Frank Lamere Honored at Vigil

Native American activist Frank Lamere was honored Monday night at a vigil held at the Lincoln Indian Center.

Friends and family gathered to share memorable stories about Frank Lamere and discuss the impact he had on the community.

“Anything that had to do with Native Americans, he’s been apart of the fight and apart of the struggle, he’s very connected to the population here,” Deveron Baxter said. 

Although Lamere was a member of the Winnebago tribe, his work knew no boundaries.

“He never had any diversity of any tribes he’s helped everybody all over the place and he was an inspiration to me and taught us how to fight and to go to the source,” Baxter said.

Kevin Abourezk reflected on one of Lamere’s mottos that always stuck with him.

“Frank would always say to enact social change, you had to be willing to make yourself uncomfortable and make other people uncomfortable and I would say that that lesson will stick with me for the rest of my life,” Abourezk said. 

During the vigil, native tribe songs were performed and a spirit plate with all of Lamere’s favorite foods was presented in his honor.

With many gathering to honor him, the community is not sure how they will go on without him but know he has left big shoes to fill.

“He was great about training people to become leaders. He taught and mentored many many young native people who are now leaders in their own right and I think a lot of those people will step forward and fulfill some of his efforts in his life time that he never quite finish,” Abourezk said.