Farewell to Schuyler "Sky" Houser (1943-2009)
Schuyler Houser, also known as “Sky” Houser, was familiar to many in the tribal college and university communities. In the Tribal College Journal, he is listed on our masthead as a member of our Research Review Panel. If you search our website, his name will come up – in past years, he frequently contributed his writing and his opinion to the Tribal College Journal. We were saddened to hear of his passing on January 29, 2009.
Schuyler Houser died at a hospice facility near his sister’s home in Oklahoma City, OK. He was 65. At the time of his death, he was special projects director for the Scott Bordeaux Leadership Institute at Sinte Gleska University in Mission, SD.
In 1975, he helped the Santee Community to establish a satellite campus, Northeast Nebraska Indian Satellite Community College, which later became Nebraska Indian Community College. Houser also served as chief executive officer of four tribal colleges (Nebraska Indian Community College, Sisseton Wahpeton Community College, Institute of American Indian Arts, and Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College) and worked at three others (Saskatchewan Indian Federated College, Salish Kootenai College’s Spokane branch campus, and Sinte Gleska University).
We, at Tribal College Journal, count him as one of the “brilliant and creative staff” involved with the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC). According to a past article in Tribal College Journal, in 2003, Houser, then president of Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College (Hayward, WI), pointed out that AIHEC had “attracted a brilliant and creative staff that would honor any organization." His comments were made at an event acknowledging the 30-year history of AIHEC.
Houser remembered
Sky was always insightful as to the needs of communities and students. He was articulate and an excellent writer. He was a wonderful tenor and sang some years ago in Dakota at a wedding of one of my staff. He greatly enjoyed policy discussions and the future of tribal America. We shall miss him as one who worked at numerous tribal colleges and universities, and as one who helped shape the curriculum of the tribal college movement. He was one who respected our tribal traditions and participated in a humble way, as well. I, along with his colleagues, wish him good stead & prayer as he moves on to the Ages.
—David Gipp, president, United Tribes Technical College
He was fun, learned, and great at our meetings. I loved to work with him and to listen to him talk. He was a unique person.
—Joe McDonald, president, Salish Kootenai College
Sky was one of the six tribal college people who attended the first meeting at the Carnegie Foundation in the mid 80's when my father was first exploring a relationship between the colleges and the foundation. He was at the Kennedy School at the time and brought a scholarly presence to the meeting. He helped us understand the role of the colleges and was very helpful as the report was being written. He became a trusted friend and advisor when I started the journal. I knew him to be thoughtful, articulate, and unflinchingly truthful about the successes–and weaknesses–of the movement. He was a excellent writer. In these ways, he was able to elevate the movement and, when necessary, keep us honest.
It's probably true that he wasn't quite suited for the rough and tumble world of tribal (and federal) politics. But there was a great need for Sky when the movement was young and I think he had a large and positive impact on Indian higher education.
One of Sky's charms was his apparent contradictions. I recall taking cab with him in New York City years ago. I think we were going to the train station or airport, but he first wanted to make a detour to a specialty tea shop off some side street in lower Manhattan. It was a hole in the wall shop filled with teas and coffees from around the world. He walked in, greeted the owner with familiarity, and purchased several pounds of some specialized blend that, I'm sure could be bought nowhere else. He was perfectly at home. But I knew that he was stocking up for his return to the rez, where he was probably the only person for a hundred miles who know about--or cared about--the fine points of Oolong or Darjeeling teas. Yet he felt home there, too.
—Paul Boyer, author of two reports for the Carnegie Foundation about tribal colleges
“I met him when I did a talk in the early ‘70s at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. He thanked me for my words of courage. I was impressed with his way with words. He was also a tremendous writer. When we met government officials, he could speak their language and even above. He was a workaholic. Overnight, he would have several chapters of a really well written document. …He was part of the family at Sinte Gleska and always will be. Now he will provide guidance and courage from the spiritual world, joining the rest of our spiritual world that we rely on at Sinte Gleska.”
—Lionel Bordeaux, president, Sinte Gleska University
(where Sky worked from 1988 until 1990 and again in recent years)
“He was a kind, gentle, intelligent person. I will really miss him. He brought a lot of sanity to our sometimes insane conditions here.”—Sherry Red Owl, director, Scott Bordeaux Leadership Institute
Sinte Gleska University
"He was a great guy, a little cantankerous at times, but a great guy. I am blessed to have called him a friend.”—Greg Furtman, instructional technology support specialist
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Tribal College
“Sky was president at LCOOCC when we were definitely experiencing some growing pains. He was someone I always thought would be tough to beat at chess since he always seemed to be thinking one step ahead of everyone else. His foresight and forward thinking helped propel LCOOCC through some difficult times and helped us establish policies for future growth. I know he will be missed by many here. “—Deb Anderson, Ph. D., faculty
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College
I met Sky during the 1970s at a dinner in Nebraska which was organized by my sister Christine who had been a student in his history class at the University of Nebraska. We got off to a rough start arguing most of the evening over some political issue. Our paths crossed again a few years later when we both ended up in living in South Dakota and we remained friends ever since.
Sky had many interests that would have suited him to city life – a discerning taste for foods from all over the world, museums, theater, and most especially, live opera. Almost inevitably when I called Sky at his home I would hear opera in the background coming from the radio or the phonograph. He had a huge collection of LPs of classical music and opera which he once told me would help fund his retirement. I was astounded when we went to a Russian restaurant in Washington, D.C. and he held forth with descriptions of foods from different regions of the Soviet Union, and was glad for him to do the ordering. The last time I saw Sky, with a mutual friend, we went to a Japanese restaurant. We let the much more knowledgeable Sky do all the ordering. We had a wonderful, fun evening.
Sky treasured his friends in Indian Country and that is what kept him going. They truly were family and he openly and frequently expressed that thought. He was devoted to tribally-based higher education as evidenced by his long career in the field. He brought to his work and advocacy for Indian higher education a scholarly perspective and, as many have noted, a real talent for writing. I have heard from my sister and others how great Sky was in the classroom; I am sorry to have never had him as a professor.
I will think of him often.
—Karen J. Funk, legislative specialist
Hobbs, Straus, Dean and Walker, LLP
I share with you some laughter about Sky. He was heading to Lincoln in the spring of 1977 for the UNL pow-wow. He had this old Ford Pinto with at least 350,000 miles or more. Sky rolled his car in the ditch with one of our tribal citizens riding with him. An area farmer came along and tipped Sky's car back over and on they went with no problems. Sky was at ease with his old cars filled with books, papers and cassettes (back then it was eight track).
Our Santee Dakota Grandma Anna Lavara James adopted Sky back in the mid 70's. He was a part of our family. He would come over to Grandma's for soup and coffee/tea. Grandma and Sky could sit for hours and she would share history and stories about Santee Dakota's. He was willing to listen to her. I can remember them sitting together and enjoying the time well spent with humor and wit. Sky would visit also with my Grandpa Rev. Howard Frazier's sisters who lived on the farm south of the Santee reservation. They would share memories with Sky. Most of my Aunts attended Hampton Institute.
We will miss Sky's physical presence at our family dinners and holidays. My six children only knew him as Uncle Sky. He would engage my children on world views and issues and concerns at the local front. His three nieces owe a debt of gratitude to Sky. One graduates in May from SDSU while the twins are attending Wellesley College and Dartmouth. Sky influenced them to pursue higher education.
I went to visit Sky for a couple of days a week before he entered the spirit world. One morning around 1:30 AM, as I was sitting by his side, he was fully awake, aware, and energetic. He fixed his eyes up to the ceiling in the corner and said several times that he could sense someone else in the room. He said it was a woman. When I asked if we had a visitor, a wanagi wakan, Sky affirmed yes. I thought of my Grandma or the hosts of other Dakota people and relatives. I thought of the dear close female friend of Sky's who passed several years ago in Minneapolis from cancer. I knew that Sky was in the near presence of our beloved relatives.
Sky learned one valuable lesson while here. He knew quite well, the people don't care how much you know until you show how much you care. He cared about Tribal Education.
Mitakuye Oyasin,
—Ken James, Flandreau chief of police
I had many opportunities to work with Sky. His calling in life was to tribal colleges – he gave decades of service throughout the youthful movement. Wherever work brought him, whether to established colleges or to new colleges, he always addressed challenges and always worked to help the cause. He approached each venture with passion and compassion. He championed the special commitment that every movement must have to succeed. At meetings he articulated words of philosophy and of ideas and knowledge. Away from meetings he wrote about tribal colleges, the movement, the challenges, and the successes. Written words that are forever available will now serve as the way others will learn from this humble and respectful human who walked within the tribal college movement. My wife Loretta and I extend our deepest condolences and prayers to his family and to those he loved.
—Gerald “Carty” Monette, (former president, Turtle Mountain Community College), current senior advisor
Quality Education for Minorities Network
I had the pleasure of knowing Schuyler Houser in Lincoln, Nebraska in the mid 1970s when I was on the music faculty of a small liberal arts college in a neighboring town. We shared a mutual interest in the arts and music in particular. Sky was a brilliant scholar and a kind and generous human being. I can honestly say that Sky helped make the world a better place. He will be missed.
—Phil Jones, director
City of Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture
Sky Houser was my best man when I got married on July 4, 1984 in Sisseton. I asked him to be my best man and he agreed without hesitation. Sky was president of the Sisseton Wahpeton Community College at the time. I would often stop in at the college just to visit with him, get his perspective on things. He was so knowledgeable about many things. We often talked about books and writing. He even gave me a few books to read. When Sky first came to Sisseton, he lived in a housing project north of town, one white guy living among the Indians and their daily issues. I remember him playing his opera music loud which must have puzzled some of his neighbors. He was like a rennaisance man. Sky was a forward thinking person and sometimes that quality rubbed a few of the reservation politicians the wrong way, but that did not stop him. We kept in contact over the years when he was at Harvard and later when he was president of a tribal college in Wisconsin. The last time I saw Sky was at the spring AIHEC conference at Rapid City in 2006. We visited for awhile. He asked how my wife and daughters were doing, and he asked especially about my mother in law, Caroline Renville, who is now 84 years old. He had a lot of respect for our tribal elders. We will miss Sky because he was an original and we appreciate that quality in him. The tribal college movement will miss the array of skills he brought to the conference tables. We will always count Sky as one of our good friends. Colleen and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary this July 4, and we will be thinking of him.
-- Harvey DuMarce (former vice president of academic affairs, Sisseton Wahpeton College), current doctoral candidate in educational leadership
University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN.
Today I learned Sky Houser has started his journey into the spirit world. This was a man I met when I was a young Sisseton-Wahpeton and he was our SWCC President. As a young tribal leader starting a family, I took on the challenge of being the Chairman of our SWCC Board Of Trustees during Sky's tenure with our College. In a very short period of time he articulated our mission statement, developed our policies and procedures, and established our accreditation with North Central Accreditation. He also was the one with the writing skills that established Tiospa Zina tribal school. In this whirlwind of activity, he was creating political enemies in our community.
I spent many evenings playing chess, listening to operas, and debating the issues of our community with Sky. My family had a deep respect for his kindness and heartfelt concern for our community. My daughters were young girls and always enjoyed his smiling face. Unfortunately, the political forces that wanted him terminated won out in the end. As I look back on those days, it was a time that I have always missed, a time when one’s thoughts and dreams were challenged, and where ideas and goals all seemed to be possible. Today I know the spirit world is being challenged, questions are being asked, thought and direction are being questioned, and of course, the opera is playing because my friend Sky is there.
-- An ole Friend, David L. (Selvage) Redthunder
Sisseton-Wahpeton