Springfield American Indian Center: “We help everyone. We don’t turn people away.”

Kay Gibson and Valerie Badhorse are co-chairs of the Springfield American Indian Center. Kay’s tribe is Cherokee and Valerie’s tribe is Bois Forte Band of Minnesota Chippewa.

They talked a bit about why they started the center in the first place and how they provide cultural classes, financial training and more to Native Americans in the area – regardless of tribal affiliation.

Valerie Badhorse: So, Missouri is considered a non-Indian state. We don’t have, collectively, Indian tribes or health services that are here in Missouri for Native people.

So what we have come up with with the American Indian Center is an urban Indian center.

The American Indian Center caters to both the Native and non-Native communities. We do not require you to have a card to come and receive support with us or to be a part of us.

We want anyone interested in being a part of our native community to come and be a part of us.

If you want to learn, we are more than welcome to have you here so we can teach you.

Kay Gibson: So Val and I – because we’ve been in the Indian community for so long, we know that in many Indian centers, you have to be registered with your tribe. You are requested. They won’t help you if you’re not.

So we know—so many people that we know are Indian or Native, but still, because they’re not carded, they’re not registered, they’re not getting help.

So that was one of the things that, when we started the center, we said, “We’re going to help all Native people, and we invite everybody.” We invite the whole public.

If you want to come dance with us, if you want to come make ribbon skirts or ribbon shirts or learn to bead, we welcome them, you know?

And that has—I mean, I’ve probably met more people who are registered natives who have lived in this community for years than I’ve ever known before.

People come up saying, “Hey, I’m Ottawa” or “I’m Choctaw” or “Cherokee” or whatever, and so, it made a huge difference.

I mean, people want to learn.

Like for me: Valerie grew up going to powwows all the time. I grew up going to the powwow once a year, and my dad tells me I’m a “pretty Indian girl.”

He didn’t really teach culture.

Where Valerie grew up learning the culture.

So for me, it’s as much of a chance for me to learn the culture as there are some of these people who are looking and needing.

And then, we have people come who, you know, “My grandmother was so and so, my grandfather was so and so. I have all the papers. I want to sign up,” you know, so we try to help them as well.

But we help everyone. I mean, we don’t reject people.