Marjorie Bear Don't Walk
Marjorie Bear Don't Walk (born 1946) is an Ojibwa-Salish health care professional and Native American fashion designer. She is most known as an advocate for reforms in the Indian Health Service, and specifically the care of urban Native Americans. In addition, she was a fashion designer who targeted career women, designing professional attire which incorporated traditional techniques into her clothing.
Marjorie Bear Don't Walk | |
---|---|
Born | Marjorie R. Williams 1946 (age 74–75) |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | fashion designer, health care advocate |
Years active | 1968–present |
Early life
Marjorie Rose Mitchell was born in 1946 in Aberdeen, Washington to Jane (Whitworth) and Jack Mitchell.[1][2] She is an enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe[2][3] and her heritage includes Chippewa (Michif Ojibwe) ancestry.[4] She grew up with three brothers, Gary, George and Robert, in Dixon, Hot Springs, Perma, and Ronan, Montana. During their childhood, their mother suffered from tuberculosis, and the children were sent to an American Indian boarding school, which operated as the Ursuline Academy, in St. Ignatius.[2][5] After completing her secondary education, Mitchell enrolled at Montana State College, in an era when there were less than 200 indigenous students nationwide participating in university studies.[6] She studied home economics and nutrition,[7] graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1968.[8] Her husband, Urban Bear Don't Walk, one of the first Native American attorneys in the United States is a member of the Crow Nation. The couple subsequently had three children, Urban Jr., Scott and Eldena, who were also enrolled in the Crow tribe.[6][3]
Career
Bear Don't Walk served as a nutritionist, and worked as a consultant on vocational and adult education. She participated in tribal, state and national development programs.[8][9] From the beginning of her career, she advocated for services to Native Americans to be near their own homes. While she recognized that training and employment opportunities might take indigenous people away from their reservations or traditional home lands, she called for culturally-sensitive emotional and health services to be provided where they resided.[10][11] Bear Don't Walk was one of the activists who pressed the Indian Health Service (IHS) in 1976 to offer health services in urban areas to Native Americans who lived off-reservation.[12][13] Until the changes were implemented, any tribal member who lived off-reservation for six months, lost their health benefits.[14] In addition to advocacy for indigenous people, she was an outspoken feminist and attended the 1977 National Women's Conference, held as part of the United Nations International Women's Year events.[15] She supported passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, was a member of the Jeannette Rankin Task Force on Equality and was in favor of greater opportunities for Native American women to participate in tribal politics.[16][17]
While working as a health consultant, Bear Don't Walk developed a line of fashion clothing, designing for professional women for her company Bear Don't Walk Originals.[4][9] Her designs typically utilized high-end materials and appliqué techniques, decorated with beads, bone, fur, leather, metal or ribbon which combined her heritage with career-oriented styles. Displaying her garments at conferences, she solicited clients from among her colleagues.[18] Much of her business was mail-order and she allowed her customers to provide specific fabrics they desired for their custom designs.[19] Her fashion line included accessories, dresses, and blouses, as well as coats and jackets, with varieties of necklines, hems and sleeve lengths, which reflected popular trends in fashion, but were unique in that they highlighted indigenous themes.[20]
By 1980, Bear Don't Walk had earned a national reputation as a leader in women's rights and health advocacy,[8] and was one of the crucial participants who were responsible for establishing urban centers for the IHS.[13] She began a career as a health administrator working in Denver, Colorado for the American Indian Health Care Association. After two years, she returned to Montana[21] and became the Executive Director of the Indian Health Board, of Billings, Montana[3] in 1985.[6] In 1992, Bear Don't Walk was one of the people invited to attend the inauguration of President Bill Clinton.[3] After eleven years at the Indian Health Board in Billings, she returned to the Flathead Reservation and worked briefly as the director of the Tribal Health and Human Services agency.[21]
Returning as Executive Director to the Indian Health Board in Billings, Bear Don't Walk continued her advocacy. In 2006, she protested new changes in government policies for the IHS. The policy required that for native people to take advantage of IHS programs they must be attended at clinics, hospitals and pharmacies run by the IHS. Bear Don't Walk saw these programs as discriminatory and penalizing to urban dwellers who might not have access to reservation services or the ability to pay for travel and out-of-town medical treatment. She pointed out the discrepancies of health funding, noting that the government funds 65% of the medical services at on-reservation facilities, but only 35% of the budget of urban clinics serving indigenous people.[11] In 2012, she secured grants through the Affordable Care Act and expanded services available to urban Indians, adding HIV, pregnancy-prevention and a program to provide pre- and post-natal education training for expectant mothers.[22] She continues to serve at the Indian Health Board and in 2017, her granddaughter, Mitchell Rose Bear Don’t Walk, following her family inspiration for advocacy, was appointed to serve on the Tribal Youth Health Advisory Board of the National Indian Health Board.[23]
References
Citations
- Anderson & Verble 1980, p. 16.
- The Missoulian 2007.
- The Great Falls Tribune 1992, p. 5.
- Metcalfe 2010, p. 233.
- Woodard 2011.
- Steinberger 2014.
- Metcalfe 2010, p. 235.
- Anderson & Verble 1980, p. 17.
- Keetley & Pettegrew 2005, p. 331.
- Gordon 2014, p. 194.
- Cochran 2006, p. 15.
- The Santa Fe New Mexican 1996, p. 18.
- Merriam 1998, p. 12.
- Merriam 1998, p. 1.
- Johnson 1977, p. 7.
- Anderson & Verble 1980, pp. 16–17.
- Richards 1982, p. 11.
- Metcalfe 2010, pp. 233–234.
- Metcalfe 2010, p. 234.
- Metcalfe 2010, pp. 234–235.
- Stromnes 1997, p. 9.
- Olp 2012.
- Kemmick 2017.
Bibliography
- Anderson, Owanah P.; Verble, Sedelta D., eds. (1980). Resource Guide of American Indian and Alaska Native Women (PDF) (Report). Wichita Falls, Texas: National Women’s Program Development, Inc. Government publication #ED213-559, RC013-223. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2018.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Cochran, Diane (April 16, 2006). "Urban Indians may be forced to move medical care". The Missoulian. Missoula, Montana. p. 15. Retrieved 9 April 2018 – via Newspapers.com.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Gordon, Howard R. D. (2014). The History and Growth of Career and Technical Education in America: Fourth Edition (4th ed.). Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press. ISBN 978-1-4786-1521-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Johnson, Charles (November 19, 1977). "Indian delegate focuses on survival". Great Falls, Montana: The Great Falls Tribune. p. 7. Retrieved 9 April 2018 – via Newspapers.com.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Kemmick, Ed (March 16, 2017). "High-achieving Crow-Salish woman builds on family tradition". Billings, Montana: KTVQ. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2018.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Keetley, Dawn; Pettegrew, John (2005). Public Women, Public Words: A Documentary History of American Feminism. Volume III: 1960 to the Present. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-2236-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Merriam, Ginny (April 18, 1998). "Urban Indians head to D. C. seeking healthcare dollars (pt 1)". The Missoulian. Missoula, Montana. p. 1. Retrieved 9 April 2018 – via Newspapers.com.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
and Merriam, Ginny (April 18, 1998). "Urban (pt 2)". The Missoulian. Missoula, Montana. p. 12. Retrieved 9 April 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- Metcalfe, Jessica RheAnn (2010). Native Designers of High Fashion: Expressing Identity, Creativity, and Tradition in Contemporary Customary Clothing Design (PhD). Tucson, Arizona: The University of Arizona. hdl:10150/194057.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Olp, Susan (July 12, 2012). "2 new programs offer free HIV testing, help to pregnant Native youth". The Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2018.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Richards, Sam (October 10, 1982). "Native American women told to organize, step in tribal political arena". The Missoulian. Missoula, Montana. p. 11. Retrieved 9 April 2018 – via Newspapers.com.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Steinberger, Heather (February 10, 2014). "Living Her Dream: Eldena Bear Don't Walk Discusses Her Law Career". Indian Country Today. Washington D.C. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2018.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Stromnes, John (June 3, 1997). "Salish-Kootenai health director fired by council (pt 1)". The Missoulian. Missoula, Montana. p. 9. Retrieved 9 April 2018 – via Newspapers.com.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
and Stromnes, John (June 3, 1997). "Director (pt 2)". The Missoulian. Missoula, Montana. p. 10. Retrieved 9 April 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- Woodard, Stephanie (September 29, 2011). "Montana Catholic Church, Ursulines Face Sexual-Abuse Charges". Indian Country Today. Washington D.C. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2018.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- "Gary Frank Mitchell". The Missoulian. Missoula, Montana. September 19, 2007. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- "Billings woman invited to inauguration". Great Falls, Montana: The Great Falls Tribune. December 29, 1992. p. 5. Retrieved 9 April 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Urban Indians getting squeezed out of health care". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. December 27, 1996. p. 18. Retrieved 9 April 2018 – via Newspaperarchive.com.