Logo

13 Facts About Clyde Warrior

1.

Clyde Merton Warrior was a Native American activist and leader, orator and one of the founders of the National Indian Youth Council.

2.

Clyde Warrior participated in the March on Washington and the War on Poverty in the 1960s and was a charismatic speaker on Indian self-determination.

3.

Clyde Merton Warrior was born 31 August 1939 near Ponca City, Oklahoma to Gloria Collins and was raised by his grandparents in the Ponca traditions.

4.

Clyde Warrior was a member of the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma.

5.

Clyde Warrior spoke the Ponca language, learned a wide range of tribal songs and was a champion fancy dancer in his teens.

6.

Clyde Warrior earned the Outstanding Indian Student Award in 1962, and he was elected President of the Southwest Regional Indian Youth Council.

7.

Clyde Warrior participated that spring in the annual meeting of the Southwestern Regional Indian Youth Council and was elected president.

8.

Clyde Warrior was a participant at both the Chicago conference and the subsequent meeting in Gallup.

9.

Clyde Warrior became the co-editor of Indian Voices, a periodical created at the University of Chicago for the Commission on Human Relations.

10.

Clyde Warrior worked to help Washington State tribes secure their fishing rights, utilizing publicists from New York City and Marlon Brando to create visibility, using guidance from his studies of Martin Luther King Jr.

11.

Clyde Warrior fought injustice and worked to promote Native pride.

12.

Clyde Warrior promoted self-determination and inspired many young Native activists during the 1960s and 1970s.

13.

Clyde Warrior died at the age of 28 on July 19,1968, due to liver failure after years of excessive alcohol use.