Minnie Two Shoes

Native American Journalists Association President Ronnie Washines made the following remarks on the passing of journalist Minnie Two Shoes:


I simply cannot see going to a NAJA conference and not being able to see Minnie Two Shoes walking down a hall and greeting you with a smile, warm hug and a quick joke.

She was one of the Native journalists who answered the call to be at Pennsylvania State University in 1984 to set the beginnings of the Native American Press Association, which later became NAJA. She was a lifetime NAJA member and had the notes, programs and photo journals to prove it. She served on the NAJA board several times and was on the current board, which she dubbed, 'The kinder, gentler NAJA.'

She was a sincere advocate of free press, free speech and free food for everyone. She held a deep respect and love for NAJA and the mission of the organization.

She accepted the additional duties and responsibilities of being an active, contributing NAJA board member even though she was forced to deal with personal health concerns.

I will personally and professionally miss her sense of humor, her dedication to Native journalism and the respect she held for tribal culture and teachings.

The Native American Journalists Association extends our heartfelt condolences to her family, her people and her colleagues.

The journalist and Native world here has one less champion, but I am confident that she has earned a place in the kinder, gentler world she will now walk through eternity.

I pray Creator welcomes and embraces Minnie Two Shoes and comforts the hearts of her surviving family.

Minnie Two Shoes, Assiniboine Sioux from the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana, was born March 24, 1950 and walked on April 9, 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Funeral services were held April 13 on the Fort Peck Reservation.