BEMIDJI -- Thomas Stillday Jr., the Red Lake spiritual leader who served as a State Senate chaplain, died today at Indian Health Service Hospital in Red Lake, Minn.
Stillday, 74, of Ponemah, Minn., was a prominent member of the Red Lake Nation as a tribal council member, Ponemah representative, School Board member, powwow dancer and singer, adviser to the tribal council and spiritual leader.
He was also a 12-year Army veteran and combat engineer in the Korean War, where he and other Anishinaabeg used Ojibwe like the famous Navajo Code Talkers of World War II. His Ojibwe name is Ozaawabiitang, which means Yellow Water.
Stillday was also the first American Indian chaplain, and the first non-Judeo/Christian spiritual leader, to serve as Minnesota State Senate chaplain. He was elected unanimously by the Senate 67-0 on the first day it convened on Jan. 7, 1997 for a two-year term.
