My road in life has been direct.
Grew up on a reservation; his father was a rancher so his goal for most of his life was to follow the same path.
Got into college on a basketball scholarship but spent too much time partying, flunked out; was married with kids at a very young age.
His father and grandfather told him "You're not a warrior...you can't even beat a pile of books," this fired him up.
Remembered how much he loved his visit to a National Park, realized he wanted to work in the Park Service, took a park job cleaning toilets.
Worked his way up, applied to a job at Little Bighorn Battlefield; had to try four times then finally got the job.
The park only celebrated General Custer, who'd actually lost the battle; Gerard insisted that they bring Native American history into the story.
By the time he left, he'd had seven confirmed death threats and a petition for removal; people didn't know how to deal with the change.
He stayed stubborn, fought for his culture; was offered a job at Mount Rushmore, became the first American Indian to hold superintendent position.
Keep following my journey
