Margaret Behan

Margaret Behan
Margaret Behan blessing a 350.org event
Arapaho/Cheyenne leader
Personal details
Born July 4, 1948
Watonga, Oklahoma
Education Chilacco Boarding School, Jr. College in Weatherford, Oklahoma and Brigham Young University
Known for President of the privately incorporated organization "Cheyenne Elders Council".
Nickname(s) Red Spider Woman

Margaret Behan is a Native American woman who is Arapahoe-Cheyenne [1] and a fifth generation descendant of an ancestor who was a survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre.[2] Behan is a member of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers - a group of women elders founded at a retreat center in 2004.[3]

Early years

Behan is "of the Beaver Clan of the Cheyenne Nation of Oklahoma on her mother’s side, and on her father’s side she is half Cheyenne and half Arapaho of the Rabbit Lodge."[1] She was one of seven children. Her parents were migrant farmworkers.[4] Behan claims that she was prayed for and a peyote ceremony was arranged before her conception.[5]

Family life

When Behan had children, peyote was important for her children too. After her son suffered from a high heart rate his grandfather and uncles conducted another ceremony which she claims cured him, to the amazement of heart specialists.[6]

Work as an artist

The mother of Paul Quintana, Margaret's mother-in-law at the time, 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.[7] She later moved to Taos, New Mexico due to the properties of the clay there.[7]

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 grandfather's peyote ceremonies, Margaret was able to become free of her addiction.

As a result of this experience, Margaret has trained to be a Licensed Substance abuse Counselor and led retreats for children and co-dependants of alcoholics[8] to help other First Nation people that had found themselves in a similar position.[9]

The Cheyenne Elders Council

Margaret is the founder of "The Cheyenne Elders Council", formed in 2007-2008,[10] with Behan as the sole member, and has the mission to, "Heal Our Own Oppression."[11] She had moved to the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, where her father was from, and "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."[4] "A project Behan and the Cheyenne Elders Council completed as part of the 11th council is the creation of the T’sistsistas’s Sacred School near Behan’s home. There, healers of the tribe will teach Cheyenne healing ways to the tribe’s youth."[12] Behan says, “We need to bring our Cheyenne identity and pride back to the young people, teach them the traditional ceremonies and language.”[13]

The International Council of 13 Grandmothers

In 2004, Margaret was approached by Jeanine Prevatt of the New Age Center for Sacred Studies to serve on the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers. Margaret was invited to join the council through, she feels, being known through her work with addiction.[2]

She was interviewed by AARP International Magazine in October, 2011.[14]

In 2012, she hosted "the 11th Gathering of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers ... on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation July 26 to 29," at which the riders commemorating the Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1878 shared stories of their journey.[12][15] "The gathering ... [was] set up as a traditional Cheyenne encampment", with "thirteen teepees, one for each grandmother."[16] In attendance was a great-great-great grandniece of General Custer, who made a "formal apology to the Northern Cheyenne," and a great-great-granddaughter of Brig. Gen. Anson Mills, who also offered an apology.[4]

A two-part video of attendees from Vashon Intuitive Arts describing the event is available on the Internet Archive.[17][18]

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Wolf Connection to Join 13 Indigenous Grandmothers in Montana". Indian Country Today Media Network. 2012-07-24. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Harcourt-Smith
  3. ↑ Schaefer (2006) p.2
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Mayrer, Jessica (2012-08-09). "Making amends among Montana's Northern Cheyenne". Missoula Independent (Missoula, MT). Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  5. ↑ Schaefer (2006) p.35
  6. ↑ Schaefer (2006) p.36
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Six Directions
  8. ↑ Future Primitive
  9. ↑ Schaefer (2006) p.38
  10. ↑ NCCS
  11. ↑ Sacred Studies
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Olp, Susan (July 29, 2012). "Indigenous Grandmothers group comes to Lame Deer". Billings Gazette. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "Historic Horseback Ride Commemorating Cheyenne Exodus of 1878 Departs on June 1". Indian Country Today Media Network. 2012-05-27. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
  14. ↑ "An Interview with Grandmother Margaret Behan: Indigenous Grandmother's Lessons on Living Your Best Life". AARP International: News Makers. 2011-10-01. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
  15. ↑ "Cheyenne Exodus Historic Horseback Journey Captured in Photographs". Indian Country Today Media Network. 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
  16. ↑ "11th International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers July 26th-29th, 2012 Gratitude Brings Freedom In honor of Grandmother Margaret Behan". A Cheyenne Voice (Colstrip, Montana). 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  17. ↑ Asterino, Brenda. "SHE-Grandmothers' Gathering part one (Montana Rally)". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  18. ↑ Asterino, Brenda. "SHE-Grandmothers' Gathering part two (Montana Rally)". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2013-06-21.

References

External links