Clyde Merton Warrior was a member of the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma

Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma

The Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, also known as the Ponca Nation, is a federally recognized tribe located in Oklahoma. The Ponca traditionally speak the Omaha-Ponca language, part of the Souian language family. Another portion of the people belong to the larger Ponca Tribe of...

 and raised according to their traditions. In the 1960s, he became an activist for Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 sovereignty and civil rights

Civil rights

Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...

, seeking to improve conditions for his people.

Early life and education

Clyde Warrior was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma

Ponca City, Oklahoma

Ponca City is a small city in Kay and Osage counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, which was named after the Ponca Tribe. Located in north central Oklahoma, it lies approximately south of the Kansas border, and approximately east of Interstate 35. 25,919 people called Ponca City home at the...

 on 31 August 1939. His mother was Gloria Collins, and his maternal grandparents Bill and Metha Collins were Ponca traditionalists. He learned a wide range of tribal songs and was a champion fancy dance

Fancy dance

Fancy dance, Pan-Indian dancing, Fancy Feather or Fancy War Dance is a style of dance some believe was originally created by members of the Ponca tribe in the 1920s and 1930s, in an attempt to preserve their culture and religion. It is loosely based on the War dance...

r in his teens.

Warrior attended Cameron Junior College in Lawton, Oklahoma

Lawton, Oklahoma

The city of Lawton is the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in the southwestern region of Oklahoma approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area...

. He earned the Outstanding Indian Student Award in 1962, and he was elected President of the Southwest Regional Indian Youth Council. Later, he earned a Bachelors degree from Northeastern State University

Northeastern State University

Northeastern State University is a public university with its main campus located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, United States, at the foot of the Ozark Mountains. Northeastern's home, Tahlequah, is also the capital of the Cherokee nation of Oklahoma...

 in 1966.

Marriage and family

In 1962, Warrior married Della Hopper (Otoe-Missouria). The couple had two daughters.

Activism

Warrior witnessed discrimination against Indian people, crushing poverty in Native communities, and incompetence in the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Bureau of Indian Affairs

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...

. He fought injustice and worked to promote Native pride. He wrote two highly influential essays in the mid-1960s, "Which One Are You?: Five Types of Young Indians" and "We Are Not Free."

Believing that the National Congress of American Indians

National Congress of American Indians

The National Congress of American Indians is a American Indian and Alaska Native indigenous rights organization. It was founded in 1944 in response to termination and assimilation policies that the U.S. government forced upon the tribal governments in contradiction of their treaty rights and...

 was too conservative and not meeting the needs of Native youth, Warrior co-founded the National Indian Youth Council

National Indian Youth Council

The National Indian Youth Council or "NIYC" is considered the nation’s second oldest American Indian organization and currently has a membership of more than 15,000 nationwide. It was the first independent Native student organization, and one of the first Native organizations to use direct action...

 in 1961. He promoted self-determination

Native American self-determination

Native American self-determination refers to the social movements, legislation, and beliefs by which the tribes in the United States exercise self-governance and decision making on issues that affect their own people...

and inspired many young Native activists during the 1960s and 1970s.

Death

Warrior died at the age of 29 in July 1968 from liver failure. He is buried in Ponca City. His epitaph says, "A Fresh Air of New Indian Idealism."

Quote

"We are not free. We do not make choices. Our choices are made for us."

"The sewage of Europe does not run through these veins."

External links

• "Clyde Merton Warrior", Ponca Nation website
• “We Are Not Free” (1968)
• National Indian Youth Council, Inc.