[not my relative but just passing it on. Go to URL to see photo]
http://www.startribune.com/obituaries/43257207.html?elr=KArks:DCiUg4PaOEy...
Curtis Campbell, historian for the Dakota
One of the last remaining speakers of the Dakota language, he spent his
life preserving his people's culture.
By JEAN HOPFENSPERGER, Star Tribune
Last update: April 19, 2009 - 9:41 PM
Curtis C. Campbell, who devoted a lifetime to preserving Dakota Indian
culture and language, died April 12 at his home in Welch, Minn. He was
74.
Campbell was one of the last remaining speakers of the Dakota language
at the Prairie Island Indian Community, said his son Calvin Campbell.
Most of his peers had been sent to boarding schools where speaking
Dakota was forbidden.
Campbell served as president of the Prairie Island Tribal Council for
nearly 20 years, starting in the 1960s, said his daughter Audrey
Bennett. He also served on the board of directors of the National Eagle
Center in Wabasha, Minn., the Red Wing school board and other
organizations, he said.
"In the old ways, he would be considered a chief,'' said Campbell. "He
was the historian for our people.''
He had worked in construction for years and was a former general manager
of Prairie Island Casino. And in recent years, he had spent countless
hours working with university students and others to record and preserve
the Dakota language. The language, he always said, was the gateway to
the culture.
"He used to say it's hard to be Indian and walk in both worlds,'' said
Campbell. "He would tell people: Hold your head up. Have a purpose in
life. And be who the creator intended you to be.''
Campbell was born in Red Wing, graduated from Red Wing Central High
School and attended Brigham Young University in Utah. A baseball fan his
entire life, the young Campbell played in several minor leagues.
Bennett described her father as an unpretentious man who put the needs
of the tribe before his own. "My father missed a lot of birthday parties
and events when we were growing up because the tribe always came
first,'' she said.
Char Henn, director of the Goodhue County Historical Society, said
Campbell offered a unique perspective while serving on the society's
board of directors several years ago.
"He understood the history of relations between the white Red Wing
population and the native population,'' she said. "... The history of
the Dakota people was very important to him, and he would defend their
way of life.''
"He will be missed, not only by the tribe, but those of us who worked
with him will be poorer for not having his counsel,'' she said.
In addition to Calvin Campbell and Bennett, Campbell is survived by
children Delrey Smith, Gerald Black Tail Deer and Bridget Saice-Childs,
all of Prairie Island; a sister, Valdean Campbell, a brother, James
(Bunny) Campbell Jr., both of Sisseton, S.D., and several grandchildren
and great-grandchildren