Roger Buffalohead May 30, 1939 ”“ September 6, 2016: A Great Life Remembered

”My English name is Roger Buffalohead. My Ponca name is Insta dupa, which means Four Eyes. It refers to a very ancient Ponca dog. It had yellow markings above its eyes. At a distance it looked like it had four eyes. It was a very honorific name. In the Ponca clans you inherit a clan name. When you pass on your name goes back into the clan pool. The next born would get your name . We don”'t really know how old those names are but they go back many, many, many generations. Buffalohead is an English translation of Te Nugah pah, which means people at the head of the buffalo ceremony. Some lazy BIA clerk decided that that was too long of a name to put on a form. He shortened it to Buffalohead and that became our name and has remained our name in modern times.”

BY LAURA WATERMAN WITTSTOCK

Roger and Priscilla Buffalohead came to Minneapolis with their young son in 1970. A Department of American Indian Studies was being created and the talent seekers wanted the young and gifted man from the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma to take the position of chair. It was a moment of pride for all of Indian Country and students came from several nations to study at the University of Minnesota.… Read the rest “Roger Buffalohead May 30, 1939 ”“ September 6, 2016: A Great Life Remembered”

OPEN LETTER TO COMMUNITY: We must safeguard precious human lives

BY MOHAMED FARAH

Dear friends, fellow neighbors, and community members,

I write to you today with a heavy heart to first send condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones in the recent tragic shooting in our neighborhood. It was only 24 hours prior to this incident when I was with residents at Stewart Park having lunch after a day of cleaning the neighborhood.

It is vital that we have a real conversation about violence in our neighborhood and ways to keep our children and loved ones safe. This past week I have been reflecting on how we can make our community safe and enriching.

As a parent of two little ones, this recent shooting gave me nightmares and I have been reevaluating how safe my family is in our community. I have real concern for the safety of my children, other children, and my fellow community members in Ward 9.

As we all know human life is precious and we should do everything in our power to safeguard the lives of our neighbors and fellow community members.

I have no doubt that you are as concerned as I am about recent violent incidents. That is why I feel that we must set a new direction as a Ward when it comes to the safety of our community.… Read the rest “OPEN LETTER TO COMMUNITY: We must safeguard precious human lives”