"We were trying to think of someone at Spirit Lake [with a disability], and after a few minutes, we realized, oh yeah, Erich Longie is a vocational rehabilitation "success story." Now, maybe if you just walked by Erich in the airport when he was walking with two canes because he had a really long way to go through the terminal, you'd think, "There goes a person with a disability." However, I can guarantee you would never think of that if you knew him. Willie and I have both known Erich for well over 20 years; he's one of my best friends. I was at his graduation when he was the first enrolled member to receive a doctorate, he was my boss when he was tribal college president, and we founded a company together when asked to name someone on the Spirit Lake Nation who had the education and experience to be a disability advocate - I didn't think of him. Neither did Willie, so it's not just me.
If you know Erich, when you think of him, probably one of the first things is he's very family-oriented. He was a single father for many years, and now he's raising his grandchildren. He was a major force in the fight against the Sioux nickname. He's been quite politically involved over the years, particularly in education, as school board president and member of the tribal college board. He's been immensely involved in American Indian education - adult basic education instructor, Even Start Director, elementary school teacher, and college academic vice-president; he has written a master's thesis and dissertation on issues in Indian education and published articles in academic journals. He's an avid pool player, drives like a stunt double for the Dukes of Hazzard (or Grand Theft Auto, if you're too young to remember that), he's survived the Marine corps, cancer, alcoholism, the death of his son and an exceptional number of ex-wives. All of this maybe explains why it took Willie and me about twenty minutes of trying to think of someone with a disability to say, "Oh, yeah, Erich was in a car accident and walks with a cane, sometimes two." - Annmaria Demars
If you know Erich, when you think of him, probably one of the first things is he's very family-oriented. He was a single father for many years, and now he's raising his grandchildren. He was a major force in the fight against the Sioux nickname. He's been quite politically involved over the years, particularly in education, as school board president and member of the tribal college board. He's been immensely involved in American Indian education - adult basic education instructor, Even Start Director, elementary school teacher, and college academic vice-president; he has written a master's thesis and dissertation on issues in Indian education and published articles in academic journals. He's an avid pool player, drives like a stunt double for the Dukes of Hazzard (or Grand Theft Auto, if you're too young to remember that), he's survived the Marine corps, cancer, alcoholism, the death of his son and an exceptional number of ex-wives. All of this maybe explains why it took Willie and me about twenty minutes of trying to think of someone with a disability to say, "Oh, yeah, Erich was in a car accident and walks with a cane, sometimes two." - Annmaria Demars
