Letters from the Newsroom

From Shawn White Wolf

04.30.03

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Shawn White Wolf

Dear Diversity Institute,

I just had an interesting experience.

I wrote a “Person Worth Knowing” profile about a former Blackfeet tribal leader from the 1950s/1960s.

Walter “Blackie” Wetzel, also a tribal chief, had befriended presidents Kennedy and Johnson, as well as former Montana Senators Mike Mansfield and Lee Metcalf. He also created the Washington Redskins headdress logo on their helmets, something he said he was proud about ever since. In fact, the Washington Redskins group sent him tickets to their games.

The plan was to run the story around the 40th anniversary of the Kennedy assignation, Nov. 22. However, we needed a story for the Monday profile, so I offered the Wetzel story. Fortunately, we ran the story last week because Saturday (Nov. 8, 2003) he passed away after suffering heart problems. He was 88.

All day Saturday, he kept saying that he was going to go see his former wife, Doris. She died back in the 80s. So, the family knew that something was up.

We ran a front page story of his death since we had just featured him the week before. I didn’t write the second story, because I was out of town on an Indian education story. Another (Independent Record) reporter remembered his name from my story and asked to write the second story.

Shawn White Wolf, a reporter for the Independent Record in Helena, Mont., is a graduate of the second Diversity Institute class.