Obituary

JOSEPH SMITH (Muskogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma/Rosebud Lakota Sioux)

Honored Elder Joseph Smith passed in Marysville California on October 9, 2012 on his 82^nd birthday.

Honored Elder Joseph Smith was born in Claremore, Oklahoma, in 1930. Son of Stanley Smith (Lakota), and Josephine Jacobs (Muscogee), and grandson of Joseph (Muscogee) and Nancy Jacobs (Muscogee), he lived in Fame, Oklahoma, where he attended Fame Elementary School, then Jones Academy Indian School where he was a member of the boxing and football teams. Mr. Smith then attended high school at Sequoia Indian School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, where he also played football. At sixteen, he joined the Marine Corps, and was wounded in action in the Korean War. Mr. Smith was discharged after twenty-five years in the Marines as Sergeant Major. He then moved to Modesto, Stockton, and finally Olivehurst and Marysville. A Northern California PowWow institution, he served as PowWow Chair and member of a multitude of PowWow committees, Arena Director, Master of Ceremonies, and Color Guard, all over the state for more than thirty-one years. “Grampa” Joe was member of the Black Wolf Gourd Society and the Red Cloud Veterans Society of Eureka. He was also a long-time member and former Northern Vice-President of California Indian Education Association. In 2008, he was awarded Honored Elder at the California Conference on American Indian Education in Redding, for his many years of service to Native American Indian students of all ages.

Honorings will be held on October 13, 2012, at the Berkeley 20^th Annual Indigenous Peoples Day PowWow and at the Auburn PowWow, October 20, 2012. Services are tentatively set for Monday, October 15, in Marysville. Family information and survivors will be added once complete.

 

Obituary

JOSEPH SMITH (Muskogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma/Rosebud Lakota Sioux)

Honored Elder Joseph Smith passed in Marysville California on October 9, 2012 on his 82^nd birthday.

Honored Elder Joseph Smith was born in Claremore, Oklahoma, in 1930. Son of Stanley Smith (Lakota), and Josephine Jacobs (Muscogee), and grandson of Joseph (Muscogee) and Nancy Jacobs (Muscogee), he lived in Fame, Oklahoma, where he attended Fame Elementary School, then Jones Academy Indian School where he was a member of the boxing and football teams. Mr. Smith then attended high school at Sequoia Indian School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, where he also played football. At sixteen, he joined the Marine Corps, and was wounded in action in the Korean War. Mr. Smith was discharged after twenty-five years in the Marines as Sergeant Major. He then moved to Modesto, Stockton, and finally Olivehurst and Marysville. A Northern California PowWow institution, he served as PowWow Chair and member of a multitude of PowWow committees, Arena Director, Master of Ceremonies, and Color Guard, all over the state for more than thirty-one years. “Grampa” Joe was member of the Black Wolf Gourd Society and the Red Cloud Veterans Society of Eureka. He was also a long-time member and former Northern Vice-President of California Indian Education Association. In 2008, he was awarded Honored Elder at the California Conference on American Indian Education in Redding, for his many years of service to Native American Indian students of all ages.

Honorings will be held on October 13, 2012, at the Berkeley 20^th Annual Indigenous Peoples Day PowWow and at the Auburn PowWow, October 20, 2012. Services are tentatively set for Monday, October 15, in Marysville. Family information and survivors will be added once complete.

 

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 18th, 2012 at 2:15 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.