Clara Caufield: Another Northern Cheyenne warrior passes on

Wednesday, November 14, 2018  

By Clara “Clem” Caufield
Native Sun News Correspondent
nativesunnews.today

The older I get, more friends pass on -- what the Northern Cheyenne call “going to the next camp” -- than are here “still above the grass.” This past week, we lost Tim Lame Woman, Cheyenne name Night Bear, in his late sixties.

The cause of death was listed as “heart” problems, which I suspect were related to a broken heart, as his much beloved wife, Gail succumbed to Lupus a few years ago, which knocked much vitality out of him. Though she had gained a college degree and worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in social services, Gail was known to be just as much of a “rowdy” community advocate as Tim – they made a good match.

Besides his obituary, Tim deserves a little tribute and recognition and I hope to do that now.

Tim came of age when the American Indian Movement (AIM) started. Indeed, his half-brother Raymond Spang, who also left us many years ago, was a “brother” to Russell Means, Leonard Peltier and the ilk, instrumental in getting the movement started. No matter what our opinions about AIM are or were, we must admit that they called attention to the plight of the American Indian at the time and got people around the world considering that.

Perhaps they were extreme, but so then, were the conditions in which the American Indians found themselves, and in many ways still do. As I understand it, one of the AIM goals was to hold elected officials (national, state, regional and tribal) accountable, also goading them into doing more for our people. To some extent, they were successful.

Raymond (Tim's inspiration) served on the Tribal Council and ventured onto the national scene, attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and even Alcatraz. Tim on the other hand, was content to stay on the reservation and devote himself to local tribal politics and annual activities such as the Little Wolf Homecoming (memorializing the return of the Northern Cheyenne to Montana from Oklahoma. A descendent of the famous warrior, Wild Hog, a lieutenant to Little Wolf, Tim ever reminded the contemporary Cheyenne of those ancestors, our legacy and how we should treat one another.

Indeed, his legacy advocacy business was named “Wild Hog” Legal Services. As a para-professional legal advocate in the tribal court system, he was a fierce champion for many tribal members who had a bad brush with the legal system, ever charging very reasonable rates. And under a grant, helped devise a tribal college certification system for tribal court advocates, to require more formal training, education and professionalism for those ranks, proudly becoming one of the first to complete the courses, even in his later days.

The Northern Cheyenne reservation is comprised of five geographic districts, represented by council members, the number depending upon population. There is a long-standing tradition of district meetings, in theory so that the tribal council members can both report to their constituents and seek advice and guidance about community concerns.

Prior to the tribal constitutional amendments of 1996, the districts packed much clout and it was critical for council members to attend those sessions and also heed the recommendations generated by those forums, often in formal resolution form, presented to the Tribal Council, and then seriously considered. Also, the district elect non-paid local officers had some standing with the tribal government, recognized by the Tribal Constitution. It was even customary for the Tribal Presidents to regularly meet with the District Chairs, very wise politics to keep a pulse on local concerns.

Unfortunately, nowadays, tribal council members can hardly be bothered to attend district meetings, except for those canny few who realize a good campaign opportunity, but their attendance usually does not stretch much beyond that.

In addition, assemblies of all five districts, called “General District Meetings were convened several times a year, drawing a large attendance of tribal members and many elected officials, certainly the Tribal Presidents. The General District also chooses non-paid officers, and Tim held the position of General District Chairman for decades. He took that obligation seriously, attending district meetings faithfully and reporting to the Council on matters discussed there.

Over the four decades of his community service, Tim probably attended more Tribal Council meetings speaking about community concerns, and reminding tribal officials of their duty “keeping them on their toes” than any elected official. Often, they did not like to see him coming, but it is healthy for someone to be a political “watch dog”. He was a great proponent of accountability especially as it came to budget matters, ever urging the Tribal Council to make budget information, tribal council minutes and resolutions readily available to the tribal public.

Under some administrations he was successful, under others he was not. Nonetheless, he never stopped trying. The wisest Tribal leaders learned that it was much better to have Tim as an ally rather than an opponent.

He also served on several formal tribal boards and committees such as the Tribal Employment Rights Commission (TERO) and the Board of Health. As a Board member, he was a strong voice for those concerns.

The season of Tim's political career coincided with mine. We did not always agree, me finding him initially to be “too radical and noisy” and him seeing me as too conservative and in the financial hip pocket of tribal government. Yet, as the years and the decades went by, we both mellowed out a bit, seeing one another’s point of view.

Clara Caufield be reached at acheyennevoice@gmail.com

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