Parade’s Co-Marshal Marches to Own Beat : Rose Tourney: Ben Nighthorse Campbell takes pride in his independent nature. He will share the spotlight with a Columbus descendant despite criticism.

When Ben Nighthorse Campbell showed up here five years ago, the freshman congressman had to get special permission just to walk onto the floor of the House of Representatives.

The Colorado jewelry maker-turned-legislator wanted to forgo the traditional neckties required by the House dress code so he could wear brightly colored scarves clasped with intricately inlaid American Indian jewelry.

Although other lawmakers have grown used to his attire, Campbell says some colleagues still have difficulty accepting the self-styled “non-traditional” politics practiced by the only American Indian in Congress.

“I don’t follow the party line. I’m even in trouble sometimes with the leadership. . . . I vote independently because that’s the way I want to do it,” Campbell, a Democrat, said in a recent interview.

“People on both ends of the political extremes get upset with me, but I don’t think most American people are on either end of the political extremes,” he said.

On New Year’s Day, Campbell will change his congressman’s attire for traditional Indian garb and ride a horse down Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, joining Cristobal Colon, a descendant of Christopher Columbus, as a grand marshal of the Rose Parade.

The 58-year-old congressman, who is half Northern Cheyenne and lives among Colorado’s Ute tribe, was asked to head the parade after angry American Indian groups said the choice of Spanish aristocrat Colon and the parade’s “Voyages of Discovery” theme were insensitive to Indians.

The offer failed to placate some Indian groups, who did not want Columbus represented in the parade at all. They criticized Campbell for agreeing to share the honor.

“I knew full well I would get some flak from some Indians. It’s almost a no-win situation,” Campbell said. “Unfortunately, some of the people criticizing do not recognize the difference between tokenism and symbolism. I think we can make a very strong statement for American Indians. . . . If you want to drop out and just protest, you can’t tell (the) story.”

It will not be the first time that Campbell, a three-term congressman and the eighth American Indian to serve in Congress, has worked to change a version of history he believes has ignored his people.

He introduced legislation that to rename Montana’s Custer Battlefield National Monument the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument and mandate the building of a memorial to the American Indians who died there. Campbell’s great-grandfather, Blackhorse, fought in the battle against Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer.

The bill has been approved by both houses of Congress.

Campbell, a jewelry designer and rancher, said he became involved in politics by accident. He wandered into a nomination meeting in 1982 looking for a former college classmate when he was asked to run for a state House seat because no one else wanted to challenge the popular Republican opponent.

Campbell, who said he was living on a reservation, “had never been to a meeting, had never done anything at all. . . . I was registered as a Democrat because my mom was.” With the help of Democratic organizers, he won.

Campbell’s father was a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe and his mother was a Portuguese immigrant.

Picking fruit with children of Japanese immigrants, he developed a love of judo. He won a gold medal in judo in the 1963 Pan-American Games and became captain of the 1964 U. S. Olympic judo team.

Campbell earned diploma and a bachelor of arts degree from San Jose State, where he studied physical education, art and education.

Profile: Ben Nighthorse Campbell

Rep. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (D-Colo.) is the only American Indian serving in Congress.

Born: Auburn, Calif., in 1933.

Education: B.A. from San Jose State. Later attended Meiji University in Tokyo from 1960 to 1964.

Background: Served in the U.S. Air Force from 1952 to 1954. Won gold medal in judo in the 1963 Pan American Games. Captain of the U.S. judo team in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Career Highlights: Elected to the the Colorado House of Representatives in 1983 and served there until 1986. Member of U.S. House of Representatives since 1987. Also, member of the Council of 44 Chiefs of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Tribe.

Interests: Jewelry design, horses. Lives on a ranch in Ignacio, Colo.

Personal: Married, two children.