Margaret Behan is a
Native American woman who is Southern Arapaho-Cheyenne on her mother's side, and Northern Arapahoe/Northern Cheyenne on her father's side.
She is a fourth generation descendant of a survivor of the
Sand Creek Massacre.
[Harcourt-Smith] Behan is a former member of the
International Council of 13 Grandmothers.
Early years
Behan is "of the Kit Fox Clan of the
Cheyenne Nation of Oklahoma on her mother’s side, and on her father’s side she is half Northern Cheyenne and half
Arapahoe
The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota.
By the 1850s, Arapaho band ...
of the Rabbit Lodge."
She was one of eight children. Her parents were migrant farmworkers.
Behan claims that she was prayed for and a
Peyote ceremony was arranged before her conception.
Family life
Behan has 3 children, 11 grandchildren, and one great grandchild.
Work as an artist
Margaret's mother-in-law, noticed how well Margaret worked on a pair of beaded moccasins and suggested that she might want to work in clay. Margaret felt so confident in her new career as an artist that she resigned from her job in 1982 and took up her new artistic career full-time. Her work is mentioned in four Folk Art books.
[Six Directions] She later moved to
Taos, New Mexico
Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Initially founded in 1615, it was intermittently occupied until its formal establishment in 1795 by Nuevo México Governor Fernando Cha ...
due to the properties of the clay there.
Addiction work
Margaret suffered from alcohol addiction as a young woman. She feels that she drank in order to 'fit in' with her friends. With the aid of addiction clinics, and more of her grandparents' ceremonies, Margaret was able to become free of her addiction.
As a result of this experience, Margaret trained to be a Licensed
Substance abuse Counselor and with her traditional teachings, has led
retreats
The meaning of a spiritual retreat can be different for different religious communities. Spiritual retreats are an integral part of many Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian and Sufi communities.
In Hinduism and Buddhism, meditative retreats are ...
for children and co-dependants of alcoholics to help other First Nation people that had found themselves in a similar position. Historical trauma commonly leads to alcohol, drug, and behaviour issues.
The Cheyenne Elders Council
Margaret is the founder of "The Cheyenne Elders Council", formed in 2007–2008, with Behan as the sole member, and has the mission to, "Heal Our Own Oppression." She had recently bought land next to the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, and said she "was troubled when she heard one of her people say that Cheyenne youth would have to save themselves," saying "They were not getting any kind of influence or teaching from the elders."
Behan reported that she had created "the T’sistsistas’s Sacred School" in her home.
Behan says, "We need to bring our Cheyenne identity and pride back to the young people, teach them the traditional ceremonies and language."
She was interviewed by
AARP International Magazine in October, 2011.
In July 2012, Behan hosted the "11th Gathering of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers" at which the riders commemorating the
Northern Cheyenne Exodus
The Northern Cheyenne Exodus, also known as Dull Knife's Raid, the Cheyenne War, or the Cheyenne Campaign, was the attempt of the Northern Cheyenne to return to the north, after being placed on the Southern Cheyenne reservation in the Indian Terr ...
of 1878 shared stories of their journey.
Initially planned to be held on her private property, wildfires led to the event being held at the pow wow grounds leased from the
Northern Cheyenne Reservation
The Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation ( chy, Tsėhéstáno; formerly named the Tongue River) is the federally recognized Northern Cheyenne tribe. Located in southeastern Montana, the reservation is approximately ...
.
"The gathering ...
asset up as a traditional Cheyenne encampment", with "thirteen teepees, one for each grandmother." In attendance was a great-great-great grandniece of
General Custer
George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.
Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
, who made a "formal apology to the Northern Cheyenne," and a great-great-granddaughter of Brig. Gen.
Anson Mills
Anson Mills (August 31, 1834 – November 5, 1924) was a United States Army officer, surveyor, inventor, and entrepreneur. Engaged in south Texas as a land surveyor and civil engineer, he both named and laid out the city of El Paso, Texas. Mills a ...
, who also offered an apology.
A two-part video of attendees from Vashon Intuitive Arts describing the event is available on the Internet Archive.
Notes
References
* Grandmothers' Council website
About the Grandmothers* Harcourt-Smith, J
*Native Village Publications,
*National Center for Charitable Statistics
Cheyenne Elders Council Inc.
*Sacred Studies, .
*Schaefer, C. (2006) Grandmothers Council the World: wise women elders offer their vision for our planet. Trumpeter Books 978-1-59030-293-4
* Six Directions
External links
Cheyenne Elders CouncilInternational Council of 13 of Indigenous Grandmothers Official WebsiteOfficial website for documentaryFor The Next Seven Generations Film TrailerGrandmothers Horses; The Ride HomeThe Center for Sacred StudiesStatement of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Behan, Margaret
American environmentalists
American women environmentalists
American humanitarians
Women humanitarians
1948 births
Living people
Cheyenne people
American substance abuse counselors
20th-century Native American women
20th-century Native Americans
21st-century Native American women
21st-century Native Americans