DRUMS ALONG THE OHIO

For quite some time I was doing very little within the Native community. In other
words, I had become inactive.

One afternoon, a Lakota woman stopped by my office and introduced herself to me. She
was from South Dakota; the Rose Bud Res. She said she had heard of me by way of
dialog with local Natives. She came with a strong request: “You are doing the Indian
Community a disservice b y not taking an active role in using your knowledge and
experience to aid in the improvement and overall wellness of the Native community.”
I listened to this woman for two hours. She was a social worker, and much of her
conversation was based on her professional and her urban experience. I told her that I
would become more active. It’s hard for me to explain but, for some strange reason I
did not feel that she was speaking from the heart. It almost seemed as though at times
she was reciting a script. Yet the message was a fair and sensible one. Her light
scolding took me in a number of directions. She stated, “Just because you are an
artist living on the east side and doing your own thing doesn’t mean you should feel
free in doing little to nothing when it comes to contribute to the Native American
community. Take advantage of your Choctaw linage.”

A number of things happened as a result of my becoming active again within the Native
community, such as being active with a Native American Center and later receiving
a young gifted artist who was a member of the Omaha Tribe to work with me as my
apprentice. He was my apprentice for six months. .is was a good and memorable
experience for both of us.

However, after a couple of years I was not pleased with the direction the Indian center
was headed. I believe it was not presenting the quality of service it was capable of
providing. .is went from an issue to a conflict. Finally, I decided to resign from that
organization. Upon my resignation nearly half the board resigned. Shortly after, the
organization became inactive.

About a week before my resignation, I began to have dreams about a job or position
that I was to be involved with. But this vision or dream appeared in bits and pieces and
was a bit confusing. Still, I had an impression I would get a clear picture of this
“assignment” pretty soon.

I’ve told only about a vision and I began to think maybe it was a mistake talking about a
dream or vision when I have not gone on as vision with the quest or had full knowledge
as to what I was being ask to do. .e few people I told about this vision asked about; when
will I know; how long will it take? My answer was simple: I don’t know.
After about three weeks I received a full view: the vision brought forth a form of
communication. I finally saw the Ohio River, Ohio valley, the Erie Canal and other
things that underscored the beauty in Ohio, including a variety of nations. Many I
could not recognize. But I seem to recall Huron, Ottawa, Mohawk and Erie. .e answer
was a Native American newspaper: Drums along the Ohio. .is message, as well as most
all visions was not crystal clear. First of all I don’t know anything about the newspaper
business. Yet I was reassured that I was to carry out this venture. Yet there were two
other things I recalled in this revealing message. One was that this venture in an
Indian newspaper for Native Americans in Ohio and beyond. However it is equally
designed for the general public or the non-Indian as well in order to foster knowledge
of the American Indian culture to others. It was also made known to me that this would
not be an easy project to carry out. .is was clear in the vision.

I was not too long into this publication when I found that it would not be an easy project
to get the Indian community involved. this came about within the first two years. In
time much of the excitement and growth has improved and thanks to the Creator we
are still growing.

Cliff Clay
November 2007