Phyllis Old Dog Cross, 78, a public health nurse and mental health advocate who devoted her work to Indian health care and women’s issues, died of complications of Parkinson’s disease August 10, 2008, at the Rock View Good Samaritan Center in Parshall, North Dakota.   Phyllis was a member of the Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara Nation. She grew up at Elbowoods on the Fort Berthold Reservation, the oldest of 10 children of Martin and Dorothy Old Dog Cross.  She comes from a family of tribal leaders. Her father was chairman of the tribal council and fought against the building of the Garrison Dam. Her grandfather, Old Dog, was a renowned leader of his Hidatsa people.  After graduating from Elbowoods High School in 1947, Phyllis went to St. Alexius School of Nursing in Bismarck. Not only did she graduate with honors in the class of 1950 but she was the first American Indian to graduate from the school.  She decided to attend St. Alexius because her mother was a student nurse there before her marriage.  Following in the footsteps of her father’s military service and eager to see the world, Phyllis enlisted in the U.S. Air Force Nursing Corps at Rapid City, S.D.  Phyllis was a flight nurse in the Air Force in the 1950s during the Korean War. She served as a flight nurse on mercy flights all over the world – transporting both civilian and military for medical treatment to military hospitals in Europe and the United States where she flew about 120 missions.  Her brother Mike Cross remembers: “When Phyllis was gone overseas she opened a whole new world for her family. Her letters and postcards to everyone were always exciting and full of things we had never seen before. She was so much attached to her North Dakota roots and her beautiful letters were a testament to that. When she returned home to Elbowoods she gave us an experience we had never had before. She prepared from scratch a wonderful Italian dish she had discovered she called pizza. So, long before pizza became an American staple fast-food item, the Cross family was experiencing one of the many firsts.” Phyllis returned to school at the University of Colorado for her master’s degree in nursing after she was discharged from the Air Force in 1956.  She worked as a public health nurse for county of Boulder, CO, and she also worked for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, specializing in the mental health.  Phyllis also worked on the national level in Washington, D.C.  In the late 1970s, she was a presidential appointee on the American Indian/Alaska Native Task Force, President Carter’s Mental Health Commission, and worked along with first lady Roslyn Carter. She also served as Intergovernmental Relations Officer for the U.S. Department of Interior in Washington where she testified before the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs on mental health care challenges in Indian communities.  She also worked at the Rapid City Indian Health Service hospital, retiring from there.  She has been recognized nationally for her work, including a 1982 Wonder Woman Foundation award; an honoree for AARP National Women’s History Month program in 1990; the Ladies Home Journal 50 American Heroines award in 1984 recognizing her efforts “on behalf of her people have been monumental.” Her family is especially proud of the Wonder Woman Foundation award she received where she was recognized as an extraordinary woman who beat the odds and was recognized her for her heroic accomplishments.  In an interview with the New York Times about her award, Phyllis said she wanted “to redefine healing, along the lines of holistic medicine.”  Phyllis was well known and respected in Indian country as a strong voice for Indian people on a variety of issues.  During her career she also she wrote articles on Indian women’s health issues that were published in professional journals.  She helped establish the Indians into Medicine, better known as INMED, program at the University of North Dakota. She was a consultant for Indian Health Service and until entering the nursing home, she was active in tribal affairs, the tribal elders program and the tribal Constitution revision. Phyllis was among the group of activists that worked with her dear friend LaDonna Harris to found the Americans for Indian Opportunity organization in the 1970’s.  She remained on the Board of Directors for AIO for much of its thirty-six year history helping AIO build a national network of emerging tribal leaders.  She returned to Fort Berthold Reservation in the early 1990s, residing in Parshall. Phyllis Cross continued her involvement in health care and was involved in the tribal community. Phyllis was an advocate of holistic health. She enjoyed running and ran many races; the Bay-to-Breakers race in San Francisco was a favorite.  She was an avid hiker, hiking the Grand Canyon and Rocky Mountains.  As a child she also loved riding her pinto pony Jinx in Elbowoods.  Phyllis loved to read poetry, listen to classical music, and to meditate.  Phyllis always kept a birdfeeder full of seed for her feathered friends. When Phyllis returned to Parshall, she spent time working with her sister Marilyn writing about her family, writing “Remembering Elbowoods,” and spending time with her family. Phyllis was a great role model for her nieces and nephews by encouraging their education, self-discovery, and their exploration of different and new places.  But mostly she had an elegant sophistication and gentle manner that made her a much beloved aunt and will be greatly missed.  Family: Survivors include her brothers and sisters, Martin Cross, Jr., Al Cross, Marilyn Hudson, Dorothy Atkinson, Mike Cross, Milton Cross, Carol Juneau, and Raymond Cross; and many nieces and nephews, Charles Hudson, Karen Atkinson, Sonya Rensch, Laurie Goodluck, Trisha Mattingly, Denise Juneau, Michael Cross, Ronnie Juneau, Jonathan Cross, Amanda Cross, Kara Cross, Forrest Cross, Helena Cross, and Cade Cross.  Service: A private family service will be held with interment at Yellow Eagle Ranch.

Cassi Dee Rensch, 23, New Town, died Wednesday, July 30, 2008, as a result of a traffic accident near New Town.  Cassi was born February 2, 1985, in Minot ND to Douglas and Sonya (Hudson) Rensch.  She was raised in New Town and graduated from New Town High School in 2003.  In high school, Cassi participated in journalism, speech, yearbook, played golf and was statistician for wrestling and football.  She attended Minot State University and Williston State University where she focused on historical research.  For the past four years, she worked part-time at the Three Tribes Museum in New Town.    Among her greatest joys were meeting visitors, making presentations, and giving tours of the area.  She especially enjoyed working with the school-age children who came to visit the Museum.  She had a special gift in working with these young people and they looked forward to their visits to the Museum each spring.  In the summer of 2007, Cassi worked as a Park Ranger for the National Park Service at the Knife River Indian Villages.  During the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Celebration, Cassi made numerous public presentations throughout the United States.   She often combined her research and photography with her heritage in making power-point presentations. Cassi enjoyed photography, music, golfing and spending time with her friends and family.  She was so blessed to have many good friends in her brief lifetime who shared her zest for life. Family: She is survived by her parents, Doug and Sonya Rensch of New Town; brother, Lee of New Town; sisters, Noël and Sierra Rensch, both of New Town; paternal grandparents, Harold and Jeannie Rensch of Garrison; maternal grandparents, Kent and Marilyn Hudson of Parshall and several aunts, uncles, cousins and extended family. Among her life-long friends are former classmates Loni Hall, Elizabeth Deserly, Lindsay Halvorson, Justin Stubstad, Kevin Niemitalo and Coltin Horob.  Cassi also leaves a Godson, Kaidyn Blu Myers, whom she dearly loved. Memorial Service: Monday, August 4, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. in St. Anthony Catholic Church, New Town.  Memorials are preferred to the North Dakota Make-A-Wish Foundation or to the New Town Fire Department.