Tribute To Charles Yow
October 31, 1956 to July 20, 2006

On September 18, 2000, I read a letter written by Charles Yow on Ishgooda's fine listserve, Native News. The letter called for a deluge of letters to be sent to Pete Baker in Onteora, New York. Pete had written a letter to his local paper stating he did not see the racism inherent in their towns team name and mascot. From that letter, I contacted Charles Yow for the first time and asked how I could be of help. He said, "Get involved in the mascot issue." So I did indeed write to Pete Baker and he and I dialogued about racism and mascots and I sent him literature, and he turned the corner and joined our team. STAR's philosophy was born.

Charles and I became fast friends. We had similar goals and he appreciated my perspective that activism is best served with respect and education. From time to time, I forgot my own philosophy, but Charles, Jani Everett and Ishgooda kept me on track and I learned a lot from all three of them.

In November, I told Charles I wanted to start a listserve that dealt with racism but I didn't know how to go about it or what to call it. I pondered this for several weeks and one day, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the word STAR hovering like a peach on a limb. I plucked it and said, STAR. Hmmm. Students and Teachers Against Racism. I wrote to Charles and said, "This is it. This is what I want to do. If I start this group, can I borrow your name? Everyone knows you and no one knows me at all." He said, "Sure, go ahead." And that is how STAR began.

I would bet that there are many people who could tell stories of Charles generosity and kindness. I would also bet there are plenty who would be surprised to see him discussed in those gentle terms. He once told me that he loved two kinds of birds; hawks and doves. I said, That's you. You are both raptor and peacemaker.

It is impossible to know Charles and not know both sides of him. He was always, first and foremost, true to himself and his beliefs and he never cared a whit what anyone else thought. I admired him. He began as my mentor, and he cheered me on no matter what I went through; there were times when I thought of quitting, when I felt inadequate in my work, and I believe I accomplished more through his belief in me than I ever could have had I not had him in my corner. As STAR developed, he became a constant source for pro bono legal advice, sometimes taking great chunks of his day to work with me on various cases. As time went on, and he developed the Red Cloud Law Firm, I took another leap with him and became his paralegal, and for the first time I started researching law for him, which has also influenced my work tremendously.

My favorite story about Charles was when he was working on Pine Ridge and an elderly woman came in and asked him if he might write her will. He told her it would cost $50.00 and she said that she didn't have any money, but would he take a dead porcupine? He did. I don't believe that Charles ever said no to anyone who really needed help and that he could help. When he would go into the jails in South Dakota to talk to the inmates, he would come back with a broken heart at the injustice of so many people incarcerated solely because they couldn't afford attorneys.

While he was in Pine Ridge, he did extraordinary work to expose the corruption in the tribal council. For that, his office was broken into, his attorney/client confidential documents stolen and never returned, his personal belongings destroyed or stolen. The Red Cloud Law Firm was an amazing little office staffed by some wonderful people, including Charles' hunkauw-ed (adopted Lakota) sister, Sandy Ten Fingers, who was a constant source of laughter, insightful conversation and hard work. His other friends in South Dakota, Jim and Marina and many others will no doubt miss him terribly, too.

After the destruction of his office, Charles health began to suffer and with the closure of the law firm, hard times hit and he returned to Mississippi, where he endured the wrath of Hurricane Katrina and lost almost everything else he still had. With so much that had already happened to him, I asked him if he took the hurricane personally, and he kind of laughed and said, "I've thought about it." There is no question about it, Charles went through a lot the last two years of his life.

This page, this tribute, contains some of Charles writings that I think are important. Some were found on the internet, many he gave me to hold onto for him, some were just stories from our emails. They show the depth of his knowledge, they show him as a teacher of effective activism, they show how ruthlessly honest he could be in exposing corruption, and they show his belief in justice and how we can all contribute in some way, by being educated, by knowing our rights, by not sitting idly by while corruption ruins the lives of innocent people. Charles was brilliant; far and away the most brilliant person I have ever met. And he was brave.

Some people have asked me if I will continue my work, now that he is gone. Of course I will, but only because he taught me enough to be able to and I have done my best to follow in his gigantic footsteps.

I could never have accomplished what I have without him and now that he has crossed over to the spirit world, I want to honor him, and thank him for all he has done for me, for so many people. You will see in some of his writings and writings about him by others, what changes he wrought, how he suffered in those changes, how he believed in justice with every bone in his body, how he was an attorney, an activist, a man who sacrificed so much, so very, very much, in order to always do the right thing.

Thank you, Charles. You have been without a doubt the most influential person in my life and I will never forget your kindness, your professionalism, your dedication, your friendship. All of it. Everything. Thank you and may you be at peace on the other side and not be too embarrassed at this gesture.... But you know me. I'll do it anyway.

Christina

ILY