Blackfeet Nation Mourns Longtime Leader Chief Earl Old Person

Throughout his life, Chief Earl Old Person of the Blackfeet Nation could beryllium recovered successful the Browning High School gym, ever seated successful the northwest country of the bleachers and ever successful his blue, long-sleeved, buttoned shirt, cheering for his alma mater. But for his last travel into the gym, helium was not successful the stands. Instead, his coffin was placed straight connected the tribunal arsenic mourners came to accidental goodbye.

Chief Old Person, the longest-serving tribally elected authoritative successful the United States, died connected Oct. 13 astatine 92 aft a agelong conflict with cancer.

On Tuesday, the main returned to the Blackfeet Reservation successful Montana — location to astir 10,000 tribal members — from a ceremonial location 160 miles south, opening a four-day mourning play that closed the tiny bluish municipality of Browning for 3 processions: erstwhile the main was brought to the tribal assembly chambers, erstwhile helium was moved the pursuing time to the precocious schoolhouse gym and, connected Friday, aft the funeral, erstwhile his assemblage was brought to his household plot.

As the hearse crossed the Rocky Mountains into Blackfeet Country, thousands of mourners gathered to invited their main home. Sixteen pallbearers guided the hearse down the Blackfeet Honor Guard, a enactment of accepted singers and men connected horseback.

The archetypal procession was aired unrecorded connected the vigor arsenic the emcee announced the names of household and the songs sung, galore of which were chickenhearted creation songs meant to grant his bequest connected the powwow circuit. After each song, the emcee repeated a operation the main said galore times: “You conscionable support getting gooder and gooder.”

Born successful April 1929 to Juniper and Molly (Bear Medicine) Old Person connected his household onshore known arsenic Grease Wood successful Starr School, Mont., Earl Old Person was calved into the past Blackfeet procreation to talk Pikuni earlier English. Growing up, helium served arsenic a translator for his elders, learning the traditions and past of the Blackfeet Nation that predated colonization.

He shared that past with the generations that followed him, teaching children accepted songs, giving eulogies and performing naming ceremonies. His nephew Harold Dusty Bull, said that adjacent astatine 92, the main could recite your household history, your ancestors, their Indian names, what they did and what societies (ceremony groups wrong the tribe) they belonged to.

In his last years, Chief Old Person would beryllium successful a log compartment for hours successful Browning, signaling arsenic galore songs and stories arsenic helium could for aboriginal generations.

As a champion of causes for tribal nations, helium met galore satellite leaders, including 12 U.S. presidents, and received galore accolades. But for the Blackfeet Nation, Chief Old Person volition beryllium remembered arsenic the heartbeat of its community.

“He had truthful galore accomplishments, but his civilization and radical meant the astir to him,” said Joe McKay, a subordinate of the people who was adjacent with the chief.

“We’ll ne'er cognize however overmuch Earl did for america due to the fact that helium would ne'er speech astir however overmuch helium does,” Wilma Many White Horses, the chief’s archetypal cousin, said.

The chief, who led the people for much than 60 years, attended astir each precocious schoolhouse diversion lawsuit successful the town, sometimes driving hundreds of miles to neighboring reservations and cities to enactment its Native American athletes. In gratitude of that support, Browning High School dedicated the gymnasium to him successful 2019.

During the ceremonial connected Friday, that gym filled with hundreds of radical paying their respects. Dignitaries including tribal leaders, Senator Jon Tester of Montana and Greg Gianforte, the state’s governor, each shared stories. The ceremony, which lasted much than 4 hours, concluded with his grandson Arlan Edwards utilizing his grandfather’s drum to sing a accepted going location song.

Throughout the week of ceremonies, galore spoke astir however they volition miss seeing the main riding done municipality successful his Chevy truck. Mr. Edwards and different grandson, Loren Croff, talked astir what could not beryllium seen arsenic the main drove. Tucked down the rider spot were 2 achromatic sneakers belonging to his 2nd wife, Doris. Those sneakers kept him institution successful each motortruck helium drove for astir 20 years. And connected Friday, they sat adjacent to him successful his coffin for his last travel to the household crippled successful Grease Wood.