Fortney, Olin

Born at Chambersburg, PA; graduated the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (1958-1968), then attended Gallaudet College for a year, 1968-1969. Was working in a Minneapolis alcohol and drug treatment program in 1991; training to sensitize the staff to the needs of deaf Native Americans led Fortney to explore Indian spirituality, which eventually led to his discovery of partial Indian descent in himself.