[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 47 (Monday, March 19, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     MARKING WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 19, 2007

  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, marking Women's History Month, I would 
like to commemorate the life of a woman in our district, Joyce Snow 
Feather Mahaney. Though she passed away last year, her memory and her 
spirit continue. She is truly a woman who made a difference, and whose 
efforts echo beyond her lifetime.
  The great-great-granddaughter to Chief Kaishpa Gourneau, great-great-
granddaughter to Chief Sasswain, Henry Poitra and great-great-great-
great-granddaughter to Chief Gaytay Manomin (Old Wild Rice), a member 
of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Joyce Mahaney grew up 
on the Turtle Mount Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota. Her Indian 
name Snow Feather (Koonea Meguen) was given to her by her great-
grandmother, Cecelia Malaterre. A Naming Ceremony was done by her 
adopted father, Francis Eagle Heart Cree of Turtle Mountain, who is 
also the local spiritual leader and medicine man in the area.
  She attended the Ojibwe Indian School, Turtle Mountain Community High 
School, and Minot State University where she received a degree in 
Education. She also attended the American Indian Training Institute in 
Albuquerque, New Mexico and the University of Toledo. She came to Ohio 
in the 1970s following her marriage to Toledo native, Russell Mahaney. 
They raised two children.
  In 1988, Joyce Snow Feather Mahaney founded the Toledo-based American 
Indian Intertribal Association. The purpose of the organization is to 
preserve and showcase American Indian culture through community 
activities. Her incredible leadership has developed the Association as 
a premiere showcase of Native American culture, language, and spirit. 
Several hundred Native Americans participate in the organization's 
ongoing activities such as: The Toledo Pow Wow, cultural programs, and 
the annual summer solstice ceremony at the site of the Battle of Fallen 
Timbers of 1794.
  An adult education teacher, she was also Executive Secretary at the 
Toledo Museum of Art, served as executive director of the Cleveland 
Drug and Alcohol Prevention Program, and director of the Eagle Wing 
Program in Toledo and other Native American programs in northern Ohio.
  Although she spent the last three decades of her life in Ohio, Joyce 
Snow Feather Mahaney has maintained her deep roots in the Turtle 
Mountain area, visiting family and friends and offering presentations 
in the community which captured the spirit of the indigenous people, 
the sacred land of her ancestors and the rich cultural heritage of the 
Plains Ojibwe.
  An award-winning poet, she has written and self-published poetry 
books, Prairie Winds and Spirit of Dakota. In fact, the threads of this 
Ojibwe Prayer were woven deep into the fabric of the life of Joyce Snow 
Feather Mahaney, and describe her legacy most eloquently.


                             Ojibwe Prayer

     Oh Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds And whose 
           breath gives life to everyone, Hear me.
     I come to you as one of your many children; I am weak .... I 
           am small... I need your wisdom and your strength.
     Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red 
           and purple sunsets Make my hands respect the things you 
           have made.
     And make my ears sharp so I may hear your voice.
     Make me wise, so that I may understand what you have taught 
           my people and The lessons you have hidden in each leaf 
           and each rock.
     I ask for wisdom and strength Not to be superior to my 
           brothers, but to be able to fight my greatest enemy, 
           myself.
     Make me ever ready to come before you with clean hands and a 
           straight eye.
     So as life fades away as a fading sunset.
     My spirit may come to you without shame.

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