Local University of Mary Student to Speak at Washington, D.C. Ceremony

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A college student from the Standing Rock Indian Reservation is getting a chance to speak at the Let Freedom Ring ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

The Bismarck Tribune reports that 23-year-old University of Mary senior Alayna Eagle Shield will speak for two minutes in front of the Lincoln Memorial Wednesday about the importance of her culture and language.

The March on Washington was organized by civil rights leaders and credited with spurring passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech during the event.

Eagle Shield says she isn't sure why organizers of the commemoration invited her to speak, but she says she feels blessed.