Maxine Peake Dugan (Cherokee)

For Maxine Peake Dugan, who grew up in northeastern Oklahoma where "everyone was an Indian or married to one," the 1969 Pow Wow was the first thing "Indian" she'd seen in years. There, hundreds of Indians danced the rhythmic steps according to tribal custom. Until then, she admits, she "didn't realize" that she was homesick for the Indian experience.

She spent her early years in South Dakota where her parents worked at the He Dog Indian Day School. Since her mother taught at the school, young Maxine was not allowed to attend, but instead, found herself as "a Cherokee, living in Sioux country, going to a non-Indian school." Her teacher at that school, who was "very patient and understanding," soon found out that Maxine (she'd sometimes use English and Sioux in one sentence) had memorized all the school books from "sneaking" into her mother's class at He Dog.

She's hard at work now as a Board member to see to it that the Indian Center will bring back the "community-spirit-among-Indians" her parents taught her. In a city-type environment, she's found the first to suffer are the young people. "They'll have a chance now to hear the songs and stories which form an important part of our culture."