Native American Scholarship and Awards Ceremony Features Well-Known Speakers at UW Friday

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, three well-known speakers will highlight a Native American Scholarship and Awards Ceremony and a cultural event titled “Good Medicine” Friday, Nov. 3, at the University of Wyoming.

The free public programs will begin with the scholarship and awards ceremony from noon-1 p.m. in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts, with a cultural presentation following from 1:15-2:30 p.m. Events will feature guest speakers Jason Baldes, Gary Davis and Tatanka Means.

A reception will follow the two programs.

“Native American students face many unique challenges in their effort to complete a postsecondary education. It is terribly important that we honor and encourage them in this endeavor,” says Mark Harris. “It is not only important to Native students, but to our entire community. By doing this, we will show younger students that they, too, can make the dream of a college degree a reality.”

Harris is co-chair of the Chief Washakie Foundation and a member of the Chief Washakie Memorial Endowment and Zedora Teton Enos Excellence Fund award committees.

Ann Abeyta, the founding member of the Enos award and a Chief Washakie Foundation board of directors member, also stresses the importance of the program.

“Excellence in education is when we do everything we can to be sure our Native American students can be everything they can,” she says.

The program’s speakers are:

-- Davis will provide an opening motivational talk and will be the master of ceremonies for the awards and cultural presentation. Also known as Litefoot, he is a Native American business professional, actor and musician. He is executive director of the Native American Financial Services Association; CEO of Davis Strategy Group; and a member of the Forbes Finance Council.

As an actor, he is best known for his roles as Little Bear in the movie “The Indian in the Cupboard” and as Nightwolf in “Mortal Kombat.”

-- Baldes, of Fort Washakie, received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in land resources and environmental sciences from Montana State University, where he focused on tribal bison restoration. He is the Tribal Buffalo Program manager for the National Wildlife Federation’s Tribal Partnerships Program.

He is on the board of directors for the InterTribal Buffalo Council; a board of trustees member for the Conservation Lands Foundation; and on the environmental commission of the Congress of Nations and States. Baldes also is executive director of the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative, and he is an instructor at Central Wyoming College and Wind River Tribal College.

During his presentation at UW, Baldes will share clips of two Ken Burns documentaries -- “The American Buffalo” and “Homecoming” -- in which he recently appeared.

-- Means is an award-winning actor and stand-up comedian. He represents the Oglala Lakota, Navajo and Omaha nations. His latest acting role is in the current widely released Martin Scorsese critically acclaimed Western crime drama, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” based on the bestselling book “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI” by David Grann. Means also has appeared in “Wind River 2: The Next Chapter” and has guest starred in “Reservation Dogs” and in the new season of “Outer Range” on Amazon. He just finished filming Kevin Costner’s new epic saga “Horizon,” scheduled to be released next year. The National Indian Gaming Association recently named Means Entertainer of the Year. He is proud to be an alcohol- and drug-free performer.

Means will be the event’s keynote speaker during the awards ceremony, discussing “Native Representation in the Entertainment Industry.” He also will perform his stand-up comedy act during the cultural presentation.

The Eagle Spirit Dancers and Singers, from the Wind River Indian Reservation, will perform dance demonstrations in between the three guest speakers’ presentations. Davis will explain the origins and meaning behind each dance category seen today at most powwows.

"Honoring the superb achievements of UW's Native students, and celebrating the diverse, rich cultures from which they come -- that is what this event will bring to our community,” says Jason Robison, a UW College of Law professor and Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources adjunct professor.

UW’s Office of the President, Art Museum and College of Law; the Chief Washakie Foundation; Wyoming Humanities Council; Eastern Shoshone Education; and the Zedora Teton Enos Excellence Fund sponsor the Native American Scholarship and Awards Ceremony.