Thomas (Tommy J) Stillday Jr., the spiritual leader for the Red Lake Ojibwe Nation in Red Lake, Minn., helped heal his people in good times and bad.
Stillday, who had served as tribal council member, school board member and former Minnesota state Senate chaplain, died of unknown causes on Oct. 14 in Red Lake. He was 74.
An expert in American Indian cultural and religious matters, Stillday was sought for counsel from people around the world, said Floyd (Buck) Jourdain, tribal chairman of the Red Lake Ojibwe Nation.
He was an expert in the Ojibwe language, a championship grass dancer and a singer at cultural events. He served on numerous boards and commissions, many of them devoted to helping young people, and was a home school coordinator. He also had been a logger and fisherman.
"His life was always focused on Indian country, and he gave his all to his community," Jourdain said. "He dedicated his life to helping people."
Stillday was born at his family's home between Upper and Lower Red Lake. He served in the Army for 12 years, and was a combat engineer in the Korean War, where he and other Ojibwe used their native tongue in coded radio communications, much as Navajo code talkers did during World War II.
In February 1997, he began a two-year stint as chaplain of the Senate in St. Paul, the first person outside the Judeo-Christian tradition to serve in the post.
"To me, I observe that it's always the same in both Indian and world religions. We talk about the same creator, God almighty himself, and all the spirits we know," he said in the Feb. 14, 1997, Star Tribune. "Other traditions and customs differ. Some people don't believe in gambling, some people don't believe in coffee, some drink whiskey tonight and ask forgiveness tomorrow morning."
