North Dakota Chaplains Association Annual Retreat and Meeting
Education: July 25,2024 Meeting: July 26, 2024
Maryvale Retreat Center
Valley City, North Dakota
Trauma to Triumph
Presenter: Ronald G. Walters Jr.

He is known as Ronald G Walters, Jr in the Christian world, and Gray Spotted Horse (sunkawakhan hintho sungleska hota) among his family on the Standing Rock Reservation, located south of Bismarck-Mandan, ND. Ron is a current resident of Mandan, ND, but calls the Standing Rock Reservation home. Ron was born in Lubbock, TX (1964). He grew up in all the states between Texas and North Dakota, eventually graduating high school (1982) in Neligh, Nebraska, and moving to North Dakota in 2005. Ron has one adult son, Tyler, living in Sioux City, Iowa, along with two of Ron’s grandchildren (Bentley & Charlotte). Ron completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in American Indian Studies in 2005, with an emphasis on journalism at the University of South Dakota (USD). Before his university studies in his early 30’s, Ron successfully held various jobs in restaurant management, retail businesses, IT technical support, computer consultant, and Fed-Ex driver. During and after his university studies, Ron focused his journalism career in the radio and newspaper industry which lead to an executive director position for a national non-profit organization that recruited, trained, and advanced the careers of hundreds of Native Americans pursuing a career as a journalist. After mentoring Native American journalists, Ron relocated to the Standing Rock Reservation in 2005 to take care of his elderly parents, as they began enjoying the final years of their 57 year marriage. During this time, Ron also successfully held the position of Director of Resource Development at Sitting Bull College (Ft. Yates, ND) for eight years before moving into his position of Major Gifts Officer (2013-to present) at the Great Plains Food Bank.
Presentation Abstract and Discussion Topics In our diverse world of race, ideology, language, and spirituality today, these pillars of life play important roles for millions of Native Americans who express a powerful desire to have complete sovereignty in all aspects of their daily lives, in particular, spirituality. The desire for spiritual connection is deeply ingrained in the DNA of Indigenous people, and it influences modern-day tribal norms, including work, community, and family life. As people who are deeply connected to the land and the natural environment, as well as to other living beings, particularly in the United States, Indigenous people interpret the value of material things, the use of time, and life events differently from mainstream society. The differences in interpretation continue to create generational trauma for millions of Native Americans in the United States but have also led to triumph in the face of adversity.
Presentation Abstract and Discussion Topics In our diverse world of race, ideology, language, and spirituality today, these pillars of life play important roles for millions of Native Americans who express a powerful desire to have complete sovereignty in all aspects of their daily lives, in particular, spirituality. The desire for spiritual connection is deeply ingrained in the DNA of Indigenous people, and it influences modern-day tribal norms, including work, community, and family life. As people who are deeply connected to the land and the natural environment, as well as to other living beings, particularly in the United States, Indigenous people interpret the value of material things, the use of time, and life events differently from mainstream society. The differences in interpretation continue to create generational trauma for millions of Native Americans in the United States but have also led to triumph in the face of adversity.

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