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NATIONAL DRUMBEATS
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Volume 4, Number 2 - June-Sept 2002
HIGHLIGHTS
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In this issue:
* New Program On the Horizon
* Sad News From the Great Lakes Region
* Great Lakes Region Meeting
* Sunshine State Pow Wow
* Y Camps May Suffer YIG Backlash
* The Joe Friday Biography
* New Products
* ABOUT NATIONAL DRUMBEATS
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NEW PROGRAM ON THE HORIZON
Lighthouse, Inc., a nonprofit organization, has approved and is actively developing the final stages of a Christian-based, Indian-themed, parent-child program that will be offered nationally. Details will be forthcoming as they become available.
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SAD NEWS FROM THE GREAT LAKES REGION
A good friend of mine, Bobb "Yellow Wolf" Scruggs was tragically killed in a car accident on the 26th of May. Yellow Wolf had just joined the Great Lakes Region and was going to be the new Eastern Michigan Cluster Chief. Bobb started an Indian Guide program through his children's school. Bobb is credited as the founding father of the Stepping Stone Nation out of Mt. Clemens, Michigan. Most however, do not understand the passion and perseverance it took to make it a reality.
For two years, Bobb struggled through adversity to create the program that the Stepping Stone Nation enjoys. One of the aims of our program is to build stronger relationships with our children. Bobb emulated that aim every day. When he wasn't working on the Indian Guides, he was building sets for the kid's school plays, running an archery league, or taking them on canoe trips. He instilled his own ideals on the importance of family bonds into the Stepping Stone Nation. Going above and beyond is what could be expected of him. Bobb wanted everybody to experience the gift he's given us, and so strongly believed in. Tirelessly recruiting families and contacting other groups across the nation, so that nobody could miss out on this rewarding opportunity. He spent endless hours building from scratch and continued improving what he had created without any thought of reward or honor.
Bobb served as Nation Chief for two years, then one year as Sachem, and was just renominated to a third year as Nation Chief. He also served us in the armed forces in Naval Intelligence. Being 25% Native American and a former Guide, he was a strong force for our program. Bobb has built a legacy for himself. It is a rare and precious individual who can impact so profoundly the lives around him, and the community he was so much part of. Motivating those around him to have the same drive and endurance that he put forth, so that those in the program became stronger in their commitments.
A good friend of Bobb's, Christian Aho, shared a quote with us: "You may think this program is ours, but that's not true. We hold it in trust for the generations that have yet to grow up."
Bobb will always be with us, if not in body, then in mind and heart. The Stepping Stone Nation is putting together a Yellow Wolf Memorial Patch, with details forthcoming. For those who have yet to part of his legacy, he will be memorialized forever in the joy those children will experience due to hard work put forth by our Yellow Wolf. Bobb was self-employed as a roofer and leaves behind a loving wife, Kathleen, and two daughters: Breanna (11) "Singing Waterfall," and Brittany (8) "Yellow Fox."
There has been a memorial trust fund set up to help the family, and I'm asking for your help to support our friends in need:
Bobb Scruggs Memorial Trust
The Huntington Nation Bank
Attn: Groesbeck Office
P.O. Box 328
Mt. Clemens, MI 48046-9906
Thanks in advance for your support.
Craig "Thunder Horse" Johnson
Great Lakes Region Chief
WOTNOWSS@aol.com
Christian Aho
Phaeton426@yahoo.com
Steve Grames
Stepping Stone Nation Chief
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GREAT LAKES REGION MEETING - Nov. 9-10
The Great Lakes Region Advisory Council will hold their fall meeting on
November 9-10 at Camp Potawatomi in South Milford, Indiana. The meeting is
open to all Guide, Princess, Brave, Maiden, and Trail members. Program representatives from Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, and Illinois will be there to share information, answer questions, and provide support for your local program. Overnight cost is $25 per person. The GLR will subsidize the remainder of the camp fee. For registration information please contact GLR Chief Craig Johnson (WOTNOWSS@aol.com) or visit the GLR www.geocities.com/glrgp******************************************
SUNSHINE STATE POW WOW - March 13-16
The 2003 Sunshine State Pow Wow will be held on March
13-16 at the Strong Horse Ranch in St. Augustine, Florida. There will be plenty
of activities for Guides, Princesses, and Trails along with vendors, dancers,
and entertainers. The event is to be sponsored by the Northeast Florida Cluster.
For more information contact Florida State Chief "Big Buck"
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Y CAMPS MAY SUFFER YIG BACKLASH
Many local programs have expressed their anger over the national program change by vowing to no longer stay at YMCA camps if their local theme is eliminated. Having heard of some programs' decision, the Ohio branch for the Boy Scouts of America has extended invitations to make their camps
available. Some local programs have also planned to use Christian camps as a substitution. Programs as you may know are free to use non-Y affiliated camps.Y Staff at Camp Tippecanoe in Tippecanoe, Ohio have expressed concern. They estimate that a boycott by local programs could affect their gross income by 40%. Such a loss would force them to close down from Sept. 6-May 1. Camp horses would also have to be boarded out during that period. Staff said that other rural camps would suffer about the same losses if placed in the same situation. Large corporate camps would presumably fair much better, but still might experience a 30% drop in income.
YMCA Camp Tecumseh in Brookstone, Indiana has also expressed concern in potential lost income since it has recently launched an expansion project for an additional lodge and dining hall across from its Buffalo & Whitetail lodges. Tecumseh staff are also worried how far the Y-USA's policy on cultural diversity will extend. The Y-USA has stated that they do not want to use names that they cannot call their own. However, many camps use Indian names for their camp, cabins, & lodge names; sell Indian arts & crafts; or openly display Indian artifacts. Camp Tecumseh uses all of these and has two large tipis along with a large totem pole/Indian figurine on its grounds. Tecumseh staff say that the cost to rename cabins, remove artifacts, and incorporate under a new name would be quite expensive. It would hurt the camp by diverting valuable financial resources away from other needed projects.
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Joe Friday . . . a hunter, a trapper, an Ojibway wilderness guide who lived in a region that was so remote and unforgiving, it had yet to be settled by the Whiteman. But this master of the forest was as comfortable and at home in civilization as he was in the northern frontier. His life as an Ojibway Indian helped to bridge the gap between two differing cultures with his development and co-founding of the Indian Guides Program.
He was born in 1888, minutes before his twin sister Charlotte, in the northern Canadian forest of Matagami. As with Ojibway tradition, babies were usually named after some prominent incident occurring at the same time. On the morning of Joe's birth, his father John Friday noticed the tracks of two Caribou calves in the snow outside of their birchbark wigwam. He quickly named his new son "Ahtik," the Ojibway word for "Caribou."
Sometime after, Joe's father died and the family relocated to a camp on Bear Island, on the southwest arm of Lake Temagami near Hudson Bay in Ontario, Canada. There Ahtik was christened with the name "Joseph" and his family was taken in by their tribe's chief, White Bear. For most of his youth, Joe was raised by Chief White Bear who devoted much of his time teaching Joe how to hunt and trap wild game. It was at that time that Joe realized the importance of the father/son relationship. He believed that a father who did not have time for his son in the formative years, lost much of kinship with his son. The two should grow up together as two boys and two men.
Later, Joe became a hunter and guide, canoeing through dangerous white waters and driving dog teams over the ice for explorers and prospectors to the Hudson Bay region. He often endured temperatures as cold as 40 below zero using his sled dogs to keep him warm in the wigwam.
On June 1, 1916, Joe enlisted in the Canadian army's 228 Battalion at Elk Lake where he served overseas. During that time, he met and married Eva Vanderlip in 1918. He was eventually discharged in 1919, but long after, continued to work actively for the Legion in Temagami and elsewhere. Eva later died in 1947, without children.
As the Temagami area became more popular, Joe served as a guide for sportsmen and hunters. It was as a guide where he met and became a close friend to Harold S. Keltner, the other co-founder of Indian Guides.
Keltner was a YMCA director in St. Louis, who for many years was trying to
find the right formula for a successful father/son program. None of his previous attempts seemed to be long-lasting. In 1924, Keltner recruited Joe as a YMCA instructor for their new campground in the Ozark mountains . . . Camp Niangua. There Joe taught groups of men, women, and children canoeing and woodcraft, as well as giving lectures on Indian lore. After one such lecture, Joe was surrounded by so many fathers with hunting & fishing questions, that the little boys were unable to get close to the Indian. This gave Keltner the idea of incorporating Indian lore as a common level of interest between fathers and sons in an outdoor program. And so in 1926, Indian Guides was born.Joe was able to sponsor his belief in the father/son relationship through
his development of Indian Guides. His life as an Indian and the creed from which he lived by, the "Six Aims" of the Ojibway Indians, helped to mold a successful program. In 1935, only nine years after its creation, Indian Guides became a national YMCA program and remained so until 2001 when the YMCA of the USA decided to eliminate its controversial name and theme.For three months of each year and for nearly 30 years, Joe Friday was involved with the Indian Guides. In addition to serving as Honorary Chief, he lectured for the National YMCA during the months of January (Snow Moon), February (Hunger Moon), and March (Crow Moon). He also made special appearances at the Indian Guides' yearly national conventions. During the summer months, Joe continued to guide American businessmen on fishing trips and in the early winter months, hunted and trapped alone.
In February 1954, Joe fell ill and by September, began experiencing hip and thigh pain. He was hospitalized in December at Haileyburg but was transferred to the Sunnybrook Military Hospital in Toronto on January 18, 1955 for unsuccessful treatment of bone cancer.
Joe Friday died on Thursday, February 10, 1955 at the age of 67 . . . nine days before the 12th Indian Guide National Convention. He had outlived his four brothers and three sisters.
A next of kin, Donald Potts, retrieved Joe's body from Toronto for temporary
internment in a vault at Haileyburg. Reverend John Jordan officiated a funeral service at the Legion Hall in Temagami on February 13, 1955. Joe was later buried on Bear Island next to his wife in May, when the ice broke from Lake Temagami. Representatives from the Indian Guide Program attended the final service where a tribute was presented:"He possesses no wealth other than his faith in his Creator and the peace of understanding.
His friends seek no material gain save his friendship. They respect his woodland skill, his poise, his hopes for a stronger youth in America.
He will be remembered long after most of us perish with our material possessions.
He is a Man, a Christian, a Leader, a Thinker - a Real American! I have had the privilege for twenty years to be
His friend,H. S. Keltner"
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(SPECIAL NOTE: . . . We'd like to thank the Friday family for providing
Joe's historical information.)******************************************
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NEW PRODUCTS
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"Scout Camps USA"
Pfairco Publications in Palatine, Illinois has released its 2nd edition of "Scout Camps USA." This 228-page book provides listings, descriptions, maps, and cross-references more than 400 National Boy Scout & local council summer camps, reservations, ranches, aquatics bases, high adventure bases, Scout-friendly military bases, and other locations across the country. Cost
is $19.95 plus shipping & handling. Discount available on multiple orders.For more information visit
www.scoutcampsusa.com or contact Editor/Publisher Paul Fairbank at: sales@scoutcampsusa.com---------------------------
New Wandering Bull Catalog
Catalog #14 is now available from The Wandering Bull, Inc., a vendor of Native American beads, feathers, jewelry, music, holiday cards, etc. Catalog items can be purchased via mail, on-line, or at their store in Attleboro, MA. To order a free catalog, call 1-800-430-2855 or visit their website at
www.wanderingbull.com*******************************************
IN OUR NEXT ISSUE:
* Program Updates
* Local Y Pilots Pioneer Theme
* YIG Actor Sets Priorities
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Please E-mail your comments or requests to Editor Barry Yamaji: 4Nightowl@msn.com or via mail to the address below.
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DISCLAIMER
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National Drumbeats is an independent, non-affiliated newsletter and does not reflect the views or opinions of any other individuals, groups, or organizations. Its purpose is to provide current and historical support to Indian programs. Although we strive to verify the contents of this newsletter, accuracy of the articles cannot be guaranteed since in some instances, information is received by secondary sources.
National Drumbeats
Copyright 1999-2002, National Drumbeats - All Rights Reserved National Drumbeats, P.O. Box 266, Wadsworth, IL 60083-0266 U.S. Library of Congress ISSN 1538-6295
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UNITED WE STAND
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