Edith Emerald Johns (Winnebago name: Patche-Ka-Danga) also Edith Big Fire Johns (1915–1999) Winnebago-Nez Perce was an American nurse and community leader in the Chicago area in the mid-20th century. She was one of the founding staff of the Native American Educational Services College and was inducted into the Chicago Women's Hall of Fame and the Chicago Senior Citizens Hall of Fame.
Edith Emerald Johns | |
|---|---|
Patche-Ka-Danga | |
 1971 as head caseworker of St. Augustine's Center for the American Indian in Chicago | |
| Born | Edith Big Fire Johns January 19, 1915 |
| Died | June 10, 1999 (aged 84) Chicago, Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Edith Syfczak |
| Occupation(s) | nurse, Native American activist |
| Years active | 1937-1999 |
Early life
editEdith Big Fire Johns was born January 19, 1915, on the Winnebago Reservation in Thurston County, Nebraska.[1] Her father was a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and her mother was Nez Perce.[2] From the age of eleven, Johns attended school away from her family at an American Indian boarding school.[3] In 1937, she completed nursing school[4] in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and then moved to Chicago.[1]
Career
editJohns worked at several hospitals in the Chicago area, including the Bethany Hospital and the Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.[1] Johns spent a decade as a caseworker at St. Augustine's Center for the American Indian[3] and by 1971 was the chief caseworker.[5]
Johns was very involved in the urban Indian movement of the 1960s and 1970s, giving speeches and attending meetings.[6] In 1968, Johns attended the National Urban Indian Consultation in Seattle, which was founded to focus on the problems of urban Native Americans, as the National Congress of American Indians was seen as too focused on reservation issues.[7] Johns was one of the founders, along with Willard LaMere,[8] of the Chicago American Indian Center (AIC) and served on its board of directors between 1960 and 1971.[1] The center offered cultural programs and fellowship[9] allowing members to share their skills. Johns was a skilled beadworker and shared her knowledge of the craft.[4]
Johns was a founding staff member of the Native American Educational Services College (NAES).[1] NAES was founded in 1974 to address the lack of higher education opportunities for urban Indians[10][11] and Johns was hired as an instructor in 1975. She taught a course, "Dynamics of Community Health" which dealt with health care, development and patient rights.[12] Johns worked at the college until 1978, when she left to work as the assistant nursing director of Somerset Residential Care Center.[13]
Johns returned to college, attending the College of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois, and earned her bachelor's degree in 1977.[2] At the age of 65, Johns joined the Peace Corps and served as a nurse in Dominica[4] for two years. She also traveled to Australia and New Zealand to meet with indigenous people there. In 1990, she began working at O'Hare International Airport for Travelers and Immigrants Aid and assists with infants arriving for adoption, runaways, and those in need of assistance when traveling through or immigrating through the airport.[4]
Johns died on June 10, 1999, in Chicago[2] and was buried in Rosehill Cemetery. She was survived by two sons, Harold Johns and David Syfczak.[3]
Awards and honors
editJohns was inducted into the Chicago Women's Hall of Fame, as well as Chicago's Senior Citizens Hall of Fame.[1]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b c d e f University of Chicago Library 2009.
- ^ a b c Vigil 1999.
- ^ a b c Grahnke 1999, p. 2.
- ^ a b c d Steinem 2012, p. 494.
- ^ The Chicago Sun-Times 1971.
- ^ The Daily Herald 1964, p. 50.
- ^ LaGrand 2002, p. 224.
- ^ Janusz, Mucha (1983). "From Prairie to the City: Transformation of Chicago's American Indian Community.". Urban Anthropology. 12 (3/4): 337–371. JSTOR 40553015. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- ^ The Hyde Park Herald 1958, p. 6.
- ^ Fixico 2006, p. 53.
- ^ Laukaitis 2015, p. 104.
- ^ Laukaitis 2015, p. 108.
- ^ Laukaitis 2015, p. 212.
Bibliography
edit- Fixico, Donald Lee (2006). Daily Life of Native Americans in the Twentieth Century. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-33357-6.
- Grahnke, Lon (June 13, 1999). "Edith Big Fire Johns, nurse, volunteer". Chicago, Illinois: The Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2016 – via HighBeam.
- LaGrand, James B. (2002). Indian Metropolis: Native Americans in Chicago, 1945-75. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-02772-7.
- Laukaitis, John J. (2015). Community Self-Determination: American Indian Education in Chicago, 1952-2006. Albany, New York: SUNY Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-5769-7.
- Steinem, Gloria (2012). Moving Beyond Words: Essays on Age, Rage, Sex, Power, Money, Muscles: Breaking the Boundaries of Gender. New York, New York: Open Road Media. ISBN 978-1-4532-5017-4.
- Vigil, Jennifer (June 13, 1999). "Native American Advocate Edith Emerald Johns". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- "Arlington Clubwomen Plan Used Book Fair". The Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, Illinois. February 6, 1964. Retrieved 10 August 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Guide to the Native American Educational Services Edith E. Johns Papers 1959-1999". Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Library. 2009. Archived from the original on July 3, 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- "Perform American Indian Ceremonial Dances Sunday". The Hyde Park Herald. Hyde Park, Illinois. February 26, 1958. Retrieved 10 August 2016 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
- "(untitled clipping)". Chicago, Illinois: The Chicago Sun-Times. August 13, 1971. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
