The Associated Press
KLAMATH FALLS- Chief Reid David, a Klamath Tribes elder who occasionally
appeared in Western movies, has died. He was 87.
David, who died Monday in Klamath Falls, was involved in the tribes'
culture and heritage program, and taught the Klamath language.
He performed dedication and groundbreaking ceremonies for tribal
enterprises, as well as the naming of tribal members during the yearly C'wam
ceremony.
"He was virtually a living tribal treasure," said Jeff Mitchell, tribal
chairman. "He was a guiding force in preserving the tribes' past. He also
made younger members of the tribe understand what it means to be a tribal
member and what their place is in society."
David was born Jan. 27, 1910, in Williamson River. He attended the
Chemawa Indian School in Salem, and later took a job at the Agency Hospital.
He later moved to Southern California and appeared in several movies,
including "Canyon Passage," which was filmed near Roseburg in 1945.
David served as 1997 grand marshal of the local Fourth of July parade.
He made annual trips to Anchorage, Alaska, to watch the Iditarod races.
Survivors include his son, Reid David Jr.,; brother, Lawrence David of
Chiloquin; two grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.
When talking about Klamath Falls and Chiloquin they are in Oregon. So is Roseburg.
The paper I copied it out of was The Bend Bulletin.
by Carole Beers, Seattle Times staff reporter Sunday, May 18, 1997
In 1912, when Judson Brown was born in Haines, Alaska, the state was a U.S. territory. Alaska Natives could not vote or hold office, get an integrated public-school education, or head a large corporation.
After 85 years, the past 20 spent in Seattle, Mr. Brown not only had witnessed historic changes, but helped bring some of them about.
He was the first Native to graduate from an integrated public school in Alaska (1929). He was the first Native elected mayor of a mixed-race Alaska city (Haines, 1932).
And he served as director of the Sealaska Corp. (1977-1987).
Perhaps his great achievement, say loved ones, was living successfully in modern society while honoring the traditions of his Tlingit forebears - members of the Killer Whale Clan under the Eagle Tribe.
"He was a man of such stature in the community that he'll never be replaced," said his sister Linda Thompson of Seattle. "When he was in good health, he was doing everything he could to help Tlingit and Haida people in our community and elsewhere. Big shoes to fill."
Mr. Brown died Wednesday (May 14) of natural causes.
"We're all affected by his passing," said Camille Monzon, executive director of Seattle Indian Center. "He was particularly supportive of young people. . . . In the 1970s, when I was having difficulty living in Boston and affording my studies at Harvard, he called and wrote and sent money and encouragement."
Believing in the value of education, Mr. Brown sponsored the law studies of a nephew, Chris McNeil, at Stanford University, and encouraged his daughters to take leadership positions in their tribe.
"The fight for Indian rights was his main cause," said his sister, "and to get Indian kids educated."
Mr. Brown's energy and intelligence in his own youth prompted elders to enroll him in the previously segregated high school in Haines.
He put his schooling to immediate use, taking notes at the 1929 meeting of the Alaska Native Brotherhood as delegates agreed to petition the government for title to traditional lands. Later, Mr. Brown was grand secretary of the Brotherhood.
He served two terms as mayor of Haines, and worked in commercial fishing, construction and longshore jobs from Bristol Bay to California.
"His outlook in life was very broad," said Monzon. "He was respected by many people across cultures. He traveled widely, gave talks, did ceremonies, and was a marvelous ambassador for the Tlingit people and the Tlingit culture.
"He was a very kind man, and always had time for little children."
Other survivors include his daughters Mary Lekanof of Anchorage; Judith Ann George and Vivian June Kokotovich, both of Juneau; Geraldine Marie Williams, Sitka, Alaska; and Dorothy Jane Beasley, Washington, D.C.; his brother, Austin Brown, Juneau; his sisters Minnie Stevens, Skagway, Alaska; Anita McNeil, Anchorage; and Rose Miller, Sitka; and many grandchildren. His wife, Lena Fournie, and daughter Minnie Ellen Hughes, predeceased him.
Services were in Haines and Juneau. Memorial donations may go to Sealaska Heritage Foundation Scholarship Program, 1 Sealaska Plaza, Suite 200, Juneau, AK, 99801; or to the Alaska Native Brotherhood or the Tlingit-Haida Central Council, both at 320 W. Willoughby Ave., Juneau, AK, 99801.
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