Doris Leader Charge
{{Short description|American translator (1930–2001)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Doris Leader Charge
| image = DorisLeaderCharge1956.png
| alt = A woman with short dark hair and olive skin
| caption = Doris Millard (later Doris Leader Charge), from a 1956 newspaper
| birth_name =
| birth_date = May 4, 1930
| birth_place = Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota
| death_date = February 20, 2001 (age 70)
| death_place = Mission, South Dakota
| other_names = Doris Millard, Doris Mae Bravebird, Doris Mae Brokenleg, Doris Mae Whiteface
| alma_mater = Sinte Gleska University
| occupation = Translator and educator
| years_active =
| known_for = Dances with Wolves (1990)
| notable_works =
| spouse(s) =
| children = 6
| relatives =
}}
Doris Leader Charge (May 4, 1930 – February 20, 2001), was an American translator and educator. She taught Lakota language and culture courses at Sinte Gleska University for 28 years, and worked on the film Dances With Wolves (1990) as a translator and dialogue coach; she also appeared on-screen in a minor part.
Early life and education
Doris Leader Charge was born on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. She was raised by her grandmother. She attended He Dog Elementary School, St. Francis Indian School and St. Mary's School for Girls until she left school at age 14.{{Cite news |last=Martz |first=Ron |date=1986-11-30 |title=Indian colleges urge preservation of heritage |pages=29 |work=The Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-herald-indian-colleges-urge-preserva/129368568/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |via=Newspapers.com}} At age 54, she earned a degree in education at Sinte Gleska University.{{Cite web |last=Thigpen |first=David E. |date=January 21, 1991 |title=Kevin Costner Said the Words but Doris Leader Charge Made the Dances Dialogue Truly Sioux |url=https://people.com/archive/kevin-costner-said-the-words-but-doris-leader-charge-made-the-dances-dialogue-truly-sioux-vol-35-no-2/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=People Magazine |language=en}}
Career
Doris Millard worked as a nurse's aide, a waitress, and a cook to support her family as a young woman and as a widow. Her son Gerald "Coco" Millard appeared in The Last Hunt (1956), when he was a toddler,{{Cite news |date=July 29, 1955 |title=Two West Riverites Get Hollywood Bid |language=en |pages=1 |work=Rapid City Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/rapid-city-journal-two-west-riverites-ge/129383422/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |via=Newspapers.com}} and she traveled with him and her newborn daughter to Sioux Falls for the premiere.{{Cite news |date=1956-02-17 |title=Indian Mother-Widow Watches Husband Again in 'Last Hunt' |pages=1 |work=Deadwood Pioneer-Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/deadwood-pioneer-times-indian-mother-wid/129383957/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |via=Newspapers.com}}
Later, Leader Charge taught Lakota Sioux language and culture courses at Sinte Gleska University.{{Cite news |last=Walton |first=Kent |date=1992-08-07 |title=Lakota teacher revives Sioux tongue |pages=14 |work=The Daily Nonpareil |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-nonpareil-lakota-teacher-reviv/129368132/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |via=Newspapers.com}} She took a sabbatical from her college job{{Cite news |last=Chatenever |first=Rick |date=1990-11-02 |title='Dances' with Kevin; Native-American co-stars endorse movie's portrayal of their culture |pages=59 |work=Santa Cruz Sentinel |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/santa-cruz-sentinel-dances-with-kevin/129367555/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |via=Newspapers.com}} to appear onscreen as "Pretty Shield" in Dances with Wolves (1990),{{Cite news |last=Grauvogl |first=Ann |date=1989-10-29 |title=Costner's magnetism: He believes |pages=16 |work=Argus-Leader |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/argus-leader-costners-magnetism-he-bel/129366999/ |url-status= |access-date=2023-08-03 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Steve |date=2001-02-21 |title=Doris Leader Charge of 'Dances' Dies |pages=13 |work=Rapid City Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/rapid-city-journal-doris-leader-charge-o/129367255/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |last=Lew |first=Julie |date=1990-11-04 |title=American Indians Still Have Skirmishes in Hollywood Battle |pages=184 |work=Omaha World-Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/omaha-world-herald-american-indians-stil/129385294/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |via=Newspapers.com}} and to serve as a translator and dialogue coach in the making of the film, working with actors to learn to speak their Lakota lines with accents appropriate to their characters' stories.{{Cite web |last=Ross |first=Scott |date=1990 |title='Dances with Wolves' - Natives portrayed honestly and sympathetically |url=https://ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/dances-wolves-natives-portrayed-honestly-and-sympathetically |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=AMMSA |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Baum |first=Geraldine |date=1990-10-28 |title=Kevin Costner's Dance With the Sioux: How the director and star achieved authenticity in his unusual film tribute to the Sioux, 'Dances With Wolves' |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-28-ca-4785-story.html |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} "I thought they were pulling my leg," she said later, about being hired for the film. "Yeah sure, production companies come to South Dakota all the time looking for someone to translate Lakota." When the film won a 1991 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, she stood beside the screenwriter on stage and translated his acceptance speech into Lakota.{{Cite web |last=Giago |first=Tim |date=2012-04-02 |title=When Doris Leader Charge Spoke, Kevin Costner Listened |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/doris-leader-charge_b_1394870 |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}
Leader Charge was also credited as language coordinator on the television miniseries Son of the Morning Star (1991).{{Cite news |last=Giago |first=Tim |date=1991-02-24 |title='Wolves' may prompt poor imitations |pages=8 |work=Argus-Leader |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/argus-leader-wolves-may-prompt-poor-im/129368932/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |via=Newspapers.com}} In 1992, she made a national speaking tour, addressing audiences about her experiences with bringing better representation to the popular screen.{{Cite news |last=Longsdorf |first=Amy |date=1992-11-15 |title=Native Americans relate film roles in dress and tongue |pages=90 |work=The Morning Call |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-call-native-americans-relate/129366745/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=1992-01-12 |title=Leaders in field to headline N.C. Women Writers' talks |pages=71 |work=The Herald-Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-herald-sun-leaders-in-field-to-headl/129367172/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |via=Newspapers.com}}
Personal life
In 1947, she married her first husband, Wallace Millard.{{Cite news |last=Jackson |first=Christine |date=1991-03-25 |title=Translator Brings Lakota to Movie Fans |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/rapid-city-journal-translator-brings-lak/129384466/ 1], 2 |work=Rapid City Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/rapid-city-journal-leader-charge-transla/129384340/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |via=Newspapers.com}} They had three children and she was pregnant with their fourth when Millard died in a car accident in 1956.{{Cite news |date=1956-02-15 |title=Come for S. F. Premiere |pages=6 |work=Argus-Leader |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/argus-leader-come-for-s-f-premiere/129382879/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=1956-01-15 |title=Parmelee Man is a Victim of 1-Car Crash; Wallace Millard, 37, is Sixth Highway Fatality of Year |pages=1 |work=Argus-Leader |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/argus-leader-parmelee-man-is-a-victim-of/129383844/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |via=Newspapers.com}} Her second husband was Air Force veteran Fred Leader Charge; they had two more children together. She died in 2001, at the age of 70.{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Steve |date=2001-02-19 |title=Lakota teacher Leader Charge dies |url=https://rapidcityjournal.com/lakota-teacher-leader-charge-dies/article_5996754b-f6d7-5b51-aea1-e16978fe0f3f.html |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=Rapid City Journal |language=en}}{{Cite web |last= |date=2001-05-15 |title=Friends Remember Lakota Studies Instructor |url=https://tribalcollegejournal.org/friends-remember-lakota-studies-instructor/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education |language=en-US}} Her grave was moved to Black Hills National Cemetery.{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |date=2016-04-27 |title=The grave of Doris Leader Charge moved to Black Hills National Cemetery - Native Sun News Today |url=https://www.nativesunnews.today/articles/the-grave-of-doris-leader-charge-moved-to-black-hills-national-cemetery/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=Native Sun News Today -}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0152880}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-3tLfRWyEk&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Findianz.com%2F&source_ve_path=OTY3MTQ&feature=emb_imp_woyt Doris Leader Charge and Michael Blake], speaking on stage at the 1991 Academy Awards ceremony
- [https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/lakota-indian-language-teacher-movie-dialogue-coach-doris-news-photo/50587498 A 1990 photograph of Leader Charge with her dogs], at Getty Images
- [https://theglindafactor.com/doris-leader-charge/ "Doris Leader Charge, Culture Changer"] The Glinda Factor; a blog post about Doris Leader Charge
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Category:Sinte Gleska University faculty
Category:20th-century American translators
Category:People from Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota
Category:20th-century Native American women
Category:20th-century American women educators