All had been members of the Green Beret. I believe all the members of the honor guard were decorated Vietnam Veterans. Many Native Americans and Mexican Americans are and have been members of the Armed forces. Scott Davies warriors are not only Academics but Patriots as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Gary. The Euro-American settlers treated them so badly, and yet many have chosen to forgive (though not forget) and serve this country so honorably in wartime. They are great men...
ReplyDelete