Arthur "Art" (also known as Murphy) Raymond was born January 18, 1923 in Winner, South Dakota. He was one of ten children born to Enoch Wheeler Raymond and Mary (Frazier) Raymond. He is an Oglala Lakota, enrolled at the Rosebud Reservation. He attended the Rosebud Boarding School in Mission, South Dakota, and graduated at the top of his class.
Following graduation, Raymond enlisted in the Army as a private and saw combat in World War II with the 35th Infantry Division, 320th Infantry Regiment. Fighting in the European Theater, Raymond received a battlefield commission and eventually became commander of the rifle company he had originally joined as a replacement.
In 1947, he entered Dakota Wesleyan University (DWU) in Mitchell, South Dakota. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree on May 29, 1951, majoring in Economics with a minor in History. During his time at DWU, he worked for the Mitchell Daily Republic, and was hired full-time in 1953. He was quickly promoted to city editor in October 1953, and served in this capacity until 1962. While in the employ of the Daily Republic, Raymond won a best story award from the Associated Press for a story detailing a robbery, murder and suicide in Mitchell. In 1962, he became the managing editor of the Williston Herald, in Williston, North Dakota. In 1965, he moved to Grand Forks to become Sunday editor and legislative correspondent for the Grand Forks Herald.
Art Raymond was elected to the North Dakota House of Representatives in 1970. Following his first term in office, he was named the Outstanding Freshman Legislator by the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers University. A member of the Republican Party, he was re-elected in 1972 and 1974. He was the first person of known American Indian descent to serve North Dakota in the state legislature.
The Department of Indian Studies at the University of North Dakota was established by state law in 1971. Art Raymond was hired as its first director on August 1, 1971. In 1978, he was promoted and became the Director of Indian Program Development. In addition to his administrative duties, Raymond also taught courses in Lakota history, culture and religion, in addition to Plains Indian Sign Language and reservation government and politics.
Art Raymond was active in university affairs. In addition to Indian Studies, he was a founding member of the Indians Into Medicine Program, and was its first (interim) director. He also helped found the Eagle One Aviation Program for Native Americans, the Summer Engineering Program for Native Americans, the Eagle Feather Day Care Center and the Indian Cultural Center. In 1990, he helped to sponsor a symposium entitled "Lest We Forget," commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Wounded Knee. In addition to helping plan the event, Raymond also lectured.
His service extended to local, state and national concerns as well. On the local level, he was a member of Blue Waters Personnel, Inc. (a temporary personnel service), Citizens Against Prejudice, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and the Greater Grand Forks Boxing Association. In addition to his political career, he served North Dakota as a member of the Court Services Administration Committee, the North Dakota Associated Press, the Dakota Leadership Program and the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission, to name a few. Raymond served on the NDIAC for over twenty years, and was honored with a Meritorious Service Award from Governor George Sinner in 1989. He was active nationally with the American Diabetes Association, the Boy Scouts of America, the United States Commission on Civil Rights, and the National Diabetes Advisory Board, among others.
In 1980, Raymond earned a Master's degree in American Culture from the University of Michigan. He continued his education at Michigan and completed all the requirements for a Ph.D. in 1985, save for the dissertation. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Dakota Wesleyan University in May 1988 and retired from the University of North Dakota in 1991.
Art Raymond married Rose Marie Schone on April 28, 1950. They have five children: Art Jr., Eric, Mary, Mark and Rebekah. Art Raymond died April 1, 2009, in Grand Forks.
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