Ben Nighthorse Campbell was born to a poor family in Auburn, California in 1933. He grew up to be a Northern Cheyenne chief, Korean War veteran, judo wrestler, U.S. Olympian, jewelry designer and the first Native American to serve in the U.S. Senate.
Campbell dropped out of high school and joined the Air Force, serving in the Korean War. While serving in the military he studied the martial arts and became a judo wrestler, captaining the judo team in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. After returning to the States he graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in physical education and fine arts. He also attended Meiji University in Tokyo. He has received more than 200 awards for his jewelry designs.
Campbell began his political career in 1982 becoming a state legislator in the state of Colorado. In 1987 he moved to the U.S. House of Representatives and then in 1992 became a senator from Colorado. He was reelected in 1998.
He served as a member of the Appropriations Committee, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Veteran’s Affairs Committee and the Indian Affairs Committee and chaired the Helsinki Commission. He was the first Native American to chair the Indian Affairs Committee. He has worked to pass legislation settling Native American water rights and protecting Colorado’s wilderness areas and worked to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome. He sponsored legislation creating the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, The Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park and the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendment of 2000.
Ben and I first met about 1975 when the Indian Arts and Crafts Association was getting off the ground.
