My given name in English is Richard Harris.

My native name is Henonoquad, "Keeper of the Fire."

I carry the surname of my mother's family. From what I know of her and her family, they were from around Tyler Texas. She died when I was about five or six.

My father also carried his mother's maiden name. His father's father was William or Billy Two Catches, a full blood of Creek Choctaw parentage. My father was brought up in Choctaw, Oklahoma. He joined the service when he was sixteen, and later the Merchant Marine. He made me aware of my native heritage.

I followed his traditions of wearing cowboy hats and boots. Moreover, I ran to my native background rather than away from it. At the time my father had no choice. In college in the late sixties I became an activist for African and Native American rights. I continue this practice to the present. Subsequently I became much more involved in the spiritual, cultural, and educational rights of my people.

For the past twelve yeas I've been going to Big Mountain for the Spring gathering, to Sundance, and to political actions. Additionally, I am involved with sweat lodges and Plains ceremonies of the Lakota traditions.

I've had my Cree naming and adoption ceremonies. I try to educate the public and the educational bureaucracy about the red and black alliances.