Transcribed from The Goldendale Sentinel - March 22, 2007
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1433&dat=20070322&id=aJk8AAAAIBAJ&sjid=JfcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=906,4420585Buck Ghost Horse
1940 - 2007
It is with sadness that we announce the crossing of Buck Ghost Horse on March 5, 2007.
Buck Ghost Horse, was born on the Rosebud reservation in South Dakota, to the Lakota Nation in 1940.
In 1962, he joined the Marine Corps and served two duties in Vietnam. He received purple hearts and a Silver Star for his bravery there and ended his nine year stay in the Marine Corps as a drill instructor at Paris Island. He graduated from the University of Florida in History Education and was a member of the American Indian Treaty Council.
For three years he taught in the Institute of Culture and Creation Spirituality at Holy Names College, in Oakland, Calif., and received an award from the Native American Alcoholism Program in Oakland for his work with that organization. In addition to being an adjunct professor at Holy Names College, he was in demand as a lecturer around the country speaking on native spirituality, culture, history, and law. He authored Red Nations Sacred Way.
Whereever he went, people circled around him, eager to learn - whether in California, North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Georgia, Washington, or Canada. In 1994 he established a spiritual community based on Lakota traditional values, culture, and spiritual teachings in Goldendale. Mentored by his traditional grandfathers and the late Wallace Black Elk, he was a Sundance intercessor for the Sungleska Oyate. He envisioned a ceremony for older women to help overcome the abuses of the past in this culture, and worked closely with addicted youth and adults for their own liberation through traditional ceremony. He leaves behind in Goldendale an active community of some 600 people and thousands of others around the country of all races and traditions whose lives were positively affected by his work.
He was involved in political struggles of justice for Native American Peoples, the protection of native graves and sacred sites, Native treaty rights, and received a certificate in Origins of Indian Law.
In 2006, he received a Native American Medal of Honor for his military service in Viet Nam. He was also active within the Democratic Party and a frequent "Letters to the Editor" contributer to the local papers within his community of Goldendale. He is survived by his wife Vicki; his daughter, Melissa; seven children, Paul, Chad, J.R., Cynthia, Pat, Katie and Sharona; 13 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
Paid Obituary------------
In the book The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine by Matthew Fox it is claimed that Buck Ghosthorse:
was a "Mentor Warrior"
grew up on the Rosebud Reservation
as a boy was kidnapped by Mormons who did not allow him to speak his language or practice his native ceremonies
he escaped the Mormons by joining the Marines
he had dreams he should work with white people because "they were running things and the earth was in deep trouble"
presented Matthew Fox with a sacred pipe and also guided his vision quest
(some of this book can be viewed on Google Books)