Beatrice Maxine Fleury-Whiting, age 81, passed away on January 24th, 2021.

Funeral services will be 10:00 a.m. Friday, January 29th, 2021 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Fort Thompson, SD.

Wake services will be 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, January 27th, 2021 and 7:00 p.m. Thursday, January 28th, 2021 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Fort Thompson, SD. Burial will be at All Nation's Cemetery, Crow Creek, SD.

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I have chosen to write up my own obituary, so my family will not have this responsibility.

I was born to David and Rosebelle Red Day Fleury on May 28, 1939. I was one of eight children. There was Carolyn, Martha, Sylvia, David Jr., Bernard, Myra, and Margaret. Back in the day, we experienced some very hard times. I can remember the snow and how much we got each winter. The snow drifts were well over 5-6 feet high in some places. We had an outhouse and when we walked out the back door, our back steps were over 4-5 feet off the ground, and we could actually walk right on the snow drifts to the outhouse. That is how high the snow drifts were. (How cool was that?) Our dad was a very good hunter and during the winter, summer and fall months he always went out hunting. He brought home plenty of pheasants, rabbits, geese, and deer, so we had plenty of wild game to eat. Back in the day, wild game was very good to eat and SAFE. Pesticide was not a worry, as it is now. I firmly believe this is the reason now that we have so many people getting cancer…. the chemicals. It is used a lot more now by our farmers now.

I attended grade school at old Ft. Thompson from grades 1 ^st - through 8 ^th . I attended 9 ^th grade at Pukwana High School, and I became a cheerleader there. Back in the day, we had no bus to take us there, so Robert "Bumpy" McGhee drove us to school in his grandpa's car. There was him, Vynas "Bergie" Red Hail, Rosalind Crow, and me. We did not have any hot meal offered to us, so if we had a nickel, dime or quarter, we had to walk four-five blocks downtown to old Jones Grocery store and have a candy bar, chips, and pop, if we had enough to pay for it. If you did not eat breakfast that morning, you can imagine how hungry we were at noon time! During the winter months, when the weather got bad and could make it home, Della "Ma" McGhee Lytle and Alfred "Pa" Lytle took us in for the night, even though they had 3-4 kids of their own, they made room for us too. We experienced very hard times during our school days. Now days, all the kids have it very easy! The bus comes right to their doors, when we used to have to walk half a mile to the road and believe me this was very hard during the winter months! We just about froze just walking up to the road. Back then the girls did not wear jeans (like they do today), we had to wear dresses with long cotton stockings! So much has changed since we went to school, it is so much easier for all the kids and more comfortable compared to back in the day.

My 10 ^th and 11 ^th grades, I attended Gann Valley High School. There I played basketball and set a record for the little bitty town averaging 19 points a game. My senior year, I started school there, but times were very hard (funds), so I decided to drop out of school. I could not afford a class ring or class pictures and such, so I figured it was best to just quit. My folks could not afford these things for me. Years later, I did get my GED and started working. I started working at the age of 15 years old. Eileen "Pidgy" Wells wanted to work in Chamberlain, so her grandma, Minnie Wells, said she would pay for our rent if we wanted to work. Pidgy asked me to go job hunting and stay with her, so we began our working career. We both worked in the Kulm Laundry, starting wage back then was 75 cents an hour, but boy we thought we were up town with $30 a week! But at least we worked, now days there are not very many younger generations are interested in working, just lay back and do drugs or alcohol, while their girlfriends do the work. Sad situation! I always say to my grandkids, "Why can't you guys operate with clear minds, why do you have to be high?". I believe the parents are responsible for this to happen in the first place. We, as parents, are role models for our children, what we do and teach is what they absorb and continue on.

I have 29 grandchildren and many great grandchildren whom I love very much. I try and teach my grandkids about their traditional spiritual ways of life. I have experienced some very awesome miracles through the Chanupa (Pipe) and my way of life. The Indian way will go with me to my grave. We operated a youth camp for kids every summer for 15 years, "All Nation's Youth Camp". We introduced them to the Inpi (sweat lodge ceremony), making prayers ties, the colors they represent. Our culture is diminishing fast and we are trying to keep it afloat.

I was married to Emery Loudner and from this marriage I had one son, Todd. I lived with Bernard Drapeau and we had three children, Keith, Royce and LaVoyce. Then I married Seth Ed Whiting, from this marriage we had two children, Dawn and Seth Jr.

Mitakuye oyasin