WESTERNERS1 8 WILD WEST JUNE 2019
Little is known about
the Rev. Red Fox James
(aka Red Fox Skiuhushu),
who was born circa 1884
on the Blood Indian Reserve
No. 148 in Alberta, Canada,
and later become a member
of the Blackfeet tribe of Mon-
tana. An ordained minister,
he was also a Boy Scout
leader and a member of the
Society of American Indians,
an intertribal rights orga-
nization founded in 1911.
His greatest claim to fame
was making a monthslong
horseback ride of 3,784 miles
to the nation’s capital to seek
approval for a day to honor
American Indians. Along the
way Red Fox persuaded 25
state governors to back his
idea, and he presented their
endorsements in person to
President Woodrow Wilson at
the White House on Dec. 14,- In the wake of his ride
several states, starting with
New York in 1916, declared
an official Indian Day. It took
nearly a century, but Red Fox’s
long ride finally paid off. In
1990 President George H.W.
Bush declared the month of
November “National Ameri-
can Indian Heritage Month,”
and in 2008 President George
W. Bush designated the day
after Thanksgiving (Novem-
ber 29 in 2019) as Native
American Heritage Day.
LONG RIDER
RED FOX
TO
NY^
SAPIEN
ZA^
CO
LLECTI
ON