Guerue, Trudell H., Jr.

English

Mitchell Hamline School of Law

William Mitchell Law ReviewVolume 17 | Issue 2 Article 71991A Tribute to Bernard BeckerTrudell H. Guerue Jr.Follow this and additional works at: http://open.mitchellhamline.edu/wmlrThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviewsand Journals at Mitchell Hamline Open Access. It has been accepted forinclusion in William Mitchell Law Review by an authorized administratorof Mitchell Hamline Open Access. For more information, please contactsean.felhofer@mitchellhamline.edu.© Mitchell Hamline School of LawRecommended CitationGuerue, Trudell H. Jr. (1991) "A Tribute to Bernard Becker," William Mitchell Law Review: Vol. 17: Iss. 2, Article 7.Available at: http://open.mitchellhamline.edu/wmlr/vol17/iss2/7A TRIBUTE TO BERNARD BECKERTRUDELL H. GUERUE, JR.tAt a cold and early hour on January 2, 1991, a friend tele-phoned to tell me that Bernie had died. For me, as for manyothers, the sense of great personal loss was immediate andpainful. This was as painful, to me, as the death of my father.As time has passed and the pain has eased, I have becomeaware that the true loss has been to society. Bernie is nolonger at William Mitchell College of Law. No more classes oflaw students will learn civil procedure, Indian Law and the artof lawyering from him. Lawyers will no longer have the oppor-tunity to practice in front of him. They will not have the plea-sure of legal and intellectual discussion with the brilliant, kind,gentle and fair judge that Bernie was.We American Indians have suffered a loss that, in someways, is even greater. Not only is Bernie not here to fight fortribes and individual Indians, he is no longer here to impart hisirreplaceable knowledge of the morass that is Indian law to fu-ture lawyers. Bernie was a lance as he battled to enforce therights of Indians, and he was a shield as he continued to fightto protect those rights. It will be a long time before anotherBernie comes along and each moment is one of danger for ourtribes and reservations. Perhaps some of you, who had thegood fortune to study Indian law with Bernie, will continue thefight.I sent an eagle feather with Bernie on his westward journey.No warrior had a greater right to wear such a feather. An eaglefeather symbolizes truth. There have been few who caredmore than Bernie for the truth. The eagle feather also symbol-izes courage, and Bernie epitomized that as he advocated forthe unpopular, the poor, the Indians. And it stands for gener-osity, and, again, Bernie wonderfully illustrated that virtue.With his lawyering skills, knowledge and personality, Berniecould have been a wealthy man. Instead, he looked after thet Former law clerk of Magistrate Becker, 1987-1988. Presently in the SocialSecurity Administration Office of Hearings and Appeals.1Guerue: A Tribute to Bernard BeckerPublished by Mitchell Hamline Open Access, 1991416 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 17rights and concerns of the downtrodden, the unfortunate, thehelpless.All of us, yes, that includes you judges and professors of law,can no longer go to that vast, wide-ranging library stored inBernie's mind for advice that was as sound as any other andbetter than most. Wisdom like that will be more difficult tofind.I am not alone when I say, Kola, I miss you. You taught mefar more than the law.2William Mitchell Law Review, Vol. 17, Iss. 2 [1991], Art. 7http://open.mitchellhamline.edu/wmlr/vol17/iss2/7

A Tribute to Bernard Becker

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A Tribute to Bernard Becker

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