×

Paying respects

Tribal chairman attending service for John McCain

Mark Fox, chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes, will be among those attending Sen. John McCain’s funeral service in Washington, D.C., today.

Fox, who has led the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation for the past four years and held other tribal positions including as council representative from the Parshall-Lucky Mound Segment of the Fort Berthold Reservation, said he worked with McCain on numerous issues over the past years and the two got to know each other.

When McCain was on his way from Billings, Mont., to Fargo and made a stop in Bismarck for a short rally at the airport when he was campaigning against then Gov. George W. Bush of Texas, Fox was invited to be one of the two speakers from North Dakota to speak on McCain’s behalf.

“I was honored to do that,” said Fox.

Fox said he has also got to know Cindy McCain, John McCain’s wife, through her work to combat human trafficking and at meetings with her and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp on the subject.

He said Cindy McCain participated in the powwow at Parshall in June 2015. “She put a shawl on and she danced with us. We had meetings earlier on how to get involved in her cause of human trafficking,” he said.

About a year later, Fox said he met Cindy McCain at a meeting and told her he was honored when he was asked to speak at the rally for her husband in Bismarck. She told him, “We are grateful you did that for us.”

Fox, also a military veteran, having served in the Marine Corps, said he will be in Washington to pay his respects to McCain “to the man, his leadership and being a great veteran.”

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today