Chase Iron Eyes

Chase Iron Eyes
Born Chase A. Iron Eyes
Nationality United States
Alma mater University of North Dakota (A.B.)
University of Denver Sturm College of Law (J.D.)
Occupation Lawyer
Indigenous Activist
Writer
Years active 2011–present
Organization Lakota People's Law Project
Spouse(s) Dr. Sara Jumping Eagle[1]
Children 3 children[1]
Website Last Real Indians

Chase Iron Eyes is an American Indian activist and attorney, and a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. He is a member of the Lakota People's Law Project and a co-founder of the Native American news website Last Real Indians.[2] In April 2016 he announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives for North Dakota's at-large congressional district.

Personal life

Iron Eyes was raised on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Iron Eyes is married to pediatrician[3] Sara Jumping Eagle. They have three children together.[1]

Career

Iron Eyes graduated from the University of North Dakota with a bachelor's degree in political science and American Indian studies.[4] In 2007, he graduated from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, with a Juris Doctor in law (with an emphasis in Federal Indian law).[5] Iron Eyes was also the president of the Native American Law Student Association during his academic career in law school.[6] Iron Eyes is licensed to practice law within the state of South Dakota as well as in the federal courts of both North Dakota and South Dakota[4] in addition to several tribal court systems.[7]

In July 2012, Iron Eyes filed a civil suit in federal court on behalf of Vern Traversie, a blind 69-year-old Lakota man, against a South Dakota hospital. The lawsuit alleged a violation of Traversie's civil rights, citing scars that Traversie said were from doctors carving the initials of the Ku Klux Klan into his abdomen during heart surgery.[8]

Activism

Pe' Sla is a part of the Black Hills, pictured here, that is sacred to the Lakota.

Iron Eyes has used his career as an attorney to advocate for Native American civil rights. He has actively engaged in the protection of sacred sites. He was instrumental in raising awareness of Pe' Sla,[9] a high mountain prairie situated within the heart of the Black Hills, located north of Deerfield Lake and west of Black Elk Peak, a sacred site related to the Lakota Creation beliefs where annual ceremonies, village gatherings, and the area where renowned Lakota visionary Black Elk sought his vision.[10] Another of the sacred sites Iron Eyes has drawn attention to is Bear Butte.[4]

He is also a member of the Bush Foundation’s Native Nation Rebuilders program, which is a leadership development program designed to promote the development of innovative tribal governance practices and how these ideas can be suitably implemented within the American Indian nations covered by the program in order to effect positive change.[11] He has continued to voice opposition against the drilling of oil wells within the area.[12]

Iron Eyes has served as a staff attorney for the Lakota People's Law Project,[13] an initiative founded in 2005 to end the unlawful removal of Lakota children from their families to be placed in foster care outside their communities.[14]

In 2016, Iron Eyes announced his candidacy as a member of the Democratic Party for the election to represent North Dakota's at-large congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.[15] Speaking to Prairie Public Radio in April, he said, "I’m running for Congress out of necessity [...] I see that our government is broken, and I feel responsible to do my part to try and fix this on behalf of North Dakota", as reported by Indian Country Today Media Network.[16]

Filmography

Film
Year Film Role Notes
2014 Mitakeoyashin Himself Documentary

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Our Team". Lakota People's Law Project. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  2. ↑ Saint Thomas, Sophie (22 March 2015). "Let Them Tell Their Story: An Interview with Chase Iron Eyes, Co-Founder of 'Last Real Indians'". Vice. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  3. ↑ Jumping Eagle, Sara (23 October 2012). "North Dakota "Personhood" Laws Direct Attack on Women's Rights -Dr. Sara Jumping Eagle". LRI. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "Chase Iron Eyes". Intercontinental Cry. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "Chase Iron Eyes". LinkedIn. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "Bush Foundation Announces Fourth Cohort of Native Nation Rebuilders". Minnesota Council on Foundations. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Chase Iron Eyes". LRInspire. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  8. ↑ Glionna, John M. (17 July 2012). "Doctors carved 'KKK' into Lakota man's skin, lawsuit claims". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  9. ↑ Rose, Christina (21 December 2012). "Pe' Sla Purchase Guarantees Sacred Land Will Be Used for Ceremonies". Indian Country Today Media Network. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  10. ↑ "The Black Hills - America's Sacred Site". Geometry of Place. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  11. ↑ "Chase Iron Eyes". Bush Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  12. ↑ "SD commission cuts number of wells allowed at oil field near Bear Butte". Protect Bear Butte. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  13. ↑ Sullivan, Laura (29 August 2014). "Justice Department Supports Native Americans In Child Welfare Case". NPR. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  14. ↑ "They come for the young ones.". Lakota Law People's Project. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  15. ↑ "2016 Primary Election Contest/Candidate List". vip.sos.nd.gov. North Dakota Secretary of State. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  16. ↑ Trahant, Mark (3 April 2016). "Chase Iron Eyes Runs In North Dakota Out of 'Necessity'". Indian Country Today Media Network.

External links

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