I met my Role Model !!

A dream came true this weekend. I met my professional role model, Charlene Teters. I picked her up at the Dayton, Ohio airport yesterday and was absolutely thrilled to have her all to myself during the 3 hour drive to Athens. She's wonderfully warm and personable, and I really liked her. Today we (my entire family minus the toddler) had brunch with her and some friends and local folks and then we toured a local museum, with Charlene, and then listended to her two hour (inspirational) lecture. For those of you who do not know Charlene, she is an artist and a professor - but she's also called the Rosa Parks of the Native American people. Charlene Teters, from the Spokane nation in Washington, made national (and international) news in the late 80's when she was attending an Illinois college that had a chief Illini as its mascot. She took her children to a game and were mortified when the mascot came onto the arena mimicking their ceremonies, traditions, and leaders (chief). And the "mascot" was wearing 90 real eagle feathers while dancing and prancing to some fictional ideal of what an Indian dance would be like. She stood outside the stadium days later with a sign saying Indian aren't mascots, they're human beings. She is literally the face of the anti-Indian mascot movement and her courage and conviction are admirable. She is my inspiration and my role model and today I accomplished a major professional/personal goal when I not only met her, but I got to know her and, if all things work out the way I hope they do, I will actually get to work with her. (insert huge smile here)