[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5793]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             THE PASSING OF HELEN L. DOHERTY APRIL 17, 2013

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Chu) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. CHU. This month, the San Gabriel Valley lost a wonderful leader, 
the Native American community lost a true champion, and I lost a dear 
friend. Helen Doherty wore many hats throughout her years of public 
service, but one thing remained constant among them all: she fought to 
make life better for those around her. All people were her family; all 
children were her children.
  Helen's actions were always guided by the needs of younger 
generations. An educator at heart, she spent four decades in public 
school classrooms. She taught where she was needed most--where the 
value of a lesson learned would have the greatest impact--places like 
the Bridges Community Day School, where she worked with young people 
who had worn out their welcome in the traditional school system through 
expulsion, drug use, or family problems. None of that mattered to 
Helen. What mattered was helping kids build a brighter future for 
themselves, one new lesson at a time.
  But being an educator meant more to Helen than teaching in schools. 
It meant being a good colleague as well. She was a devoted member of 
the California Teachers Association and won their California Teacher in 
Politics award.
  Helen's compassion for others led her to speak out and fight for 
those in need. Much of her activism was rooted in who she was as a 
member of the Cherokee Nation. She had personal insights into the needs 
of Native American communities, and she fought tirelessly to have them 
addressed. By the time she was in college at UCLA, she had personally 
felt the pains of intolerance directed at her and her heritage.

                              {time}  1030

  Determined to change the wrong she faced, Helen boarded a bus and 
rode clear across the country to hear Martin Luther King deliver his 
``I Have a Dream'' speech. That dream was her dream. His message was 
her message, and she fulfilled it each and every day for the rest of 
her life.
  Helen worked side by side with the Gabrielino Tribe to help them gain 
recognition and joined the Morongo Nation in promoting human rights. 
She took those challenges and struggles that are unique to reservation 
life and raised awareness for solutions.
  Her efforts helped ensure those facing difficult conditions on 
reservation land had the education to build a brighter future. She held 
workshops on tribal lands to help people develop the skills needed to 
improve their quality of life, and she worked hard to ensure that 
textbooks in California accurately reflected the true history of the 
Native people. As her advocacy led to public service, Helen was a 
founder and chair of the Native American Caucus for the California 
Democratic Party--one of the first Native American caucuses for a State 
party.
  Helen left us not long ago, but her impact lives on. The lives she 
touched are forever changed for the better as are the communities she 
fought to empower. Her life's work provides an inspiration for all of 
us. So, today, I bid farewell to a friend, a mentor, and a true role 
model to so many.
  And I say thank you for all that you've done for us, Helen Doherty.

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