Column: Indian youth, 11, shows wisdom beyond years

Tuesday, May 31, 2011  

"Josh, an enrolled member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux tribe, recently completed fifth grade at Mark Twain Elementary and is heading off to middle school in August.

He likes watching television, he's looking forward to actually hunting soon - not just acting as a scout - because he has a license, and he's looking forward to going to camp this summer.

He's quiet, owns two hamsters and has traveled as far north as Alaska and as far south as Mexico.

But there's just something about him that's special, says John Langdon, who has mentored Josh for several years.

"He is remarkable, a very calm, collected young man, like no one I've ever met," Langdon says.

"He can sit in a hunting blind for hours, and he does less moving around than most adults. People who would never take a 9-year-old boy on a hunting trip said after that first time, 'He can come anytime, anywhere, anyplace.'""

Get the Story:
Jill Callison: At 11, a willing wisdom far beyond his years (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 5/31)