On the high plains of the American West where four or five
generations of land tenure carries the weight of greater credibility and social standing over that of newcomers, Lois Red Elk-Reed remains unassuming
even in irony.
With several published volumes of critically-acclaimed poetry and children's stories to her credit, as well as a few Hollywood film roles and an adjunct professorship, it was never her primary intent to assemble a curriculum vita she thought would impress others.
What she’s valued most is doing right by
the heritage, dignity and sacrifices of her elders.
Red Elk-Reed is indigenous and she spells the word with a capital
“I”. “Being Indigenous has to do with blood and language. Your blood is your
birthright and your language guides you. Indigenous blood carries genetics,
memory, ghost and spirit,” she once explained. “The Indigenous language is the
same language as the universe, Earth, everything that grows on the Earth and
all animals. Language encodes our ceremonies. It is sacred. To be Indigenous is
a lifetime experience and one has to be responsible to their life. One cannot
drop in and out of their Indigenous life anytime they wish. Neither can the
language be used and misused for convenience or be exploited.”
Based upon the convention of modern
geography, Red Elk-Reed could be described as a western woman, but that isn’t
how she first identifies.
She is Lakota/Dakota and it’s a nation older than any of the 200 nations that hold membership in the UN.
Her reference to homeland, “Makoce”, pertains to a special
Lakota/Dakota region, and there is no English equivalent, she notes. “Makoce” comes
from the Dakota word for Earth—maka.
“The name refers to the land as mother, family, all that is in the world, and
the interdependency of all living things,” she says.
As a
self-described “organic poet,” her ties to North America do not emanate from a
written text. Across hundreds and hundreds of generations, the knowledge she’s
inherited has come to her though spoken words—the essentials encoded in stories
dating to when the first people walked the continent. "I find that in the Lakota/Dakota culture and language there are solutions to every problem we may have in our lives," she says.
Behind
the scenes, from her home at Fort Peck, Montana, Red Elk-Reed has been
tirelessly devoted to preserving her culture, making traditional quill and
beadwork, being a traditional dancer, practicing botany as it was taught to her
by her grandmother, and teaching the dialect of Nakota at the local high school
and introductory Dakota at the community college.
Red
Elk-Reed’s influence has extended far beyond Fort Peck. Quite
literally, it has shaped the way native people are portrayed to millions who
consume mass media for information and entertainment.
While
still in her 20s, she headed to Los Angeles to help her sister with child
rearing and then realized the dream that many have of being “discovered” by
Hollywood.
In a
profile that appeared at Sovereign Bodies, poet Tiffany Midge offered this
description of Red Elk-Reed: “During her earlier
years living in Los Angeles, she was a TV talk show host, an FM radio host at
Pasadena City College and a technical advisor for many Hollywood film
productions. She has been a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American
Federation of Television and Radio Artists for 40 years while working for all
the major networks and Hollywood studios in film and television. She has worked
as a freelance writer for her tribe’s Native newspaper and authored a weekly
column titled ‘Raised Dakota.’
Notably,
Red Elk-Reed had roles in the movies “Skins” and the film version of Mary Brave
Bird’s moving memoir “Lakota Woman” that chronicles events that shaped the
American Indian Movement during the 1970s. Red Elk-Reed credits Ted Turner and
Jane Fonda for insisting that the latter got made by TNT.
Red
Elk-Reed’s greatest impact during those years came when she served as a
consultant advising Hollywood studios on the authenticity of how native peoples
were portrayed on television and in film—and whether those portrayals were
factual or based upon fictional tropes. She knows, perhaps better than most,
how Hollywood has perpetuated cowboy and Indian stereotypes that while embedded
in American culture, are based upon gross distortions of reality.
Red Elk-Reed's father, James Red Elk, is a descendant of the Sitting Bull family and her mother spoke five languages—French, Latin, Lakota/Dakota, Assiniboine and English. Married to husband, Dennis Reed, for four decades, the couple has two children and several grandchildren.
What
advice does she have for young people? “Students need to think outside the box,
question most of what is taught, choose their experiences wisely, and remember
the wonder and excitement of life they knew as a child and be happy."
Red Elk-Reed is Mountain Journal’s first poet
in residence, invited to share her work because she understands the kinds of
connections which transcend the ephemeral, superficial aspects of modern daily
life that divide people. Her work will be appearing via her column, "Notes From Open Earth." Enjoy MoJo’s interview with Lois Red Elk-Reed.
MOUNTAIN JOURNAL: When did you start identifying
as a poet and where does your inspiration come from?
LOIS RED ELK-REED: I wrote my first poem when I was 12 years old. My mother kept it and kept several other
writings of mine during my teen years. Mother shared the writings with a
teacher who called me a poet. I am constantly inspired by feelings not spoken
of, what I see in expressions and situations.
MOJO: You grew up at Fort Peck. For
someone reading here who has no idea where it is and the defining
characteristics of land and community, how would you describe it?
RED ELK-REED: The Fort
Peck Reservation has always been known to me as home – Makoce. The place where loving
family resides, where life unfolded in Lakota/Dakota. This is very different
than life as a non-Native. My world view
was through the education of Hunkpapa and Ihunktowan culture and traditions. That is my initial view of home. Outsiders
will think of the Reservation as isolated, desolate, a poor economy, where no
future lies, and for some, that is part of the story.
Lois Red Elk-Reed's self portrait taken on her porch in Montana.
MOJO: North America is a continent full of
paradoxes, hypocrisies, hopes, injustices, points of cultural tethering and
mosaics, and fraught with examples of where the goodness of humankind seems
nowhere in sight. The United States is a construct where independent
sovereign nations exist side by side and overlap. As you ponder these
times we live in, what's at the forefront of your thoughts?
RED ELK-REED: Forefront as I think of the times we live in,
I think, this too will pass. Times are always
difficult. I guess I am an
optimist. My culture teaches me to see
the humanity in people, to encourage, support and embrace that.
MOJO: You have lived a fascinating life and in
many ways know the dream of going to California and being
"discovered" by Hollywood. It all started when you moved to Los
Angeles to babysit for your sister and then,
through an unexpected chain of events, you became an actor. How did that
happen?
RED ELK-REED: The Hollywood life is part of American
culture and it is always attractive. My participation
in that life was only to educate. It was
never a part of my culture. I observed so many stereotypes of Native culture
and lifeways in all avenues media that I had to speak up and point out all the
nonsense. In pointing out, I was able to
provide answers and solutions and find many natives who were willing to
participate as advisors and educators to the film industry.
MOJO: Tell us about some of the roles you played and
were they satisfying?
RED ELK-REED: I started as a technical advisor then was
offered a role. Before participation I made sure the script was historically
and culturally accurate. I was able to
work with actors, writers, producers and directors who had my same concerns and
who were Native.
MOJO: In your poem,
Encounter at the Fort, you write of an encounter that you and your sister had
Fort Union with the ghost of a Cavalry trooper who had lost his way.
Hopefully, we'll publish that poem at Mountain Journal in the future, but
what also struck me about the poem is the endearing way you mentioned your
sister. Tell us about your family and how important extended family is.
RED ELK-REED: In
Dakota/Lakota culture, family starts with stone, then stars, earth, animals,
plants, the elements of water, air, fire, last is we humans. This concept of family is encoded in our
language. Most people do not know this,
so they don’t understand the respect we have for all things because all is
family. Family is very important. The
love for the human family is as important as the rest.
MOJO: With poetry, choice of individual words
strung together, forms the magic of language. How does your poetry reflect your
own commitment to preserving your native language, culture and traditions?
RED ELK-REED: All poetry reflects the culture of the one
who writes it. My writings reflect a
very strong and accurate portrait of Dakota/Lakota because that is all I know.
MOJO: You teach at Fort Peck Community College.
In a general sense, what are some of the most important lessons that
young people need to learn?
RED ELK-REED: Students need to think outside the box,
question most of what is taught, choose their experiences wisely, remember the
wonder and excitement of life they knew as a child and be happy.
MOJO: What kind of poet
are you and what does all great poetry have?
RED ELK-REED: I guess I call myself an organic poet. I’ve had no formal training. I learned and
grew without the influence of fertilizer and pesticides. Ha!
MOJO: What is one question you wished that we had
asked?
RED ELK-REED: Too many to decide…
EDITOR'S NOTE: Lois Red Elk-Reed's volumes of poetry are available through all independent bookstores. You can also order them here:
