Handsome and dedicated, the late U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell may be the only Colorado politician who switched major political parties and never lost an election. He was the only U.S. Senator we’ve ever had from La Plata County.
He did not have an easy path to adulthood, but his patience, resilience and absolute determination saw him through innumerable challenges to become one of the top Native American politicians in American history. An Olympic judo competitor, Air Force veteran, art teacher, creative jeweler, horseman, truck driver, businessman and undefeatable politician, Campbell kept friends who were proud to know him and happy to tell me stories of his accomplishments and the causes he championed. The Senator died at home at the age of 92. His memorial service will be April 13 on what would have been his 93rd birthday.
“He showed me that where you start does not determine where you finish. He transformed hardship into strength and obstacles into opportunity,” his daughter, Shanan Campbell, has written, adding, “He taught me that perseverance beats luck, that reinvention is courage, and that you never give up.”
Beverly Rich of Silverton had numerous roles as secretary and chairman for the 59th District of the Democratic Party. Meeting at the La Plata County Fairgrounds in Durango years ago, delegates sought a candidate for Congressional office.
“We were looking for someone to run as a Democrat for the 59th District,” Rich said.
Campbell came by and offered to run.
Rich said, with a smile, “He was a very interesting person, but he had a ponytail. Here in Silverton the mines were still running. We have hardworking men and women in our district. We didn’t know if that ponytail would work.”
But they decided to try it, and Campbell campaigned non-stop.
“He knocked on every door in Silverton five times and all across the district,” Rich said. “He was a supporter of the common man. He had his own rough upbringing and pulled himself up by his bootstraps.”
She hastens to add that Campbell and his wife, Linda, “were a true love” who functioned as a team.
She also said Campbell “really did work for children’s well being.” Proof of that is the Campbell Family Center and day care facility on the Fort Lewis College Campus.
“Ben had so much energy,” she said. “He was a charmer and always straightforward. We were pretty darn good friends over the years. Ben and I went out to lunch when he was in Silverton – always before the train came.”
She said when Ben and Linda came to ride horses in the town’s Fourth of July parade, Rich held their daughter Shanan and son Colin’s hands. Constantly thinking of West Slope community needs, Campbell provided a legislative earmark of $60,000 to help with electrical work for the San Juan County Historical Society’s museum. He also personally gave the Blair Street Historic District Association $50,000 to help with improvements, including sidewalks, lighting and public bathrooms for Silverton’s thousands of summer tourists.
Former Republican Congressman Scott McInnis of Grand Junction said Campbell’s “background was fascinating. He was a lot of fun. He put Native Americans as one of his top priorities.”
McInnis and Campbell’s political careers neatly dovetailed, being elected the same year and retiring the same year. They worked together on numerous projects, including sponsorship of the Black Canyon and Great Sand Dunes to become national parks.
“(Campbell) had all the magic and people loved him. Back then, there was not such a partisan divide. It was more of a rural/urban divide in Colorado, but Ben got votes from both sides,” McInnis said. “Ben’s heart was where the sun sets – in the rural areas. He helped us a lot politically across rural Colorado.”
Part of that collaboration resulted in the Animas La Plata Project and the Lake Nighthorse reservoir, which is a name bestowed on the reservoir by Campbell’s friends in Congress.
“Ben always stood his ground. We had a lot of great times together,” McInnis said. “We were so proud to work for Coloradans.”
He told me Campbell had “thousands of sincere friends” and that he could “easily switch roles from U.S. Senator to gentleman rancher, to artistic jewelry maker.”
For almost half a century, the Clark family from Toh-Atin Gallery worked with Campbell. In the Toh-Atin Newsletter, Antonia Clark referred to him as “a strong and principled leader and politician; a dedicated and determined Olympic competitor; an energetic and enthusiastic motorcyclist and horseman; a powerful advocate for Native Americans; and a trailblazer in the world of Native American jewelry for more than 50 years.”
Campbell supported the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Two decades ago over lunch in Durango, Linda and Shanan Campbell and I chatted about the forthcoming grand opening of the NMAI on the Mall. At the time, I was director of FLC’s Center of Southwest Studies. The three of us proposed a temporary exhibit of Nighthorse jewelry for the museum’s opening in 2004. Our crazy idea got approved with financial support from the Southern Ute Tribe. What an opportunity it was for Fort Lewis College’s Native students to track down Campbell’s jewelry, clean it, care for it, photograph it, catalog it and pack it for shipment to Washington. Students came for the grand opening as did Ute tribal members and many couples from Durango.
We had a coveted space on the building’s second floor and the first gallery opening and private party in the new museum. Anyone who attended will never forget that night.
Former Center of Southwest Studies curator Jeanne Brako, always the calm center in the middle of a curatorial storm while setting up an exhibit, said, “It was a true privilege to create an exhibition of Ben Nighthorse Campbell’s jewelry with Fort Lewis students and colleagues for the inaugural events at the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian. Working with Ben, Linda, and Shanan on that project created lasting relationships.”
The Center itself opened in a new building on campus in a January blizzard in 2001. It was an $8 million building with $8 million in collections, but there were still expensive additions required like basement movable shelving, a security system, an audio system for the main gallery and other professional materials.
At an event on campus. Campbell said to a large audience: “This is an important building with important opportunities for students. I’m going to see you receive another $1 million for supplies and programs.”
I thought that was an incredibly generous gesture. A few days later one of the Campbell’s staff members called. He told me I should write up a statement on what the building needed.
I asked, “How many pages?”
He said, “About 100 words.”
To this day, that’s the most valuable paragraph I’ve ever written.
Dr. Cory Pillen, the current director of the Center of Southwest Studies, said: “We are honored to steward the Ben Nighthorse Campbell Papers in our archival collections. They provide an invaluable record of his public service, advocacy for Indigenous communities, and deep commitment to the cultural life of the Southwest.”
But of all Campbell’s successes, and they would fill a comprehensive biography, his work to get the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site on Colorado’s eastern plains researched, described, identified, purchased and preserved by the National Park Service serves as a singular achievement.
In the edited book “Preserving Western History,” Campbell wrote: “My intent is for this place to be a living memorial, like Gettysburg, to our intolerance of others. I believe that as Americans we are blessed with the courage to be able to honestly view our past, to be proud of our accomplishments and honest enough to admit and learn from our shortcomings.”
He concluded with the moving words: “We must constantly find ways to be better human beings. Our ancestors and our children both demand this place become a memorial so the dead may rest.”
Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell himself now rests with his Cheyenne ancestors. His memorial service will be at the Sky Ute Event Center in Ignacio at 1 p.m. April 13.
Andrew Gulliford, an award-winning author and editor, is professor of history at Fort Lewis College. Reach him at andy@agulliford.com.
