Cecilia Fire Thunder - Early Life and Education

Early Life and Education

Born Cecilia Apple on October 24, 1946 on the Pine Ridge Reservation, she is the third of seven daughters of the late Stephen and Lollie (Featherman) Apple. Her father was a traditional singer and her mother a culture-keeper; the family spoke Lakota at home. Her grandparents are Frank and Theresa (Garcia) Apple and John and Mary (Ice) Featherman. Her sisters are Shirley Murphy, Mary Hawk, Dinah Apple, Carmine Red Eagle, Joanne Apple, and Wanda Apple (Wanda is deceased).

When Cecilia went to the Catholic Red Cloud Indian School, she had to speak English in class. In 1963 her family moved from the reservation to Los Angeles, California in a Bureau of Indian Affairs-sponsored urban relocation program. The BIA encouraged Native American migration to cities to take advantage of educational and job opportunities.

Read more about this topic:  Cecilia Fire Thunder

Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or education:

    “I would observe to you that what is called style in writing or speaking is formed very early in life while the imagination is warm, and impressions are permanent.”
    —Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)

    “It is my duty, gentlemen, to inform you that women are dictators
    all, and I recommend to you this moral:
    In real life it takes only one to make a quarrel.”
    —Ogden Nash (1902–1971)

    “In England, I was quite struck to see how forward the girls are made—a child of 10 years old, will chat and keep you company, while her parents are busy or out etc.—with the ease of a woman of 26. But then, how does this education go on?—Not at all: it absolutely stops short.”
    —Frances Burney (1752–1840)