Warne’s tireless commitment has influenced many who are dedicated to carrying on her work

RAPID CITY — The Oceti have lost another elder, Bev Warne (Oglala Lakota).Warne belongs to a small class of Native Americans who has helped the Oceti remember who they are. They were born after the turn of the Twentieth Century. After the U.S. policies of genocide, termination and assimilation had ravaged the Tribes, had dispossessed them of their land and language, separated them from their culture and removed them to reservations. Like those of her class Warne’s message of healing was a result of her experiences, so harsh and crushing many haven’t been able to bear the weight. This class managed to rise above their circumstances and lead the Oceti through to the Twenty-First Century.

In 1939, the year, Beverly Mae Stabber was born, Oglala Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear invited sculptor Korcak Ziolkowski to create a memorial to Native Americans in the Black Hills. Standing Bear himself was from an even smaller class of Native Americans who were challenging dominant colonial structures, maintaining their strong familial ties while working and living off-reservation.

Thought to have been born in 1874, Standing Bear was one of the first Native Americans to attend Carlisle Indian School. The Crazy Horse Memorial says that Standing Bear realized that the battle for cultural survival of his people would be waged with words and ideas. He realized he would need an education, so he worked nights at Sears and Roebuck while attending school in Chicago. Standing Bear’s legacy was not only his willingness to engage with non-Natives but also his persistence and advocacy for his people and his constant message of hope and reconciliation.

Like Standing Bear, Warne has also carried a message of hope, having spent her life advocating for Native Americans. She too has a legacy of forging successful engagement with non-Natives resulting in tangible improvements for Native Americans.

Born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Warne was 9 when her family relocated to Rapid City as her father searched for employment. They lived in the Osh Kosh Camp along Rapid Creek. This was one of several camps that at times extended from the boarding school to Roosevelt Park, according to Diverse Rapid City: Indigenous Presence Deep History to 2020. Government regulations had limited Native people’s presence in Rapid City. Because of the racial barriers, editor and publisher Tim Giago (Oglala Lakota) who made his journey to the Spirit World in 2022, said that all the landlords were white and would not rent to Natives.

In an interview with South Dakota Public Broadcasting in 2022 focusing on the state’s history of erasing Indigenous culture and values in the education system, Warne shared the experiences of her mother’s physical abuse at the hands of the educators at Pine Ridge Boarding School and the mental abuse Warne experienced when she went to boarding school, “I think words hurt more than a slap, and that’s what was used. So, it wasn’t a good experience, and the education was not adequate, and that too was, to me, still a form of genocide.” Warne, who had spent her formative years being raised in the traditional way, surrounded by family and extended family, who were teaching Oceti Sakowin values using prayer, storytelling and drumming. “It teaches you critical thinking, inductive and deductive reasoning, its teaching you how to problem solve, it’s teaching you how to make your decisions, how to behave with all those seven values and all the songs and all the stories.

Anchored in those traditions, which research has shown help to build self-esteem, Warne was able to navigate her life away from the reservation. She graduated from St. John’s McNamara School of Nursing in 1962. She pursued higher education receiving her bachelor’s degree and master’s from Arizona State University. She married and had children and continued her work in military, private and public healthcare facilities, her international service took her to Thailand and Mexico.

In 2009, she retired from Arizona State University of College of Nursing and returned home to South Dakota, where she promptly created the Native American Nursing Center in Rapid City, a mentoring program for SDSU.

Dean and Professor of the College of Nursing at SDSU Mary Anne Krogh told Native Sun News Today, “The legacy left by Bev Warne for Native American students is an emphasis on culture, socialization, and a sense of belonging. Truly, the students learned much from her through word and action.”

Among Warne’s many activities was to serve on the board of directors for He Sapa Otipi, a local organization that describes itself as a hub of resources to educate and engage Native populations, to celebrate shared values and heritage and to encourage a broader culture of unity between Native and non-Native people’s. “We are heartbroken,” said Otipi executive director Cante Hart. “She was a strong voice for our community. She had such a good sense of humor. She was always laughing and bringing joy to everything she did. She was a huge advocate for health and she supported many countless Indigenous nurses to graduate from nursing. The healthcare system is a better place because of her.”

Hart said Warne’s legacy for the community was to be a “good relative, to use your voice for the better and to build relationships based on shared values. I remember a quote she said about the landscape in Rapid City and why we don’t have good relations between Natives and non-Natives is because they don’t know us. She advocated for our community members to learn more about our culture and to appreciate our language and history.“ Warne was focused on creating good relationships, Hart said, “That’s what we need to do to honor her we just need to be good to each other and be good relatives. And when someone doesn’t like you, realize that this is out of your control, and put good out there in order to have good come back to us.”

A grateful community was able to thank her for her contributions before her passing at a number of recent events. Warne was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 2022 and she honored by the City of Rapid City with a proclamation from the Mayor naming February 24, 2024 as Beverly Stabber Warne Day.

Funeral Services/Wake Services at Oaye Luta Okalakiciye, 937 E. North St. Suite 401 Rapid City, SD 57701. Wake services were held on April 18, 2024 and a meal was served following evening prayers. Funeral ervices will be held Friday April 19, 2024 at 9a.m. with a meal to follow. Cremation and burial will take place at a later date.

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