Delores Wilkinson

Delores Wilkinson, 88,

White Shield, died on Sa-

turday, February 27, 2021

at a Bismarck hospital.

Funeral services will be

held on Wednesday,

March 3, at 10:00 am at

the Old White Shield

School Gym. A procession

will leave Thompson Fun-

eral Home in Garrison at

approximately 9:00 am.

A visitation will be held

on Tuesday from 5:30 pm

to 6:00 pm with a rosary

to be said at 6:00 pm.

Visitation will continue

until 7:30 following the

rosary, all of which are at

Thompson Funeral Home.

Delores Ann Wilkinson,

Arikara name, “Mother

Standing”, was born to

Leona (Yellow Bird)

Deane and William

Deane, Jr. in old Elbo-

woods, ND on January 31,

1933.

She attended Elbo-

woods High School and

graduated in 1955. While

attending St. Benedicts

College in St. Joseph,

Minnesota, she earned de-

grees in Sociology, Secon-

dary education, U.S. His-

tory and Philosophy. She

also attended Minot State

University for special gra-

duate classes. Delores had

a lifetime teaching certifi-cation issued from North

Dakota Department of

Education.

She was interested in

Arikara history, Tribal,

State, and Federal govern-ment.

Delores served on

several Boards and Com-

missions – White Shield

School Board, Reservation

Education Committee,

Housing Board, Legal Ser-

vice Board, Fort Berthold

Reservation School Board.

She was a lifetime

member of the American

Legion Auxiliary Post 253,

member of Sahnish Cul-

ture Society and the

White Shield Spirit Rid-

ers.

Delores was employed

at the Fort Berthold Com-

munity College for 25

years. She served there as

an Instructor, Counselor,

Special Services Director

and became the Dean of

Students until her retire-

ment in 2002. She taught

an Arikara Culture and

Language Class for the

FBCC after her retirement.

She always said, “I don’t

claim to know everything

or to be totally fluent, but

I am willing to share what

I know.” She believed the

Sahnish people will con-

tinue to the future and

that “Neshanu Nechetak”

(our Creater) has blessed

us as a people.

She liked preparing

Sahnish traditional foods

and roasting corn in the

old Arikara way. She also

enjoyed game shows,

country & western music,

bingo, casino and visiting

relatives and friends.

Her first family was

with Myron White Bear,

Sr. They had four sons

and four daughters:

Myron David White Bear,

Jr., James (Teresa) White

Bear, Keller, TX, Michael

White Bear, and Jeffrey

(Tammi) White Bear, San

Manuel, AZ., Bernadette

(Rick Hall) White Bear,

White Shield, ND, Marti

(Terry) Stevenson,

Bismarck, ND, Kathryn

White Bear, Garrison, ND

and Sharon White Bear,

Fargo, ND.

Her second family was

with Howard Wilkinson,

Sr. They had Diane (Bill)

McLaughlin, White

Shield, ND, Tillie Wilkin-

son, White Shield, ND,

and Howard “Joey” Wil-

kinson, Jr.

She loved her family,

her 16 grandchildren, 17

great-grandchildren and 2

great-great grandchildren.

She has many nieces,

nephews, and relatives

whom she loved.

She is survived by: her

sister, Kathrine Real Bird,

Crow Agency, MT and her

brother, Matthew Mason,

New Town, ND.

She is preceded in

death by: her parents,

Leona and William Deane

Jr., husband, Howard Wil-

kinson, Sr., sons, Myron

David White Bear, Micha-

el White Bear, and Ho-

ward “Joey” Wilkinson,

Jr., sisters, Marie Wells

and Marcella White,

brothers, Kenneth Deane,

Sr., and Gerald Deane,

granddaughter, Lisa Wil-

kinson.

Nu w’h