Ray Young Bear
...award winning author, poet and now member of the Iowa Writers' Collaborative
Meet Ray Young Bear, a poet and author living in the Tama County Meskwaki Settlement. He is the newest Iowa Writers’ Collaborative addition.
As I’ve done with the 42 Iowa Writers’ Collaborative members, Ray and I walked through the steps to launch a column on Substack. We have met twice in the Lucky Cafe in the Hotel and Casino on the Settlement, about an hour and 15 minutes north and west of Des Moines. Both times, I understand I will learn so much from this man. I expect he and I will go through a few more times together during the launch process, which I welcome.
According to the Meskwaki Nation website, Iowa’s only federally recognized Indian tribe, the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi, is known as the Meskwaki Nation, or the "People of the Red Earth.”
There are approximately 1,450 enrolled tribal members and more than 1,230 Meskwaki descendants, according to the site.
In a Des Moines Register story about Young Bear published in 2001, he was described as a writer of such high standing nationwide that scholars on Native American literature call him a “national treasure.”
I am in awe of Ray Young Bear and uneasy about saying something ignorant. Frankly, I am ignorant of the cultural issues of Native Americans, as most of us are.
In fact, in the first draft of this column, I referred to the Meskwaki Settlement as a ‘reservation.’ Ray set me straight. The Meskwaki bought back the land in 1856, so the correct term is Meskwaki Settlement:
“In 1856, through a petition by George Grinnell, the legislature approved my grandfather’s intent and desire to remain in Iowa. Then, in 1857, that dream was realized through the first 80-acre purchase. A reservation typically means federally allocated land most tribes were forced to reside upon. Ours was acquired through cash and a deed.”
I resist the temptation to ask him what he thinks of the hit series, ‘Yellowstone,’ where divisions between white landowners and the fictional Broken Rock tribe are a central theme. The portrayal of Native American characters has sparked controversy, and I wonder if Ray will address these issues in his column.
It’s essential to have a platform for this kind of commentary. Understanding our cultural history, differences, and similarities is essential, and those stories need to be told by those with differing experiences because representation matters.
So, thank you to Substack and the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative members, who are referring readers to one another. This is both a service to readers and writers. We are striving to highlight perspectives you won’t easily find elsewhere.
We are growing a community in this state who belie the myth that Iowans want books banned.
On the contrary, we want them to be written.
Does Ray Young Bear speak for all Native Americans? Meskawki? Of course not. Nonetheless, we will be richer for the gifts and perspective he shares in Red Earth Drive.
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Welcome, Ray!
One of the dozens of workshops offered during OWR II was on the importance of writers using approrpiate and respectful words when reporting on cultures different from their own. It was a great conversation, and lead to all kinds of ah ha's. Additionally, there was a discussion about cultural appropriation, and the resentments than can spring from that. Terrific food for thought. We'll do it again next year.