Terri Crawford Hansen, Winnebago/Cherokee Journalist
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[edit] Winnebago/Cherokee Journalist & Storyteller
Terri Hansen (b. October 18, 1953, Portland, OR) is a descendant of the Winnebago Chief Whirlingthunder, and the French trapper Decorah, whose marriage to the chief’s daughter has produced generations of Native American Decorahs, Decoras and DeCoras.
She has spent much of her adult life living in remote areas of the Pacific Northwest following her retirement from The Oregonian in 1992, when she began writing primarily for Native American media. She holds a degree in journalism from Clark College, Vancouver, Wash. She took additional studies at Portland State University in Native American studies. Her daughter Danielle Briana Hansen was born in 1990 and often accompanies Terri on her assignments as her photographer while learning the craft of writing.
Terri Hansen is enrolled in the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. Her grandmother Grace Henry was a full-blooded Wisconsin Winnebago who spent most of her life in Winnebago, Nebraska before dying prematurely. Terri’s grandfather James Keith was a full-blooded Cherokee of Oklahoma. Her mother, Anita Keith and her aunt, Shirley Keith, were removed from the reservation at a very young age by the then-dominant church on the reservation. Although relatives pleaded to raise them they were adopted by a Seventh Day Adventist family and moved to Portland, Oregon. Most of her mother’s knowledge of her heritage was erased from her young mind. Their father followed his daughters to Portland so as to be near them, working as a laborer until his death. Because of this Terri has been a vocal proponent of the Indian Child Welfare Act.
[edit] Career and Publications
Terri’s principal occupation is news reporter and photojournalist. Throughout her 33-year newspaper career she has covered consumer news, environmental health, environmental justice, the environmental degradation of the planet, and Native American issues. Her articles frequently appear in local, regional and national newspapers and magazines, journals and online media.
She is the environment and science writer for the national Native American Times, [1] the environment and science writer for the national News from Indian Country, [2] and freelances for High Country News, [3] tribal newspapers and other publications. Terri's website is terra hansen dot com. [4] Her primary blog is Mother Earth Journal. [5] She is currently researching and writing about the effects of climate change on native lands throughout the country, focused at this time on the impacts of rising sea levels on Pacific Northwest tribal coastal nations, as well as Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce, and the wild buffalo of the Yellowstone ecosystem.
She recently put out a Call for Submissions [6] to "Native Storytellers, Teachers, Farmers, Herders, Fishermen, Wildcrafters, Mid-wives, Craftspeople, Pullers, Musicians, Authors, Spiritual Leaders ... Mothers, Fathers, Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Aunties and Uncles ... and those who wish to offer their knowledge and spirit to our children as they face the future," for an upcoming anthology entitled, Indigenous Wisdom, Enduring Love – Reclaiming the Teachings of Our Ancestors.
As she explains, "The changing climate is threatening our children's sense of well-being. We know, from our own feelings of sadness, grief, anger, and despair that we cannot shelter our children from the fears they may feel. Yet we, as Native peoples, have our traditions, values, wisdom, strength, spirit and resilience to offer them. As I call on my own life lessons in guiding my daughter, I appreciate what it is I don't know. But what I can't see, others do. This project will pool our collective voices to empower our next generations. We have our knowledge, and knowing, of traditional Indigenous lifeways to leave them with as they look to the future. Our words may comfort, offer a steadying path, or be a practical guide. With the love we have for our children, I know these words can offer the gleam, and the know-how, of hope and purpose. These are the personal stories, essays, and poems I envision in this work. I hope you’ll join me." The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2008.
Terri’s past professional positions include Bureau Chief/Editor, Pacific Northwest Bureau (OR, WA, ID, northern CA, B.C.), News from Indian Country, 1993-1998; national correspondent, Native American Smoke Signals, Meyer, Arizona, 1993-1995; contributor, The Circle, Minneapolis, Minn., 1995; desktop publisher, journalist and Washington State editor, Portland Indian News, Portland, 1991-1994; advertising manager and consumer news, The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon; contributor, High Country News, Paonia, Colorado; SEJournal, a publication of the Society of Environmental Journalists, Jenkintown, PA.
She was a co-author of the Encyclopedia of North American Indians, ten volumes plus appendix volume, edited by D.L. Birchfield for Water Buffalo Books, Milwaukee, WI, and published by Marshall Cavendish, New York, NY.
Terri was awarded Writer of the Year for Prose 1996 and 1997 from The Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers; honorable mention Native American Journalists Association [7] for the Best News Story of 1997; and The Oregonian Publisher’s Award of Excellence in 1990. She was a 1994 Fellow of the Society of Environmental Journalists. [8] Her biography is featured in the Who's Who of the Reference Encyclopedia of the American Indian, Barry T. Klein, Editor, Todd Publications, Nyack, N.Y.
She is a member of the Native American Journalists Association, the Society of Environmental Journalists, The Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers (Mentor 1995-2004), UNITY: Journalists of Color, and Investigative Reporters and Editors.
[edit] Community, Civic and Volunteer Work
Terri's community activities include the presentation of factual Native American history to elementary school audiences. She gives a variety of readings and Winnebago and Cherokee storytellings at local libraries and other public audiences, and strives to enlighten wider audiences with accurate accounts of Native American historical events.
She serves as a Consumer Arbitrator for the Council of Better Business Bureau’s National Panel of Consumer Arbitrators. She founded and served as executive director for the National American Indian Environmental Illness Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit educational organization. In 1992 and 1993 she served on the local Indian Child Welfare Advisory Committee of the National Indian Child Welfare Council, Portland, Oregon; as a past vice-president of the Tillicum Indian Association, Vancouver, Washington; and as a volunteer, organizer and fundraiser for The American Indian Association of Portland. Terri has worked as a volunteer and community events organizer for Chamber of Commerces' in several locales. She was the Native American adviser, organizer and representative for the Oregon Lewis and Clark Sesquicentennial. Terri currently serves as an adviser to the Native American Public Health project, and as a board member of the Oregon EcoBuilding Network.
Journalism ethics require that Terri not advocate any cause to avoid bias or a perceived bias. However, as much as she has learned from the overwhelming credible scientific data regarding our increasingly warming planet and the growing consequences, her current overriding objective is to increase reader awareness of the rapid changes mankind must make to avert climatic disaster. The number of corporations and organizations demanding change is growing rapidly, as is the general public. People are becoming informed through print, radio and television, and the growing number of articles written by dedicated environmental journalists. Terri sees society as reaching a critical mass, with needed changes beginning to occur in all sectors of society. Terri's writing focuses on societies return to the simpler lifestyles our parents and grandparents embraced when faced with WW2. The 1940s campaign to change a country then notorious for waste revolutionized our society. Other European countries followed our example. Terri strives to provide beacons of hope for a bright future by reminding readers of our grandparent’s simple yet overwhelmingly successful model.
Terri's grandparents tore out their lawn to plant a “Victory Garden” that fed not only their own family but friends and strangers. They, as did everyone else, decried waste at home and pared their lives down to that which was essential. They recycled things like cooking grease, and found other uses for most everything. Neighbors joined together to take what couldn't be reused to recycle centers (this was before the days of curb pickup, folks). Terri recalls her grandmother making overalls from potato sacks and understands now, her thrift. They used bicycles for family transportation and left the car at home, and their family was no different from that of their neighbors across the country. Instead of dividing communities it brought them together. Our country changed into an economy of conservation almost overnight. It took a war to re-create society. We have a pattern to follow to avert severe consequences. It's been put on Terri’s heart to keep the memories of our grandparent's lifeways alive, to write about lifestyle changes that emulate theirs, to slow and stop planetary changes and ensure the survival of species. Terri is using her writing to encourage her readers to pass the legacy of their Elders to the next generations. When Terri talks to her daughter 20 years from now, she wants to be able to look at her and tell her, Danielle, I did everything I could to protect you and your world.
Terri’s writing also focuses on environmental and health issues as they pertain to Native Americans and the general population. When not writing, Terri enjoys hiking, backpacking, kayaking and other outdoor recreation that doesn’t require a motor.
