The Passing of Chippewa Tribe Hero, Roland Morris, Sr.
By Howard B. Hanson

Roland Morris, Sr., a true civil and human rights warrior is dead at 58. He died in Ronan, Montana on June 9 after a lengthy and determined battle against cancer. I was very privileged, as were many people from many states, involved with the national civic and constitutional rights organization, the Citizens Equal Rights Alliance (CERA), to meet and get to know Roland and his wife Lisa when they attended  our 1997 annual meeting.

Since becoming members, they helped our organization grow by teaching us how bad federal Indian policies deny reservation area citizens their full civil and human rights. All of the many friends Roland made throughout the years are mourning for this kind man, who dared to take the stand that very few American Indians dare to take, because of the destructive opposition of many tribal establishments.

Roland was a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Leech Lake, and was raised in the town of Cass Lake, Minnesota. Roland played guard in intramural basketball, loved to hunt and fish and was an accomplished musician playing the guitar with friends at gatherings. He also enjoyed many seasons harvesting wild rice.

Roland attended a two-year college at Haskell, Kansas to become an architectural draftsman. He tried drafting for a few years before becoming a self-employed upholsterer. While he struggled with many difficulties in his early years, he was a perfectionist with his upholstery and it gave him much satisfaction as a professional throughout his life.

Roland and Lisa moved to Montana in 1988 to seek a healthier lifestyle for their family. Many times Roland told us about experiences he had attempting to break away from the control of the tribal establishment and how the people in power do everything they can to keep control of their members and keep them in their grasp. He told us how he had watched many friends and relatives die physically, spiritually, and emotionally from alcoholism, violence, and suicide. Roland wanted the cycle of self-destruction to stop. His concern was for the overall spiritual, emotional and physical health of many tribal members and he felt that the heartbreak of tribal members was just a horrible symptom that was in need of a cure.

Part of that cure for him personally, was to develop a deep abiding spiritual faith in Christianity and his faith became a motivating and guiding presence in his desire to improve the lives of Indian people generally and his family specifically.

Roland's conviction that much of the reservation system was destructive to Indian people led him to some amazing life experiences. He became an active proponent for change and joined a Western Montana organization called "All Citizens Equal," becoming its President, which in turn led him to CERA where he became actively involved and highly respected for his steadfast beliefs, and active participation. He served on the CERA board for several years and then took a post on the Citizens Equal Rights Foundation board. 

For Lisa and Roland the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was a personal affront and threat to their parental and custodial rights and responsibilities. They feared Lisa, because she is Caucasian, would lose custody of Roland's four grandchildren to the Tribe upon Roland's death.

In preparation for this year's CERA Washington conference in mid May, Roland prepared an eight-page fact sheet on the Indian Child Welfare Act. Despite his ill health and pain, Roland struggled to keep going through the two day conference. The directors of CERA/CERF presented him with a  Oak plaque to honor the power and strength he had brought to our organizations for so many years.

I had the great privilege of spending the next two days in D.C. with Roland, his daughters Therese and Melissa. We visited the editorial departments of Washington newspapers and we visited each member of the Minnesota Congressional delegation and asked for their support to allow all of the Morris' children, who have lived together for eight years, to continue to be able to do so after Roland passes on.

Roland was also insistent about meeting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to voice his opposition to granting the Tribes control of the National Bison Range as well as other Federal Refuges and Parks. The meeting with USFWS officials was very positive.

On June 9 after four years of confusing inability to get papers filed that would grant legal custody of Roland's four grandchildren to Lisa, their lawyer forwarded documents for guardianship of the children to Lisa and Roland. Lisa had the documents signed and notarized and sent them to be filed the same day. That evening, surrounded by family, their pastor and friends, Roland ended his two hardest battles. He lost the one to cancer but won the battle for Lisa's right to raise his four grandchildren free from the grip of the Indian Child Welfare Act. 

My good friend Roland Morris was a great All-American citizen of the first rank.

Friends and family are encouraged to support the efforts of

 Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare

Howard Hanson is a prominent businessman and civic leader in Minneapolis.  Hanson has worked for years on federal Indian policy issues that negatively impact Indian and  non-Indian communities and Minnesota's environmental conservation practices.