Jan. 19—A Kokomo resident was honored recently during the state’s celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

When politicians gathered in the statehouse Jan. 11 to celebrate King and activists who continue to fight for civil rights, they took a moment to celebrate Sally Tuttle.

The vice chair of The American Indian Center of Indiana Inc. received the Humanitarian Award during the celebration.

The award recognizes people who work against poverty, economic disenfranchisement and injustice.

The State of Indiana Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebrations website states the award is “presented to an individual who has continued the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the areas of economic development, poverty reductions and social justice.”

Through Tuttle’s decades of work, she’s tackled Native American healthcare and housing issues, pushed for the recognition of Native American veterans, fought against the use of racist caricatures for school mascots and has helped create several Native American advocacy groups, such as the Native American Indian Affairs Commission.

“I will never give up in making sure the 1,498 Native American Indian People have a voice within the land of Indians called Indiana,” Tuttle said in her award acceptance speech.

Gov. Eric Holcomb sat nearby as she delivered the speech.

He later posted a photo of Tuttle on X, formerly Twitter, with the caption “I was honored to join @INCivilRights for today’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. #Indiana Holiday Celebration. To honor Dr. King let us engage in ‘creative altruism’ to use our unique gifts to influence positive change, empower our neighbors and better our #Hoosier state.”

Tuttle said she was surprised by the recognition. In fact, she deleted the first email she received stating she had won the award — she thought it was a scam attempt and didn’t realize it was real until someone called to follow up on the email.

Tuttle said the award was a great recognition for the work she and her colleagues have accomplished in the past four decades.

“For me, it’s 40 years of giving the Native American Indian population of Indiana a voice,” Tuttle said. “So I was pretty honored and humbled by it, because that’s what I’ve been trying to do since I moved to Indiana, is make people, communities, state, county and local governments know that they have a native community within their own backyard.”

Tuttle explained she felt isolated when she moved to Indiana in 1973. Other than her children, she didn’t know any other Native Americans in her community. She added it wasn’t popular to claim Native American heritage until the ’80s.

She said the drive to become a voice for Indiana’s Native Americans came when her children began learning about Native Americans in school. Natives weren’t represented well, so she began searching and speaking out for Native Americans.

“I just wanted the Native American Indian people to also be included in the same ballpark,” Tuttle said, adding Native Americans are often forgotten when people discuss the issues that affect America’s minorities. “The first people of this state, the first people of this country are left outside of the field, outside of the bleachers.”

If you would like to contribute toward Native American advocacy, Tuttle recommended contacting the Indiana Native American Indian Affairs Commission or the Indiana Civil Rights Commission as a first step.

“I would like more Natives from Kokomo to get involved,” Tuttle said. “I would love to see that.”

James Bennett III can be reached at 765-454-8580 or james.bennett@kokomotribune.com.