Native American Heritage Month - Three Sisters 2021

Description: Dr. Tink Tinker Tink Tinker is a long-time part of the Denver Metro Indian community. He is wazhazhe, a citizen of the Osage Nation. For a quarter of a century, Tink took 4 Winds American Indian Council under his wing and ran the facility at Fifth and Bannock pro bono for the larger Indian community. 4Winds became another place in the urban landscape where Indian folk could gather and hang out. For all of those years, Tink conducted an Indian community spiritual ceremony on a weekly basis so Indian folk could come and talk to their ancestors. While a new generation of Indian leaders has stepped up to take over responsibility for 4Winds, Tink continues to be very supportive. For thirty-three years, Tink was professor of Indian Studies at Iliff School of Theology, a graduate school that shares a campus with the University of Denver. In his teaching and scholarship, Tink worked to hold his White relatives accountable for the history of conquest and genocide on the north American continent. He retired as emeritus professor of American Indian Cultures and Religious Traditions in 2018 but continues to write and to enjoy his relationships in the Native community of metro Denver.