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Marie Sanchez

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Marie Elena Brady Sanchez
Otseohtse’e
Born
Juanita Marie Brady

(1939-04-30)April 30, 1939
DiedAugust 9, 2019(2019-08-09) (aged 80)
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
Years active1970–2019
PartnerCharles T. Sanchez Sr.
Children8
Parents
  • James Brady (father)
  • Mary Alice Woodenthigh (mother)

Marie Elena Brady Sanchez (born Juanita Marie Brady, Cheyenne: Otseohtse’e; April 30, 1939 - August 9, 2019), was an American Cheyenne, Chief Judge of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, a human rights activist for indigenous people and a linguist.[1]

Early life

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Marie Sanchez was born as Juanita Marie Brady on April 30, 1939, in Lame Deer, Montana.[1] Her Cheyenne name is Otseohtse’e. Her father was James Brady and her mother was Mary Alice Woodenthigh.[1] She was a direct descendent of Chief Little Wolf from her mother's side.[1] Her great-grandfather Hugh Woodenthigh was the son of Chief Little Wolf of the Northern Cheyenne.[1] On September 13, 1942, she was baptized at St. Labre Parish as Marie Elena Brady. She married Charles T. Sanchez Sr.[1]

Career

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Throughout her life she was an advocate for indigenous people's rights and the Cheyenne language.[1] She was a Chief Judge of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana and a teacher at Montana State University and at Chief Dull Knife College.[1] She was also a linguist and a contributor to the Cheyenne Dictionary by Wayne Leman.[1][2]

As a human rights defender she was an active member of the International Indian Treaty Council, NOW and the Elk Horn Scrapers.[1][3] She was a board member of the National Board of Research on the Plutonium Economy, the Native American Student Council (NASC) and the Native American Solidarity Committee.[3] In the 1970s, she protested against some sterilization procedures for tribal members in the 1970s that were performed in reservation hospitals and off-reservation hospitals contracted by the federal government.[4]

In 1974, she was a co-founder of Women of All Red Nations (WARN) and soon thereafter a member of the advisory board of the National Women's Health Network.[4]

On December 8, 1976, she appeared on the PBS Newshour show The MacNeil/Lehrer Report with Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer.[5][6] They discussed involuntary sterilization on the reservation and in Lame Deer, Montana.[5][6] The reservation only had 2400 people in 1976.[5]

On April, 15, 1977 she appeared on the television show called Woman of WNED-TV and discussed in-depth the concerns of American Indian women.[3]

In 1977 she gained fame as a speaker at the Conference on Indians in the Americas of the United Nations in Geneva.[1] She discussed the preservation of native American culture and languages, sovereignty and the rights of Indigenous women.[1][4] During the conference she mentioned the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act of 1970 which was enacted by the Nixon administration.[4] In a span of 6 years it resulted in circa 25% involuntary sterilization of Native American women and called it modern genocide.[4] She argued that it was one of many injustices committed against indigenous people through American history.[4] Such as the forced displacement and relocation of native Americans to reservations caused health disasters in the 19th century.[4] By the late 1970s their activism enabled some improvement of federal regulations to reduce unwanted sterilization procedures.[4]

Death

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She died at 80 years old on August 9, 2019, and is survived by her 8 children.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Marie B Sanchez age 80 of Lame Deer, MT". Stevenson & Sons Funeral Homes. August 9, 2019. Archived from the original on May 1, 2022.
  2. ^ "Cheyenne Dictionary". Chief Dull Knife College. August 23, 2017. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Woman; 442; Concerns of American Indian Women". American Archive of Public Broadcasting. 1977-04-15. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "A 1970 Law Led to the Mass Sterilization of Native American Women. That History Still Matters". Time. November 28, 2019. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "The MacNeil/Lehrer Report; Sterilization". American Archive. Archived from the original on May 1, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Marie Sanchez Interview". YouTube. December 8, 1976. Archived from the original on May 1, 2022.