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Mary Louise Defender Wilson

December 02, 2023

This article is about the Native American storyteller. For the American actress, see Mary Louise Wilson.

Mary Louise Defender Wilson (born October 14, 1930), also known by her Dakotah name Wagmuhawin (Gourd Woman),[1] is a storyteller, traditionalist, historian, scholar and educator of the Dakotah/Hidatsa people and a former director working in health care organizations. Her cultural work has been recognized with a National Heritage Fellowship in 1999 and a United States Artists fellowship in 2015, among many other honors.

Mary Louise Defender Wilson
Wagmuhawin
Defender Wilson in 2016
Born
Mary Louise Defender

(1930-10-14) October 14, 1930 (age 93)
Shields, North Dakota, U.S.
Other namesGourd Woman
Occupation(s)Storyteller, tribal elder, administrator
Years active1980s–present
SpouseWilliam Dean Wilson (married 1969–99)
AwardsNational Heritage Fellowship, United States Artists fellowship

Early life edit

Defender was born on October 14, 1930, near Shields on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota.[1] Her ancestors were forced by the military[2] into the Standing Rock area in the 1890s.[3] Her mother, Helen Margaret See The Bear, was a midwife and her grandfather, Tall Man See The Bear, herded sheep. Her father was George Defender, who died when his daughter was only two years old.[4] She received most of her formal education going to a one-room reservation school.[5]

From a young age, Defender Wilson was surrounded by the storytelling of her Dakotah-speaking family. Her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother were all midwives and storytellers.[6] Her grandfather would share stories about places, plants and animals in the Wicheyena dialect of the Dakotah Sioux language.[7] Wilson began telling stories at age 11, in both English and Dakotah, usually repeating the stories she heard from her elders.[8]

In 1954, Wilson became the second Miss Indian America.[1]

Career edit

After she moved to New Mexico with her husband, Defender Wilson worked in a variety of administrative jobs with Native American-related government agencies, including family planning and health care, before returning to the reservation in 1976. Much of her early working life was spent helping tribal members with land issues, including efforts to compensate Native Americans who lost land or their homes during the building of Missouri River dams.[5][9] In the 1980s, she taught tribal culture and language at Standing Rock Community College (now known as Sitting Bull College) in Fort Yates, North Dakota.[1][5] She retired in 1996 from the directorship of the Native American Culture Center at the North Dakota State Hospital in Jamestown.[8] After retiring, she worked as a consultant for Wisdom of the Elders, a symposium of Indian elders based out of Portland, Oregon.[10]

It was not until the early 1980s that Defender Wilson began actively telling stories of her people and their culture for audiences.[11] She has given talks and performed her stories in many venues, including teaching the Dakotah language to school children,[12] at colleges and universities across the United States,[13][14][15] at churches,[16] at women's festivals,[17] and at storytelling festivals such as the 2001 American Indian Storytelling Festival in Madison, Wisconsin[18] and the 20th anniversary of the Minnesota Storytelling Festival in 2005.[19] She once gave a presentation to NASA scientists at a workshop in Albuquerque, New Mexico about climate change on native lands.[10]

Defender Wilson has told her stories throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Iceland, and Germany.[20] Her stories reflect the four main tenets of Dakotah ethics, which are "compassion, being helpful, working hard, and communicating well".[21] She was a Native American Humanities Scholar on an oral history project titled "The Respect and Honor Documentary Project".[22]

North Dakota folklorist Troyd Geist has said of Wilson's storytelling:[7]

The stories she tells speak to the human experience.... Those ancient narratives continue today because they are just as relevant now as they were in centuries past -- love and hatred, joy and sadness, unity and separation, peace and violence, truth and the desire to be better human beings.

Starting in 1984[2] and continuing for decades, she portrayed her great-grandmother in a program variously titled as "Good Day, Medicine Woman" or "Good Day, a Yanktoni Sioux Woman". Her ancestor lived from about 1850 to 1930, and the performance addressed the values and culture of the Yanktoni Sioux both before and after they were sent to reservations.[5][23][24] In the late 1990s, she hosted two radio programs aired on KLND-FM in Little Eagle, South Dakota. The Saturday morning show titled Oape Wanzi featured tribal legend, culture and history presented in the Wichiyena dialect and then in English. She also hosted a Thursday morning call-in show titled Oyate Tawoabdeza ("The Public View") where she and her listeners would discuss local, regional, and national issues important to Native Americans.[10]

In 1999, Defender Wilson released her first spoken word album, The Elders Speak.[25] Her second album, My Relatives Say, was released in 2001.[26] A review of the album in School Library Journal, which helps librarians with purchasing decisions, concluded with "This enhanced CD will add a great deal to any library seeking to increase its collection of quality Native American folk tales".[27] As of December 2020, the album is held in 47 libraries worldwide.[28] Her third album, Un De' Che Cha Pí ("The Way We Are"), was released in 2003.[29] All three of her albums earned a Native American Music Award for Best Spoken Word recording.[7][30]

She was a presenter at the 2004 opening of the National Museum of the American Indian on the mall in Washington, D.C.[7][31] Defender Wilson performed along with fellow Native American storyteller Keith Bear at the Library of Congress on August 26, 2006, as part of the Homegrown Concert Series sponsored by the American Folklife Center.[32]

In 2010, Defender Wilson was one of four Native American women invited to present the 16th annual Joseph Harper Cash Memorial Lecture at the University of South Dakota.[33] In 2015, at age 85 she received a United States Artists fellowship of $50,000. She was the first person from North Dakota and the first storyteller to win the award.[7]

As of late 2019, Defender Wilson continues to present her stories and talks in the upper Midwest.[34][35] She was the featured guest at the Elder-in-Residence program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in November 2019.[36]

In recognition of her work dedicated to the preservation of oral history and in working for the human rights of Native Americans, Defender Wilson has served on several boards and commissions, including Arts Midwest, the North Dakota Council on the Arts, the North Dakota Humanities Council, and the North Dakota Centennial Commission.[5][37] She was the only Native American on the 18-member Centennial Commission.[38]

In October 2022, Defender Wilson's portrait was unveiled as one of three Native Americans included on the Glass City River Wall, near the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio. Her image represents the elder or grandmother, who along with a mother and a child, were honored as representatives of the region's first farmers. The three images were painted on grain silos over 100 feet tall. Along with 25 other painted silos, measuring approximately 170,000 square feet and requiring almost 3,000 gallons of paint, the mural is the largest in the United States. The then-92 year old Defender Wilson attended the dedication ceremony.[39][40]

Personal life edit

Defender met her future husband William Dean Wilson (previously known as William Diné Yazzie) in 1949 at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas,[12] where Wilson was sent following his discharge from the military after World War II. They married in 1969.[41] Her husband worked as a Navajo tribal judge in New Mexico.[5] He was one of the original 29 World War II Navajo code talkers,[42][43] having been recruited for the job by the military when he was only 15 years old, although he claimed to be 18 at the time.[44] Her husband died in December 1999 and posthumously received a Congressional Gold Medal in 2001 honoring the original Navajo code talkers.[41]

One of her two brothers, Dan Defender, was an underwater demolition technician (Navy frogman) during World War II, who later served in the Peace Corps. He was a member of Advocates for Human and Civil Rights, working for his community on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. He died in December 1995.[45]

In 1988, Defender Wilson was one of 15 North Dakota delegates to the Democratic National Convention. She was pledged to candidate Jesse Jackson.[46]

In the summer of 2002, Wilson's home in Shields was destroyed by a prairie fire, including all of her photographs of herself and her family[47] and many antique family heirlooms that she used in her presentations.[48]

After the fire, she moved a few miles away to Porcupine, North Dakota,[8] a community of less than 150 people on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, where she still resides as of 2018.[49] She has served on the town's council.[50]

Published works edit

Books edit

  • The Taken Land (1980s): stories collected by Defender Wilson and James V. Fenelon[51]
  • Die Welt Wird Niemals Enden: Geschichten der Dakota (2006): stories by Defender Wilson, translated into German by Michael Schlottner[52]
  • Sundogs and Sunflowers: Folklore and Folk Art of the Northern Great Plains (2010): stories collected by Defender Wilson, Paul T. Emch, and Deborah Gourneau[53]

Article edit

  • "Voyage of Domination, 'Purchase' as Conquest, Sakakawea for Savagery: Distorted Icons from Misrepresentations of the Lewis and Clark Expedition"[54]

Discography edit

As featured artist:

  • The Elders Speak (1999)[25]
  • My Relatives Say (2001)[26]
  • Un De' Che Cha Pí ("The Way We Are") (2003)[29]

As one of various artists on compilation recordings:

  • Keep My Fires Burning (2002): Defender Wilson performs "The World Never Ends"[55]
  • Spirit Woods (2004): Defender Wilson performs "The Star in the Cottonwood Tree"[56]
  • North Dakota Council on the Arts 40th Anniversary (2006): Defender Wilson performs "The Spiderman Meets the Giant" and "The Star in the Cottonwood Tree"[57]
  • Spirit Mountain (2007): Defender Wilson performs "The World Never Ends"[58]

Filmography edit

  • Confronting Violence (1992), a Wisconsin Public Television documentary program that featured Defender Wilson among five other interviewees examining how individuals respond to violence in their local communities.[59]
  • The Humanities Consultation (1998)[60]
  • Wisdom of the Elders: 1999 South Dakota Oral History Collection (tape 9)[61]
  • 19th Annual Evening of Storytelling (2016)[62]

Awards and honors edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Mary Louise Defender Wilson: Dakotah-Hidatsa Traditionalist/Storyteller". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. n.d. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Doll, Don (1994). Vision Quest: Men, Women, and Sacred Sites of the Sioux Nation (1st ed.). New York: Crown. p. 142. ISBN 9780517599044. OCLC 30031890.
  3. ^ Levy, Paul (October 21, 1999). "Gourd Woman Tells Traditional Tales on CD". Star-Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. Variety section, 1E.
  4. ^ "Mary Louise Defender Wilson". United States Artists. 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Bonham, Kevin (April 2, 1989). "Blazing Trails in Indian Education on These Pages is a Cross Section of Notable – Not Necessarily the Most Well-Known – Contemporary Indians in North Dakota". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks, North Dakota. p. 6.
  6. ^ "Elders Share Wisdom of Their Cultures at PSU". The Columbian. Vancouver, Washington. February 17, 2000. p. F4.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Frank, Tracy (December 7, 2015). "North Dakota storyteller receives major artistic honor". The Dickinson Press. Dickinson, North Dakota. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c "Religion Digest". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. December 11, 2003. p. 2C.
  9. ^ Spilde, Tony (August 10, 2007). "Long Time Coming". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. p. 1A. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  10. ^ a b c Voskuil, Vicki (June 6, 1999). "Preserving Tradition: Storyteller shares the past of her people". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. p. 1C.
  11. ^ Papatola, Dominic P. (June 14, 2009). "Bush Foundation awards $1 million to regional artists, with three earning $100,000 each for their 'enduring vision'". St. Paul Pioneer Press. St. Paul, Minnesota. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Saving Dakotah: Standing Rock-Area Woman Works to Preserve Native Language". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks, North Dakota. Associated Press. October 29, 2002.
  13. ^ "Angela Davis to Speak at Race Conference: Race, Gender, and Class Will Be Discussed". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans, Louisiana. October 1, 2000. p. East New Orleans Picayune section, 2.
  14. ^ "Celebrated Native American storyteller Mary Louise Defender Wilson to speak at CSUSB on May 19" (Press release). Sacramento, California: The California State University. Plus Media Solutions. May 18, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  15. ^ Jones, Christy (August 28, 2008). "American folk artists to share native customs, traditions at Purdue". Purdue University. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  16. ^ "'The Power of Story' at UU". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. April 3, 2008. p. Life section.
  17. ^ Herzog, Karen (June 30, 2004). "Women's Festival Features Music, Arts, and Workshops". The Bismarck Tribune. p. 2B. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  18. ^ Lampert Smith, Susan (February 16, 2001). "Words That Mesmerize: Traditional Indian Storytellers Warm the Winter Nights at UW". Wisconsin State Journal. p. A1.
  19. ^ "Festival marks 20 years of storytelling". Globe Gazette. Mason City, Iowa. February 24, 2005. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  20. ^ a b "About Town". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. October 18, 2015. p. Section E, 4. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  21. ^ Nathans, Aaron (February 15, 2001). "Lessons of Indian Stories". The Capital Times. Madison, Wisconsin. p. 1A.
  22. ^ Mahar, Ted (February 18, 2000). "Vessels of Wisdom". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. p. 5.
  23. ^ "Program to honor medicine woman". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. April 24, 1994. p. 6D.
  24. ^ "U-Mary schedules Lewis and Clark events". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. October 1, 2004. p. 3C.
  25. ^ a b Gourd Woman and Eagle Heart (1999). The Elders Speak (CD). Bismarck, N.D.: Makoché Music/BMI. LCCN 2001-559220. OCLC 42816235. MW0164D.
  26. ^ a b Mary Louise Defender Wilson and Bryan Akipa (2001). My Relatives Say (CD). Bismarck, North Dakota: Makoché. ISBN 9780965087278. LCCN 2003-693917. OCLC 54754015. MW0185D.
  27. ^ Wysocki, Barbara (April 2002). "My Relatives Say". School Library Journal. 48 (4): 86.
  28. ^ "Defender-Wilson, Mary Louise". OCLC WorldCat Identities. OCLC Online Computer Library Center. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  29. ^ a b Mary Louise Defender Wilson (2003). Un de' che cha pí [The Way We Are] (CD). Bismarck, North Dakota: North Dakota Council on the Arts. ISBN 9780911205060. OCLC 55606527. NDCA063.
  30. ^ a b c d "Winners A-Z 1998 - Present". Native American Music Awards. n.d. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  31. ^ "Today at the First Americans Festival". The Washington Post. September 26, 2004. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  32. ^ Mary Louise Defender Wilson and Keith Bear (2006). Mary Louise Defender Wilson and Keith Bear concert and interview collection (archival material (video file)). Washington, D.C.: Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center. LCCN 2007-700253. OCLC 963437744.
  33. ^ "2010 Cash Lecture at USD to focus on 'Cultural Leadership'". www.usd.edu. University of South Dakota. October 13, 2010. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  34. ^ "Going Out". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. November 21, 2019. p. Local section, A2.
  35. ^ "July in North Dakota A Good Time for All". Valley City Times-Record. Valley City, North Dakota. July 3, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  36. ^ "Mary Louise Defender Wilson To Be UW-Madison's Elder-in-Residence". The Daily Cardinal. Madison, Wisconsin. November 10, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  37. ^ a b Tuchscherer, Rebekah (August 14, 2020). "Scientist Pearl Young, teachers and politicians among inspiring North Dakota women". Argus Leader. Sioux Fall, South Dakota. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  38. ^ Bonham, Kevin (November 2, 1989). "All in all, a great centennial year". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks, North Dakota. p. 1A.
  39. ^ a b Zenner, Stephen (October 16, 2022). "Glass City River Wall dedicated Saturday". The Blade. Toledo, Ohio. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  40. ^ "Glass City River Wall – A Toledo, Ohio Community Project – Announces Completion of The Largest Mural in the U.S." (Press release). Toledo, Ohio: Glass City River Wall. PR Newswire. October 20, 2022.
  41. ^ a b Shebala, Marley (September 4, 2010). "A Beautiful Gold Medal". Navajo Times. Window Rock, Arizona. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  42. ^ Herzog, Karen (August 30, 2011). "Code talkers' stories featured at Smithsonian Exhibit at Heritage Center". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. p. Section Dakota Wire, 1B. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  43. ^ "N.D. woman's husband a code talker". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. October 31, 2003. p. Section Dakota Wire, 1B. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  44. ^ Culler, Leah L. (December 26, 1999). "First a sheepherder, then a code talker and a judge, Wilson gave a lot to his people". Farmington Daily Times. Farmington, New Mexico. pp. 17, 20.
  45. ^ Salter, Peter (December 7, 1995). "Activist remembered for battles: Standing Rock's Dan Defender dies at 69". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. p. 1A.
  46. ^ Grass, James (July 20, 1988). "Two Native American delegates from South and North Dakota have different goals in mind at the Democratic National Convention". USA Today. Arlington, Virginia.
  47. ^ Winter, Deena (July 1, 2002). "Is This the End for Shields?". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. p. 1A. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  48. ^ Nicholson, Blake (July 1, 2002). "Grass Fire Disaster: Blaze Destroys South-Central N.D. Town". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks, North Dakota. Associated Press. p. 1A.
  49. ^ MacPherson, James (May 27, 2018). "Pipeline stance complicates Heitkamp's 2nd term Senate hopes". Associated Press News. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  50. ^ Albrecht, Mike (September 26, 2002). "Ranchers coping after fire". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. p. 1B. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  51. ^ Fenelon, James V.; Defender-Wilson, Mary Louise (c. 1980). The Taken Land. Bismarck, North Dakota: Standing Rock Landowner's Association. OCLC 46029728.
  52. ^ Defender-Wilson, Mary Louise; Schlottner, Michael (2006). Die Welt Wird Niemals Enden: Geschichten der Dakota (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Insel Verlag. ISBN 9783458173014. OCLC 716893740.
  53. ^ Kloberdanz, Timothy J.; Geist, Troyd A., eds. (2010). Sundogs and Sunflowers: Folklore and Folk Art of the Northern Great Plains. Bismarck, North Dakota: North Dakota Council on the Arts. ISBN 9780911205213. OCLC 800795203.
  54. ^ Fenelon, James V.; Defender-Wilson, Mary Louise (Spring 2004). "Voyage of Domination, "Purchase" as Conquest, Sakakawea for Savagery: Distorted Icons from Misrepresentations of the Lewis and Clark Expedition". Wíčazo Ša Review. University of Minnesota Press. 19 (1): 85–104. doi:10.1353/wic.2004.0006. JSTOR 1409488. S2CID 147041160.
  55. ^ James Marienthal, producer (2002). Keep My Fires Burning (CD). Lafayette, Colorado: Red Feather Music. OCLC 62073676.
  56. ^ Spirit Woods: Traditional Stories and Songs of Forests and Trees (CD). Bismarck, North Dakota: North Dakota Council on the Arts. 2004. ISBN 9780911205077. OCLC 55956252. NDCA071.
  57. ^ North Dakota Council on the Arts 40th Anniversary: A Compilation (CD). Bismarck, North Dakota: North Dakota Council on the Arts. 2004. OCLC 85482493.
  58. ^ Spirit Mountain: Authentic Music of the American Indian (CD). London, England: Cooking Vinyl. 2007. OCLC 871992650. 036.
  59. ^ Evansen, Russell (February 25, 1992). "'Violence' Confronts Problem, Offers Hope". Wisconsin State Journal. p. Look section, 2C.
  60. ^ The Humanities Consultation (VHS). Wisdom of the Elders, Inc. 1998. OCLC 42722077.
  61. ^ Wisdom of the Elders: 1999 South Dakota Oral History Collection (VHS). Bismarck, North Dakota: Community Access Television. 1999. OCLC 44463168.
  62. ^ Mary Louise Defender Wilson and Joey Awonohopay (2016). 19th Annual Evening of Storytelling (DVD). Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin American Indian Studies Program. OCLC 1007172696.
  63. ^ Schmidt, Steve (April 6, 1989). "Sinner Signs Bones Burial Law: Bill Protects Indian Burial Sites". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks, North Dakota. p. The Region section, 1B.
  64. ^ "Nominees Wanted for Tribune Awards". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. November 23, 1997.
  65. ^ "N.D. Roughrider Award Nominees". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks, North Dakota. Associated Press. June 28, 1993. p. 3B.
  66. ^ . www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. Archived from the original on May 21, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  67. ^ Graham, Carol (July 26, 2002). "Council Establishes Fund for Shields Artist, Neighbor". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks, North Dakota. p. D4.
  68. ^ "Defender Wilson has had tough year". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. August 21, 2002. p. 2B.
  69. ^ Frisinger, Cathy (March 17, 2002). "Herstory: Six Women Worthy of Recognition". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. p. Life section, 3.
  70. ^ Barraco, Stefanie (March 1, 2002). "CNY Celebrates Women's History Month". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York. p. D1.
  71. ^ Eckroth, LeAnn (January 6, 2003). "Quale, Dyville recognized for work in arts". Williston Daily Herald. Williston, North Dakota. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  72. ^ Grantier, Virginia (June 18, 2004). "Two North Dakota Artists Get $44,000 Grants Each". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. p. 10A. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  73. ^ "Honorary Degrees". University of Mary. 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  74. ^ "Graduation 2005: University of Mary". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. May 15, 2005. p. 42.
  75. ^ "Area Artists Receive Bush Awards". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. June 19, 2009. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  76. ^ "First Peoples Fund Announces Artist Awards". The Rapid City Journal. Rapid City, South Dakota. November 12, 2008. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  77. ^ "The List". Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks, North Dakota. July 1, 2009. p. D2. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  78. ^ "Above and Beyond: program recognizes Native Americans for significant achievements". Minot Daily News. Minot, North Dakota. n.d. Retrieved December 28, 2020.

External links edit

  • Video interview for Defender Wilson's 2017 induction into the North Dakota Native American Hall of Fame
  • Audio interview by Scott Simon on NPR Weekend Edition Saturday, December 19, 2015
  • Print interview by school children via Local Learning: The National Network for Folk Arts in Education, March 22, 2010
  • Defender Wilson discusses her life, work, and tribal history in a 1999 digital video preservation project by Sitting Bull College

December 02, 2023
mary, louise, defender, wilson, this, article, about, native, american, storyteller, american, actress, mary, louise, wilson, born, october, 1930, also, known, dakotah, name, wagmuhawin, gourd, woman, storyteller, traditionalist, historian, scholar, educator, . This article is about the Native American storyteller For the American actress see Mary Louise Wilson Mary Louise Defender Wilson born October 14 1930 also known by her Dakotah name Wagmuhawin Gourd Woman 1 is a storyteller traditionalist historian scholar and educator of the Dakotah Hidatsa people and a former director working in health care organizations Her cultural work has been recognized with a National Heritage Fellowship in 1999 and a United States Artists fellowship in 2015 among many other honors Mary Louise Defender WilsonWagmuhawinDefender Wilson in 2016BornMary Louise Defender 1930 10 14 October 14 1930 age 93 Shields North Dakota U S Other namesGourd WomanOccupation s Storyteller tribal elder administratorYears active1980s presentSpouseWilliam Dean Wilson married 1969 99 AwardsNational Heritage Fellowship United States Artists fellowship Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Published works 4 1 Books 4 1 1 Article 4 2 Discography 4 3 Filmography 5 Awards and honors 6 References 7 External linksEarly life editDefender was born on October 14 1930 near Shields on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota 1 Her ancestors were forced by the military 2 into the Standing Rock area in the 1890s 3 Her mother Helen Margaret See The Bear was a midwife and her grandfather Tall Man See The Bear herded sheep Her father was George Defender who died when his daughter was only two years old 4 She received most of her formal education going to a one room reservation school 5 From a young age Defender Wilson was surrounded by the storytelling of her Dakotah speaking family Her mother grandmother and great grandmother were all midwives and storytellers 6 Her grandfather would share stories about places plants and animals in the Wicheyena dialect of the Dakotah Sioux language 7 Wilson began telling stories at age 11 in both English and Dakotah usually repeating the stories she heard from her elders 8 In 1954 Wilson became the second Miss Indian America 1 Career editAfter she moved to New Mexico with her husband Defender Wilson worked in a variety of administrative jobs with Native American related government agencies including family planning and health care before returning to the reservation in 1976 Much of her early working life was spent helping tribal members with land issues including efforts to compensate Native Americans who lost land or their homes during the building of Missouri River dams 5 9 In the 1980s she taught tribal culture and language at Standing Rock Community College now known as Sitting Bull College in Fort Yates North Dakota 1 5 She retired in 1996 from the directorship of the Native American Culture Center at the North Dakota State Hospital in Jamestown 8 After retiring she worked as a consultant for Wisdom of the Elders a symposium of Indian elders based out of Portland Oregon 10 It was not until the early 1980s that Defender Wilson began actively telling stories of her people and their culture for audiences 11 She has given talks and performed her stories in many venues including teaching the Dakotah language to school children 12 at colleges and universities across the United States 13 14 15 at churches 16 at women s festivals 17 and at storytelling festivals such as the 2001 American Indian Storytelling Festival in Madison Wisconsin 18 and the 20th anniversary of the Minnesota Storytelling Festival in 2005 19 She once gave a presentation to NASA scientists at a workshop in Albuquerque New Mexico about climate change on native lands 10 Defender Wilson has told her stories throughout the United States as well as in Canada Iceland and Germany 20 Her stories reflect the four main tenets of Dakotah ethics which are compassion being helpful working hard and communicating well 21 She was a Native American Humanities Scholar on an oral history project titled The Respect and Honor Documentary Project 22 North Dakota folklorist Troyd Geist has said of Wilson s storytelling 7 The stories she tells speak to the human experience Those ancient narratives continue today because they are just as relevant now as they were in centuries past love and hatred joy and sadness unity and separation peace and violence truth and the desire to be better human beings Starting in 1984 2 and continuing for decades she portrayed her great grandmother in a program variously titled as Good Day Medicine Woman or Good Day a Yanktoni Sioux Woman Her ancestor lived from about 1850 to 1930 and the performance addressed the values and culture of the Yanktoni Sioux both before and after they were sent to reservations 5 23 24 In the late 1990s she hosted two radio programs aired on KLND FM in Little Eagle South Dakota The Saturday morning show titled Oape Wanzi featured tribal legend culture and history presented in the Wichiyena dialect and then in English She also hosted a Thursday morning call in show titled Oyate Tawoabdeza The Public View where she and her listeners would discuss local regional and national issues important to Native Americans 10 In 1999 Defender Wilson released her first spoken word album The Elders Speak 25 Her second album My Relatives Say was released in 2001 26 A review of the album in School Library Journal which helps librarians with purchasing decisions concluded with This enhanced CD will add a great deal to any library seeking to increase its collection of quality Native American folk tales 27 As of December 2020 the album is held in 47 libraries worldwide 28 Her third album Un De Che Cha Pi The Way We Are was released in 2003 29 All three of her albums earned a Native American Music Award for Best Spoken Word recording 7 30 She was a presenter at the 2004 opening of the National Museum of the American Indian on the mall in Washington D C 7 31 Defender Wilson performed along with fellow Native American storyteller Keith Bear at the Library of Congress on August 26 2006 as part of the Homegrown Concert Series sponsored by the American Folklife Center 32 In 2010 Defender Wilson was one of four Native American women invited to present the 16th annual Joseph Harper Cash Memorial Lecture at the University of South Dakota 33 In 2015 at age 85 she received a United States Artists fellowship of 50 000 She was the first person from North Dakota and the first storyteller to win the award 7 As of late 2019 Defender Wilson continues to present her stories and talks in the upper Midwest 34 35 She was the featured guest at the Elder in Residence program at the University of Wisconsin Madison in November 2019 36 In recognition of her work dedicated to the preservation of oral history and in working for the human rights of Native Americans Defender Wilson has served on several boards and commissions including Arts Midwest the North Dakota Council on the Arts the North Dakota Humanities Council and the North Dakota Centennial Commission 5 37 She was the only Native American on the 18 member Centennial Commission 38 In October 2022 Defender Wilson s portrait was unveiled as one of three Native Americans included on the Glass City River Wall near the Maumee River in Toledo Ohio Her image represents the elder or grandmother who along with a mother and a child were honored as representatives of the region s first farmers The three images were painted on grain silos over 100 feet tall Along with 25 other painted silos measuring approximately 170 000 square feet and requiring almost 3 000 gallons of paint the mural is the largest in the United States The then 92 year old Defender Wilson attended the dedication ceremony 39 40 Personal life editDefender met her future husband William Dean Wilson previously known as William Dine Yazzie in 1949 at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence Kansas 12 where Wilson was sent following his discharge from the military after World War II They married in 1969 41 Her husband worked as a Navajo tribal judge in New Mexico 5 He was one of the original 29 World War II Navajo code talkers 42 43 having been recruited for the job by the military when he was only 15 years old although he claimed to be 18 at the time 44 Her husband died in December 1999 and posthumously received a Congressional Gold Medal in 2001 honoring the original Navajo code talkers 41 One of her two brothers Dan Defender was an underwater demolition technician Navy frogman during World War II who later served in the Peace Corps He was a member of Advocates for Human and Civil Rights working for his community on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation He died in December 1995 45 In 1988 Defender Wilson was one of 15 North Dakota delegates to the Democratic National Convention She was pledged to candidate Jesse Jackson 46 In the summer of 2002 Wilson s home in Shields was destroyed by a prairie fire including all of her photographs of herself and her family 47 and many antique family heirlooms that she used in her presentations 48 After the fire she moved a few miles away to Porcupine North Dakota 8 a community of less than 150 people on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation where she still resides as of 2018 49 She has served on the town s council 50 Published works editBooks edit The Taken Land 1980s stories collected by Defender Wilson and James V Fenelon 51 Die Welt Wird Niemals Enden Geschichten der Dakota 2006 stories by Defender Wilson translated into German by Michael Schlottner 52 Sundogs and Sunflowers Folklore and Folk Art of the Northern Great Plains 2010 stories collected by Defender Wilson Paul T Emch and Deborah Gourneau 53 Article edit Voyage of Domination Purchase as Conquest Sakakawea for Savagery Distorted Icons from Misrepresentations of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 54 Discography edit As featured artist The Elders Speak 1999 25 My Relatives Say 2001 26 Un De Che Cha Pi The Way We Are 2003 29 As one of various artists on compilation recordings Keep My Fires Burning 2002 Defender Wilson performs The World Never Ends 55 Spirit Woods 2004 Defender Wilson performs The Star in the Cottonwood Tree 56 North Dakota Council on the Arts 40th Anniversary 2006 Defender Wilson performs The Spiderman Meets the Giant and The Star in the Cottonwood Tree 57 Spirit Mountain 2007 Defender Wilson performs The World Never Ends 58 Filmography edit Confronting Violence 1992 a Wisconsin Public Television documentary program that featured Defender Wilson among five other interviewees examining how individuals respond to violence in their local communities 59 The Humanities Consultation 1998 60 Wisdom of the Elders 1999 South Dakota Oral History Collection tape 9 61 19th Annual Evening of Storytelling 2016 62 Awards and honors editNorth Dakota Centennial Commission Award 1989 63 The Bismarck Tribune Award 1990 for people who work outside the spotlight to enrich the lives of others 64 Nominee for North Dakota s Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award 1993 65 National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts 1999 66 which is the United States government s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts Native American Music Award Best Spoken Word recording for The Elders Speak 2000 30 Notable Document Award from the Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association for The Elders Speak 67 In March 2002 Defender Wilson was one of six women featured on a National Women s History Month poster 68 69 The theme for 2002 was Women Sustaining the American Spirit 70 Native American Music Award Best Spoken Word recording for My Relatives Say 2002 30 North Dakota Governor s Award for the Arts 2003 71 Bush Foundation grant 2004 72 Native American Music Award Best Spoken Word recording for Un De Che Cha Pi 2004 30 Honorary Doctor of Leadership degree from the University of Mary 2005 73 74 H Councill Trenholm Memorial Award from the National Education Association for Human and Civil Rights 2009 75 Community Spirit Award from First Peoples Fund 2009 76 Enduring Vision Award from the Bush Foundation 2009 7 77 United States Artists Fellowship in Traditional Arts 2015 37 Women in American History Award from the Daughters of the American Revolution Minishoshe Mandan Chapter of Bismarck 2015 7 20 Native American Hall of Honor inductee 2017 78 Portrait included on the Glass City River Wall in Toledo Ohio 2022 39 References edit a b c d Mary Louise Defender Wilson Dakotah Hidatsa Traditionalist Storyteller www arts gov National Endowment for the Arts n d Retrieved December 19 2020 a b Doll Don 1994 Vision Quest Men Women and Sacred Sites of the Sioux Nation 1st ed New York Crown p 142 ISBN 9780517599044 OCLC 30031890 Levy Paul October 21 1999 Gourd Woman Tells Traditional Tales on CD Star Tribune Minneapolis Minnesota p Variety section 1E Mary Louise Defender Wilson United States Artists 2015 Retrieved December 20 2020 a b c d e f Bonham Kevin April 2 1989 Blazing Trails in Indian Education on These Pages is a Cross Section of Notable Not Necessarily the Most Well Known Contemporary Indians in North Dakota Grand Forks Herald Grand Forks North Dakota p 6 Elders Share Wisdom of Their Cultures at PSU The Columbian Vancouver Washington February 17 2000 p F4 a b c d e f g Frank Tracy December 7 2015 North Dakota storyteller receives major artistic honor The Dickinson Press Dickinson North Dakota Retrieved December 28 2020 a b c Religion Digest The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota December 11 2003 p 2C Spilde Tony August 10 2007 Long Time Coming The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota p 1A Retrieved December 29 2020 a b c Voskuil Vicki June 6 1999 Preserving Tradition Storyteller shares the past of her people The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota p 1C Papatola Dominic P June 14 2009 Bush Foundation awards 1 million to regional artists with three earning 100 000 each for their enduring vision St Paul Pioneer Press St Paul Minnesota Retrieved December 28 2020 a b Saving Dakotah Standing Rock Area Woman Works to Preserve Native Language Grand Forks Herald Grand Forks North Dakota Associated Press October 29 2002 Angela Davis to Speak at Race Conference Race Gender and Class Will Be Discussed The Times Picayune New Orleans Louisiana October 1 2000 p East New Orleans Picayune section 2 Celebrated Native American storyteller Mary Louise Defender Wilson to speak at CSUSB on May 19 Press release Sacramento California The California State University Plus Media Solutions May 18 2016 Retrieved December 28 2020 Jones Christy August 28 2008 American folk artists to share native customs traditions at Purdue Purdue University Retrieved December 28 2020 The Power of Story at UU The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota April 3 2008 p Life section Herzog Karen June 30 2004 Women s Festival Features Music Arts and Workshops The Bismarck Tribune p 2B Retrieved December 29 2020 Lampert Smith Susan February 16 2001 Words That Mesmerize Traditional Indian Storytellers Warm the Winter Nights at UW Wisconsin State Journal p A1 Festival marks 20 years of storytelling Globe Gazette Mason City Iowa February 24 2005 Retrieved December 29 2020 a b About Town The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota October 18 2015 p Section E 4 Retrieved December 29 2020 Nathans Aaron February 15 2001 Lessons of Indian Stories The Capital Times Madison Wisconsin p 1A Mahar Ted February 18 2000 Vessels of Wisdom The Oregonian Portland Oregon p 5 Program to honor medicine woman The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota April 24 1994 p 6D U Mary schedules Lewis and Clark events The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota October 1 2004 p 3C a b Gourd Woman and Eagle Heart 1999 The Elders Speak CD Bismarck N D Makoche Music BMI LCCN 2001 559220 OCLC 42816235 MW0164D a b Mary Louise Defender Wilson and Bryan Akipa 2001 My Relatives Say CD Bismarck North Dakota Makoche ISBN 9780965087278 LCCN 2003 693917 OCLC 54754015 MW0185D Wysocki Barbara April 2002 My Relatives Say School Library Journal 48 4 86 Defender Wilson Mary Louise OCLC WorldCat Identities OCLC Online Computer Library Center Retrieved December 28 2020 a b Mary Louise Defender Wilson 2003 Un de che cha pi The Way We Are CD Bismarck North Dakota North Dakota Council on the Arts ISBN 9780911205060 OCLC 55606527 NDCA063 a b c d Winners A Z 1998 Present Native American Music Awards n d Retrieved December 20 2020 Today at the First Americans Festival The Washington Post September 26 2004 Retrieved December 28 2020 Mary Louise Defender Wilson and Keith Bear 2006 Mary Louise Defender Wilson and Keith Bear concert and interview collection archival material video file Washington D C Archive of Folk Culture American Folklife Center LCCN 2007 700253 OCLC 963437744 2010 Cash Lecture at USD to focus on Cultural Leadership www usd edu University of South Dakota October 13 2010 Retrieved December 28 2020 Going Out Wisconsin State Journal Madison Wisconsin November 21 2019 p Local section A2 July in North Dakota A Good Time for All Valley City Times Record Valley City North Dakota July 3 2019 Retrieved December 28 2020 Mary Louise Defender Wilson To Be UW Madison s Elder in Residence The Daily Cardinal Madison Wisconsin November 10 2019 Retrieved December 28 2020 a b Tuchscherer Rebekah August 14 2020 Scientist Pearl Young teachers and politicians among inspiring North Dakota women Argus Leader Sioux Fall South Dakota Retrieved December 28 2020 Bonham Kevin November 2 1989 All in all a great centennial year Grand Forks Herald Grand Forks North Dakota p 1A a b Zenner Stephen October 16 2022 Glass City River Wall dedicated Saturday The Blade Toledo Ohio Retrieved November 1 2022 Glass City River Wall A Toledo Ohio Community Project Announces Completion of The Largest Mural in the U S Press release Toledo Ohio Glass City River Wall PR Newswire October 20 2022 a b Shebala Marley September 4 2010 A Beautiful Gold Medal Navajo Times Window Rock Arizona Retrieved December 28 2020 Herzog Karen August 30 2011 Code talkers stories featured at Smithsonian Exhibit at Heritage Center The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota p Section Dakota Wire 1B Retrieved December 29 2020 N D woman s husband a code talker The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota October 31 2003 p Section Dakota Wire 1B Retrieved December 29 2020 Culler Leah L December 26 1999 First a sheepherder then a code talker and a judge Wilson gave a lot to his people Farmington Daily Times Farmington New Mexico pp 17 20 Salter Peter December 7 1995 Activist remembered for battles Standing Rock s Dan Defender dies at 69 The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota p 1A Grass James July 20 1988 Two Native American delegates from South and North Dakota have different goals in mind at the Democratic National Convention USA Today Arlington Virginia Winter Deena July 1 2002 Is This the End for Shields The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota p 1A Retrieved December 29 2020 Nicholson Blake July 1 2002 Grass Fire Disaster Blaze Destroys South Central N D Town Grand Forks Herald Grand Forks North Dakota Associated Press p 1A MacPherson James May 27 2018 Pipeline stance complicates Heitkamp s 2nd term Senate hopes Associated Press News Retrieved December 28 2020 Albrecht Mike September 26 2002 Ranchers coping after fire The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota p 1B Retrieved December 29 2020 Fenelon James V Defender Wilson Mary Louise c 1980 The Taken Land Bismarck North Dakota Standing Rock Landowner s Association OCLC 46029728 Defender Wilson Mary Louise Schlottner Michael 2006 Die Welt Wird Niemals Enden Geschichten der Dakota in German Frankfurt am Main Insel Verlag ISBN 9783458173014 OCLC 716893740 Kloberdanz Timothy J Geist Troyd A eds 2010 Sundogs and Sunflowers Folklore and Folk Art of the Northern Great Plains Bismarck North Dakota North Dakota Council on the Arts ISBN 9780911205213 OCLC 800795203 Fenelon James V Defender Wilson Mary Louise Spring 2004 Voyage of Domination Purchase as Conquest Sakakawea for Savagery Distorted Icons from Misrepresentations of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Wicazo Sa Review University of Minnesota Press 19 1 85 104 doi 10 1353 wic 2004 0006 JSTOR 1409488 S2CID 147041160 James Marienthal producer 2002 Keep My Fires Burning CD Lafayette Colorado Red Feather Music OCLC 62073676 Spirit Woods Traditional Stories and Songs of Forests and Trees CD Bismarck North Dakota North Dakota Council on the Arts 2004 ISBN 9780911205077 OCLC 55956252 NDCA071 North Dakota Council on the Arts 40th Anniversary A Compilation CD Bismarck North Dakota North Dakota Council on the Arts 2004 OCLC 85482493 Spirit Mountain Authentic Music of the American Indian CD London England Cooking Vinyl 2007 OCLC 871992650 036 Evansen Russell February 25 1992 Violence Confronts Problem Offers Hope Wisconsin State Journal p Look section 2C The Humanities Consultation VHS Wisdom of the Elders Inc 1998 OCLC 42722077 Wisdom of the Elders 1999 South Dakota Oral History Collection VHS Bismarck North Dakota Community Access Television 1999 OCLC 44463168 Mary Louise Defender Wilson and Joey Awonohopay 2016 19th Annual Evening of Storytelling DVD Madison Wisconsin University of Wisconsin American Indian Studies Program OCLC 1007172696 Schmidt Steve April 6 1989 Sinner Signs Bones Burial Law Bill Protects Indian Burial Sites Grand Forks Herald Grand Forks North Dakota p The Region section 1B Nominees Wanted for Tribune Awards The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota November 23 1997 N D Roughrider Award Nominees Grand Forks Herald Grand Forks North Dakota Associated Press June 28 1993 p 3B NEA National Heritage Fellowships 1999 www arts gov National Endowment for the Arts Archived from the original on May 21 2020 Retrieved December 19 2020 Graham Carol July 26 2002 Council Establishes Fund for Shields Artist Neighbor Grand Forks Herald Grand Forks North Dakota p D4 Defender Wilson has had tough year The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota August 21 2002 p 2B Frisinger Cathy March 17 2002 Herstory Six Women Worthy of Recognition Fort Worth Star Telegram Fort Worth Texas p Life section 3 Barraco Stefanie March 1 2002 CNY Celebrates Women s History Month The Post Standard Syracuse New York p D1 Eckroth LeAnn January 6 2003 Quale Dyville recognized for work in arts Williston Daily Herald Williston North Dakota Retrieved December 29 2020 Grantier Virginia June 18 2004 Two North Dakota Artists Get 44 000 Grants Each The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota p 10A Retrieved December 29 2020 Honorary Degrees University of Mary 2019 Retrieved December 28 2020 Graduation 2005 University of Mary The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota May 15 2005 p 42 Area Artists Receive Bush Awards The Bismarck Tribune Bismarck North Dakota June 19 2009 Retrieved December 29 2020 First Peoples Fund Announces Artist Awards The Rapid City Journal Rapid City South Dakota November 12 2008 Retrieved December 29 2020 The List Grand Forks Herald Grand Forks North Dakota July 1 2009 p D2 Retrieved December 29 2020 Above and Beyond program recognizes Native Americans for significant achievements Minot Daily News Minot North Dakota n d Retrieved December 28 2020 External links editVideo interview for Defender Wilson s 2017 induction into the North Dakota Native American Hall of Fame Audio interview by Scott Simon on NPR Weekend Edition Saturday December 19 2015 Print interview by school children via Local Learning The National Network for Folk Arts in Education March 22 2010 Defender Wilson discusses her life work and tribal history in a 1999 digital video preservation project by Sitting Bull College Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mary Louise Defender Wilson amp oldid 1168796942, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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