Oren Lyons Visits the White House--Again

The 81-year old faith keeper for the Onondaga nation, Oren Lyons, one of the most respected native American and environmental activists, showed up at the South Lawn of the White House yesterday to participate in Michelle Obama's "Let's Move Indian Country" initiative to combat obesity in Indian tribal lands. Mike Wise of the Washington Post did a nice piece on the event today.

Decades ago, I attended an Indian rights meeting in New Mexico where Oren Lyons was attending. During a break, a man about 6 foot 6 inches tall with a burr haircut stormed across the hall to the place Lyons was sitting and in a tough voice said, "Are you Oren Lyons?" I thought this was going to be a Westerner redneck takes on the Indian. When Oren said he was, the man started saying, "You are my hero. You were the greatest lacrosse player in the history of the game."

And apparently the man was not far wrong. Oren Lyons was a college all-American on Syracuse's unbeaten 1957 national champion lacrosse team. Lyons played goalie and was helped out by another guy, who just may be the greatest running back in NFL history--Jim Brown. Oren later was inducted into the Lacrosse Hall of Fame--a rare distinction for an American Indian.

Lyons White House appearance occurred almost a year from when he travclled with the Iroquois Nationals to play in the world championship in Manchester, England. The team was refused entry into the U.K. because they travelled on sovereign nation passports. Even with the State Department intervening for the team they were not allowed to participate. Too bad, they invented the game.

Lyons had met many Presidents in his role as a advocate for the country to keep its commitments to all the various Indian treaties. This was the first time he brought a lacrosse stick-- as a souvenir for President Obama from the Iroquois Confederation.

We need my visits to the White House by shamans.