The Alumni Association at Yale University held a program in honor of Henry Roe Cloud, the first Native American graduate at Yale.

Roe Cloud was a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. He was born in December 1884 into the Bird Clan, which was responsible for war decisions within the tribe. His Indian name was Wo-Na-Xi-Lay-Hunka, or War Chief.

He was later taken to the former Genoa Indian School in Nebraska, where he learned to speak English, Latin, and Greek. He attended boarding school in Massachusetts before heading to Yale, where he graduated in 1910.

Eventually, he became a leader in Indian education, was active in promoting Indian causes and co-authored the famous "Meriam Report" that described deplorable conditions on reservations and problems with Indian trust management. He worked for the Haskell Institute and for the Bureau of Indian Affairs before passing away in February 1950.

As part of the alumni program, Sam Deloria, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, was given the first Henry Roe Cloud medal. Deloria graduated from Yale in 1964.

Get the Story:
Deloria '64 champions Native American rights (The Yale Daily News 11/10)

Relevant Links:
Henry Roe Cloud - http://www.aya.yale.edu/henryroecloud
Henry Roe Cloud Profile - http://www.nsea.org/news/RoeCloudProfile.htm
American Indian Law Center, UNM - http://lawschool.unm.edu/ailc

Related Story:
A pioneer for American Indians (The Wichita Eagle 11/7)