Community mourns death of Les Riding-In, Native American Student Association adviser
Les Riding-In, Native American Student Association primary adviser and College of Business graduate recruiter who worked at UTA for almost 20 years, died at 53 years old on Aug. 29. Riding-In was involved in many groups at UTA and outside of the university. He was a chair of the UTA Native American Employee Resource Group, as well as a trustee for the Pawnee Nation College in Oklahoma. Friends and colleagues said Riding-In was an intelligent man with a bigger-than-life personality and always had a smile on his face. He had a particular sense of humor and cared about the students he advised, with the Native American Student Association and outside of the group, as well as the greater Native American communities. “He was always present at every event that was possible in the Native community, and that of course was not a requirement of his job,” said Annette Anderson, social worker and secretary of the Indigenous Institute of the Americas. “It was just who he was as a person.” Scott Langston, former Texas Christian University Native American nations and communities liaison, said that while universities can be competitive, especially with programs so similar, Riding-In was not like that. “He showed up to events at TCU; that was so encouraging, especially as we were in our early years trying to get established in our work with Native communities,” Langston said. During his time at UTA, Riding-In helped lead many accomplishments, including the Wichita and affiliated tribes land acknowledgement; the creation of the UTA Land Acknowledgement Courtyard, with a garden of indigenous plants and trees; and the continued growth of the annual student-led Benefit Powwow. Ken Roemer, English professor emeritus and former Native American Student Association adviser, said that he had been advocating for a space for Native students and faculty around the Roundhouse Planetarium, but it was Riding-In who advocated for the land acknowledgement. “Les was not just the chair of that land acknowledgement committee, he was the one who really started [the] push,” Roemer said. Stephen Silva-Brave, Native American Student Association president, said Riding-In made sure that the actual tribes that were in the land acknowledgement had representatives in its writing process. “He knew that we can’t just write about these people, we gotta bring them in, get their sign-off on it,” Silva-Brave said. Riding-In also played a big role in promoting the area where the land acknowledgement took place and making it into the Land Acknowledgement Courtyard. “A physical place on campus that was dedicated to Indigenous people, I felt like that was huge,” Silva-Brave said. “We’re such a small part, a small organization, a small population within the university, and he still made sure to get us real estate on campus.” With the courtyard, a garden was also added, featuring a variety of native plants. Anderson said Riding-In opened the door to let the university know that there needed to be a cedar tree in the garden for it to truly be a medicine garden. She said the university didn’t like the idea of having cedar trees on campus, but for Native Americans, cedar is an important medicinal plant. On the day of the garden’s opening, the cedar tree was there, and Anderson said her heart was bursting with joy. “I know that had to do with Les opening the door to say, ‘OK, you want to put in a quote ‘Native garden,’ but where’s your Native voice?’” she said. Riding-In also helped keep the Native American Student Organization’s annual Benefit Powwow running smoothly throughout the years. Silva-Brave said that if people didn’t already know him, they wouldn't know that he was one of the people to bring the event together every year. “Over the last three years, Les didn’t even get on the microphone one time. He let the students take the lead,” he said. “That was him.” Robert Caldwell, professor of Indigenous studies at the University at Buffalo in New York and former Native American Student Association president at UTA, said he met Riding-In almost immediately after showing up to UTA for a doctoral program in history. “He was one of the first people that I met, and he kind of took me under his wing and introduced me to much of the Native community around Dallas, definitely all of the folks on campus,” Caldwell said. He said it was invaluable to have a person like Riding-In around when navigating a new place. “He could focus in and help solve all kinds of problems. He was always helpful. I say that he was helpful to Native students, but really he’s helpful to all students,” Caldwell said. “He had a way of challenging people to be their best.” “He’s going to be sorely missed, not just at UTA, but across the country.” @wall035203 news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu
