Kenneth Deere, Native American leader, dies at age 69 June 27, 2005 A UMNS Report
By Allison Scahill* The Rev. Kenneth J. Deere, 69, a former United Methodist agency staff executive and a leader in addressing Native American concerns, died June 23 of cancer at his home in Holdenville, Okla. Deere was a well-known activist against racism and injustice. In his career, he combined his faith with a love for his Native American culture. "He fought for the dignity of all ethnic people, especially the Native Americans," said the Rev. Alvin Deer, a friend and executive director of the Native American International Caucus, a United Methodist advocacy organization. "He wanted to get people to understand and undo hundreds of years of stereotyping and misunderstanding of different ethnic groups. He was always fighting for equality and dignity." Two days before he died, Kenneth Deere returned to Oklahoma from California, where he lived with his wife, Joni Messenger Deere. Deere was born June 8, 1936, in Holdenville, a member of the Muskogee-Creek nation. At 17, he joined the Marine Corps. After completing his time in the military, he became an ordained elder for the United Methodist Church and spent 43 years serving the church. For 16 of those years, he worked in the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. In 1976, he began his work as associate general secretary for the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race in Washington. He served there for 27 years, until his retirement in 2003. "He managed minority groups and projects throughout the church," said the Rev. Chester Jones, top staff executive of the commission. "He was very much involved in a lot of the activities addressing (Native Americans). He really impacted Native Americans." Since the Native American caucus is partially funded by the commission, Alvin Deer said he had opportunities to work with Deere. "He was our project officer for our grant, and we worked on national issues quite a bit," Deer said. "We worked together on lots of things." One of Kenneth Deere’s biggest battles was against the use of Indian names as sports mascots. He was instrumental in drafting church legislation regarding "The Mascot Issue." "The ‘Mascot Issue’ is a key Native American issue. It’s demeaning to the Indian people," Alvin Deer said. "That was a big thing to (Deere)." At the 1996 General Conference, the United Methodist Church agreed to oppose the use of Native American names for sports teams and university mascots. Jones said Deere not only was his colleague but a good friend as well. "We worked together for about five years, but we were friends long before that. We have a longtime friendship," he said. "We have expressed our condolences to the family and we appreciate his many years of service as a pastor and agency staff for the United Methodist Church." Alvin Deer, who is officiating at the funeral, said Psalm 82 was important in Kenneth Deere’s career. The psalm addresses giving justice to all who are in need of it. "That was his work—bringing justice and dignity as a part of the work for the church," he said. About six months after his retirement, Deere was diagnosed with cancer, and he struggled with it for almost two years, Alvin Deer said. Deere is survived by his wife, Joni of La Jolla, Calif.; mother, Melissa, Holdenville; son, Lyle, and daughter-in-law, Joyce, Muskogee, Okla.; daughter, Lisa, Muskogee; and daughter, Johnna Gouge, and son-in-law, Leonard Gouge, Coweta, Okla. Funeral services were June 27 at the Salt Creek United Methodist Church in Holdenville. *Scahill, a mass communications major at United Methodist-related Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan., is an intern with the Convergence Team at United Methodist Communications. News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
| 
Korean News
