[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S11909]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     THE NATIONAL HUMANITIES MEDAL FOR VIRGINIA DRIVING HAWK SNEVE

  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I rise to congratulate Virginia 
Driving Hawk Sneve for being awarded the National Humanities Medal for 
2000 presented to her by the President of the United States. Virginia 
is the first South Dakotan to receive this prestigious award, and I am 
pleased that she is being recognized for her extraordinary 
contributions as an author, a counselor, and a teacher.
  As you know, the National Humanities Medal honors individuals whose 
work enhances the nation's understanding of the humanities while also 
preserving Americans' access to important resources about their history 
and society. The humanities preserve the voices of generations through 
history, literature, philosophy, religion, languages, and archaeology. 
However, the humanities are not simply records of past eras; they are 
an essential part to the development and understanding of our current 
culture and definition of who we are as Americans.
  Born on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, Virginia 
Driving Hawk Sneve has become one of the nation's preeminent 
storytellers. Virginia's stories often come straight from her 
experiences growing up on the reservation and help give an accurate 
portrayal of her ancestors' lives in the Dakotas. Her children's books 
have won numerous awards, including national competitions for minority 
children's books, because of their unique and poignant mixture of 
recorded events and imagination.
  Virginia has also given us valuable works of literature about the 
American Indian written from the female perspective. In her award-
winning work, Completing the Circle, Virginia breaks the historic mold 
of denoting Native American women either as princesses like 
Pocohontas'' or noble savages like Sacagawea.'' The result is an 
educational account of the strengths and weaknesses of the Sioux 
culture from the female point of view. Virginia's research and writings 
have helped others to understand the high level of esteem held by the 
Sioux for women--a lesson from which Native American society and non-
Indian cultures can draw guidance and appreciation.
  I applaud Virginia for the literary works she has given us and for 
her continued teaching, counseling, and mentoring in South Dakota. 
Virginia's words, either on paper or in person, have opened a nation's 
eyes to the lives of Native Americans and will prove to be the 
foundation from which other Native American writers, especially women, 
will continue to explore their unique heritage and society. Virginia 
Driving Hawk Sneve is a national treasure and the pride of South 
Dakota.




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