Help Bury Grandma Jumping Bull

Roselyn Louise Jumping Bull, 83, died Friday, May 15, 2015, at Rapid City Regional Hospital surrounded by family and friends.

Born Nov. 18, 1931, in Oglala, S.D., Jumping Bull grew up in the traditional home of her parents, Harry and Cecelia Jumping Bull, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. She was the great-granddaughter of renowned Lakota holy man Sitting Bull and was also descended from Nicholas Black Elk.

She grew up a fluent Lakota speaker with knowledge of countless powwow, sundance and ceremonial songs. She was known for her distinctive, high-pitched singing voice.

A firebrand, grandma Jumping Bull would defend anyone who asked her for help, regardless of who it set her against. She was a longtime library assistant and Lakota language educator at Loneman School in Oglala and also served as a community health representative for the tribe for several years.

She ran a general store in her home for many years, selling pickles for a quarter and packs of bubble gum for a dime to children who couldn't afford to pay anymore.

Throughout her life, she adopted many Native people as relatives, including Dino Butler, Jerry Two Bulls, Vance Blacksmith, Keith Horse Looking and Forrest Horn.

She was among a group of Lakota who invited Native activists to camp on her parents' land near Oglala, and she firmly defended Leonard Peltier after the June 1975 incident there.

Her activism on Peltier’s behalf served as an introduction to many celebrities, including actor and producer Robert Redford, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and the late Marlon Brando, who once lent her his jacket while the two sat beside each other in court in Lincoln, Neb.

She is preceded in death by her parents, brothers Carlo, Calvin and Chris Jumping Bull and sisters Ida Tobacco and Phyllis Jumping Bull. She is survived by sons Ivis Long Visitor and Gaylen Holy Rock and daughters Carmelita and Yvonne Long Visitor, as well as by 16 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren.

Roselyn Holy Rock (Jumping Bull), 83, of Oglala, died Friday, May 15, 2015, at Rapid City Regional Hospital.

A two-night wake service will begin Thursday night at Brother Rene Hall in Oglala and continue until Saturday morning. Funeral services will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday at Brother Rene Hall with the burial to be held at the Jumping Bull-Black Elk Cemetery in Oglala.

Our family is a humble family, but we would like to bury this woman who did so much for her people in a dignified manner. Thank you for your consideration.