Representative Karen Clark, Dist. 62A: 38 years! A job well done

MINNESOTA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Karen Clark, Phillips resident and Minnesota State Representative of District 62A since 1980 WILL retire from that elected office in January 2019.

By VERNON WETTERNACH
Alley Editor 1979-1980

“There is still much work to be done.”

She is known as a progressive fighter for equality, affordable housing, economic and social justice and as an unrelenting advocate for her low income constituents, communities of color, Native American and neighborhood concerns. Her advocacy, coalition building and ability to find innovative solutions are not only known in her district but also state-wide and nationally.

I am speaking of State Representative Karen Clark, District 62A, who announced this year that she is retiring from the state legislature at the end of 2018 after 38 years of service. Karen has consistently been re-elected over these years receiving 75 to 89% of the votes from her constituents.

Karen was born in an Oklahoma army hospital and raised in Rock County in southwestern Minnesota from the age of nine months. She attended Edgerton Public High School for 12 years, graduating in 1967 as valedictorian. Edgerton is a small rural community with a population of approximately 2,000 residents today. Her parents, Joseph and Mildred, were tenant farmers who eventually moved to the village of Kenneth, MN.… Read the rest “Representative Karen Clark, Dist. 62A: 38 years! A job well done”

1977 UN Geneva Conference – Dick Bancroft: champion with a camera

DICK BANCROFT
These men photographed and documented by Dick Bancroft are a few of the many representatives attending the 1977 UN Geneva Conference. Left to right Ted Means, Greg Zephier, Russell Means, Oren R. Lyons, Jr., Larry Red Shirt, and Francis Andrew He Crow

First Declaration of International Indigenous Day

By LAURA WATERMAN WITTSTOCK

In the August issue of The Alley, I told readers the story of how Dick Bancroft loved cameras and picture taking since he was a young boy. Dick died at the age of 91 on July 16^th. What I did not fully explain is that he spent years on his collection of photographs, much of it with Jaime Haire, his editor and archivist. Jaime worked diligently on the photographs that appeared in Dick”'s book, We Are Still Here, published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press in 2013. Dick and I collaborated on the text and photos with pretty much him doing the photos and me doing the text. His photos are brilliant and clearly illustrative of the period 1970 to 1981 when the American Indian Movement was most active or influential.

Here are just a few of the photographs and quotes from the book so you can hear what Dick and I heard from the participants as they reflected on the times and events.… Read the rest “1977 UN Geneva Conference – Dick Bancroft: champion with a camera”