How does a woman survive a concerted campaign to deny her humanity,
by the government at the national level and by her foster parents and
spouse at the most intimate level? "Standing Tall," the biography of
Oregon tribal leader Kathryn Jones Harrison, recounts the Grand Rondes'
resurgence from the ashes of disastrous federal policies designed to
terminate their very existence. The tribe's revival paralleled -- and
was propelled by -- Harrison's determination to overcome daunting
personal odds.
Harrison's life story puts a human face on the
suffering wrought by twentieth-century U.S. Indian policy. Historic and
contemporary photographs enliven the text and depict the trauma of
forced assimilation. Former Senator Mark Hatfield's foreword places
Harrison in the annals of Native leaders, where her generosity of spirit
shines through as she seeks to contribute to the communities that
threatened to engulf her tribe's homeland.
The Grand Rondes have
achieved national renown as the "little tribe that could," and at the
forefront for over two decades stood four-foot eleven-inch Kathryn
Harrison. Her pragmatic and farsighted leadership through the burgeoning
casino economy and the demands of cultural repatriation resonated
throughout Indian Country to Capitol Hill and New York's American Museum
of Natural History. Yet the company of everyday women -- ancestors,
lifelong and newfound friends, and tribal colleagues -- was what
sustained her. Harrison's story models the survival skills of
adaptability, endurance, patience, and sheer grit coupled with the
courage to stand up to confront crusading power.
