NIGA honors Westerman

From a press release:

The 25th Annual National Indian Gaming Association Convention honors Westerman, Nike and Indian youthThe 25th Annual National Indian Gaming Association, an organization devoted to promoting and protecting the sovereignty of Indian nations, opened earlier this week with nearly 4,000 registrants from across Indian America.

The opening reception on the roof of San Diego’s Hard Rock Café looked back in celebration of the life of Floyd Red Crow Westerman, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Dakota singer, activist and actor; and honored Nike’s N7 Foundation, which supports youth athletics across Indian Country.

“Floyd Westerman helped make Indian Country what it is,” Ernie Stevens, Jr., the chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association, told a cheering crowd, before playing a song by Westerman, who walked on in 2007.

A highlight of the tribal leader’s reception was when Westerman’s friends, Ojibwe rocker and bluesman Keith Secola and Oneida comedian Charlie Hill took the stage, to play one of Westerman’s signature songs, a round dance. Secola picked the melody on his guitar and sang Westerman’s familiar words about being put in boarding school, and Hill kept time with a hand drum. “Floyd was a dynamic leader; he was truly a man who changed America’s understanding and appreciation for Indian Country,” said Stevens who is Oneida.Comment:  We missed this event too. These days we're not trying to do 2-3 things each evening, which is fine with me.

For more on the subject, see NIGA 2010 (Day 2) and NIGA 2010 (Day 1).