God, Great Spirit, Mother Earth, and The Universe...Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, for blessing Me with My Mom. She made her journey to the Spirit World in December 2025!

I was raised by an Oglala Sioux Lakota in Porcupine Indian Reservation, who would say "Warriors Don't Cry."  She handled wild horses, watched rapid dogs from the cliffs, and always had a rifle to keep mountain lions off of the property.

She was my Spirit Guide, my Medicine Woman, my Heart, my Soul Protector, my Eyes and Ears, just my EVERYTHING!  This obituary is the hardest and saddest thing i have ever had to write.  My Mom is not a note in my life; she is so much more.

With her loving, big brown eyes, she would teach me.  She would say, "Look up to the sky. Notice the colors, clouds.  The feel of the wind and sun.  Listen to the trees, birds, rain. Know your surroundings. Use your senses, and your gut for danger."

My Mom was removed from her home and placed in a Mission School.  Her education ended at the eighth grade.  She had the most beautiful cursive penmanship.

I learned their home was a tiny one room cabin with dirt floors, a wood-burning stove for cooking and heat, a kerosene lamp for lighting, and a galvanized tub for washing their clothing and bath time.

They lived by a stream surrounded by sunflowers and chokecherries.  They had horses, cows, and chickens. Plus, a mean rooster!

She adored visiting her great-grandmother, Mattie Shield-Lone Elk.  She was taught how to roll cigarettes, and great-grandmother would let her smoke one.  She helped collect chicken feathers.  Together, they would clip the ends of the feathers to make a feather bed.

I love her stories of Christmas Day.  Mom said that it was not about the gifts, but about, being together, sharing food, and listening to all of their stories.  Sometimes, Mom would receive a handmade scarf and other times, it would be apples, oranges, and mixed nuts.

I watched my Mom sew my clothes and make curtains for the home.  She taught herself how to knit and crochet.  Today, I still have the quilts she made for my family.  Also, I still have her blue ribbons from the fair!

Mom's cooking was always from scratch...hearty, home-cooking.

After my dad's passing, Mom stayed busy.  She still went three times a week to swim with her girlfriends.  She really enjoyed hiking; she had her two walking sticks that she would thump the ground with to scare away rattlesnakes and her binoculars around her neck.  Twice a year, in June and September, she hiked Crazy Horse Memorial Volks march.  Later, she went to work for Custer State Park Forest Service.  She would help visitors, from all over the world, find their campsites and answer their questions.  But, what Mom enjoyed the most, was driving the forest service big tractors.  She said that you got to see so much more of the beautiful landscape.

I learned so much from my mom, that I still use today.  She taught me to give thanks to this beautiful Earth, because it is our home; to have compassion and be kind to all living things; i was taught holistic healing, and she even taught me how to keep the bad spirits away!

My Mom was a Grandma to Jeremiah, Daniel, Janice, and David and a great-Grandma to Jade, Kyle, Logan, Andrew, Charlie, and Minami.

She is MY Spirit Guide.

-Christine Mason, her loving daughter.