Like the American Indian Community, the African-American community MOST start the transition of leadership and the major media outlets MUST find new voices and different profiles of others. ******************************************************************
Taught by elders, they listen and lead Paul Levy, Star Tribune Tony LookingElk still relishes the childhood visits he'd make from Minneapolis to South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation. There, he would sit at his grandfather's feet, mesmerized by the soothing cadence of the older man's voice. It mattered little that his grandfather's words were in Lakota, a language LookingElk didn't speak. "I couldn't respond to him, but I listened," LookingElk said. "It's hard to say how important listening is to me." "There is wisdom in the words of our elders," said Justin Kii Huenemann. "When the elders speak, you're there to listen first -- and to learn." LookingElk is 39 and Huenemann is only 30, but the urban Indian community now listens to them -- and with the blessings of some of the community's better-known elders. As cochairmen of the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors (MUID), leadership body of the urban Indian community, LookingElk and Huenemann are key voices in determining the political, economic and cultural future of the Little Earth community. "It's an interesting dynamic because in Indian culture, you're taught to be respectful of elders and it's natural for elders to be leaders," said Robert Lilligren, Minneapolis City Council vice president and a White Earth tribal member. "We needed new blood," said Nina Mata, 52, finance director for the Peacemakers Center for native youth in Minneapolis. "Tony and Justin are smart. They have energy. We needed somebody dynamic to step forward and say, 'I represent the Indian community and this is what I'm all about.' They've shown many of the elders the way." http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4690702.html Two leaders March 29, 2004 BIOGRAPHIES Tony LookingElk, 39, is president of the Urban Coalition and cochairman of the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors (MUID). Raised in Minneapolis, he holds degrees from the Minnesota State-Moorhead, where he played football, and DePaul University in Chicago. He also attended the University of Minnesota and William Mitchell College of Law. LookingElk is single. Justin Kii Huenemann, 30, is community catalyst for the American Indian Families Project and cochairman of MUID. Raised on the Navajo reservation, Huenemann moved to South Dakota and went to high school in Mitchell, where he played basketball and ran track. He attended the University of Minnesota. He and his wife, Loshi, have one son, Jaeden, 4, and are expecting a second child in August. A traditional dancer, he is a former University of Minnesota men's chorus singer. http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4690653.html Posted by Shawn Lewis, Field Neighborhood -- ___________________________________________________________ Sign-up for Ads Free at Mail.com http://promo.mail.com/adsfreejump.htm REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
