I first meet Pershing Yeahquo at a Tribal Health Conference. I was there to discover which Tribes did not have Tribal libraries in Oklahoma. He was there to find funding for his veterans. He is the Veteran’s Director and once he found out about our project, he now has a library that he named after his mother, Mary Toppah Yeahquo. He continues to do so much. He received three donated computers, started a media center for his veterans but “always” saw it as a tribal library. He is my kind of person. I went with him to the Kiowa Legislative. He needed at least one bookshelf to put his books in at his new library. He had found one at Lowes for about $125.00. Everyone reached in their pockets and donated enough money for the bookshelf. He also reminded them he was going to need a bigger space and a helper. Less than two weeks later Pershing called me – he now has four bookshelves. The Kiowa Tribe does have a grant writer which Pershing had call me just this past week. She will be applying for their first Native American Basic Grant. Mary Toppah Yeahquo would be proud of her son. I know that I am very proud to call him my friend.
