Minnie June Lee (McGirt) Tsinhnahjinnie

Minnie June Lee McGirt Tsinhnahjinnie, Born in Seminole, Oklahoma, June 20, 1927 has traveled on to be with her ancestors and the Lord, she began her journey at twilight, April 23, 2016, Caring House, Sacaton, AZ.  Minnie was of the Bear Clan, and Hvteyievlke Band of the Seminole Nation. Minnie, also known as, June, was the daughter of Dick McGirt, a member of the Mvskole Creek Nation and Alice McGirt, a member of the Seminole Nation, Hvteyievlke Band. Minnie is preceded in death by her husband, Andrew Van Tsinhnahjinnie (1916-2000), her parents Dick and Alice McGirt (1965), siblings Emerick Jane Pack Cross (1919-1962), James H. “Sonny” Dunn and Marie Grace Hall (1925-2009), her daughter, Lillian Tsinhnahjinnie, who died at birth (1955) , her son Pahe J. Tsinhnahjinnie (1963-2009), grandchildren, Micco Harry Sabori Tsinhnahjinnie (1992-2011) and Adriana Lynn Tsinhnahjinnie (1994-1996). Minnie is survived by her three daughters, Prof. Hulleah J. Tsinhnahjinnie of Woodland, CA, Weleike J. Tsinhnahjinnie of Kelowna, B.C. and Miquakee Tsinhnahjinnie-Moore of Phoenix, AZ.; and her four sons, Tsosie Van Tsinhnahjinnie, of Albuquerque, NM, Dlo-hee D.Tsinhnahjinnie of Chinle, AZ and Yaas-Tso Tsinhnahjinnie, Phoenix, AZ., and adopted son, Bo Young Bear of Kansas City, MO. Minnie was blessed with 28 grand children, 8 great grand children and 1 great, great grand daughter. Minnie (also known as June to her Oklahoma relatives) lived a beautiful full life. As a young girl growing up in Oklahoma, family and community who were active participants of the Church and Seminole culture influenced her. Her mother and sister were connected to the Achena church, of which she was a member. As a young woman she attended Chilocco Indian Boarding School.  After graduating, June and her sister Marie, traveled to St. Louis for work, to see the world. They found work and experienced the racism and riots that were happening at the time.  “The Indians were treated just like the Black people, they would refuse us service and worse.” In the early ‘50’s, along with her mother, sister Marie, nephew David, and niece Alice Marie, they traveled to Phoenix, AZ.  Ruth Barnett, a close family friend who was about 8 years old at the time, remembers, “Those three, Alice McGirt, Marie and June, built a house in Phoenix from the ground up, and everybody was talking about those three women, building a house…” It was during this time that June worked for the Designer, Lloyd “Kiva” New (Cherokee).  “I saw an advertisement in the paper, about work for a seamstress.  I went for an interview and Mom came with me.  We took the bus, it was a long bus ride and I got the job in Scottsdale.  Lloyd was making fashion leather bags and they would sell them to stores back East, like Sak Fifth Ave.  Then later he asked if I could waitress for his fashion shows, so I started helping him host.”  It was during this time that she met her future husband Andrew Van Tsinhnahjinnie, an artist.  “The first time I saw him, he was working with Lloyd.  I said to myself, he’s going to be my husband.” In the early 60’s June raised a family and attended the Muscogee Church which had a strong membership of relatives and friends due to the number of Creeks and Seminoles living in the Mesa and Phoenix area. In the mid 60’s, June and her family moved to Rough Rock, AZ.  Her husband had been asked to return to the Navajo reservation to be an Illustrator for the Rough Rock Demonstration School, a pilot school for Bilingual and Bicultural education. Her introduction to Navajo culture was a bit of a culture adjustment, in that she came from a community that is gregarious, and did not hesitate to display signs of affection. The Navajo Nation was a bit more reserved.  She made a welcoming home and always had the door open and food on the table.  On the Navajo reservation she became known by her first name, Minnie. In the 70’s Minnie pursued higher education at the University of New Mexico and received her Bachelors of Arts and teaching degrees.  Returning to Rough Rock, she taught Home Economics. Her teaching style was based upon compassion which endeared her to the many students she taught. In the early 90’s Minnie and her husband retired from teaching.  They had a house in Rough Rock and Phoenix, where she reconnected with her Muscogee and Seminole relatives and friends.  She was a church song leader and soloist, and always ready to support those in need with prayer. When she wasn’t in church she was on the Powwow trail with her family, constantly making new friends at the many Powwows she attended.  If it was summer, everyone knew she was traveling. In 1996 Minnie, traveled to New Zealand (Aotearoa) with her husband, daughter Hulleah and a family friend.  She was hesitant to make such a long flight, but when it was compared to a car trip From Phoenix to the Stanford Powwow, a 15-hour car ride, she packed her bags.  In Aotearoa she made friends who remember her to this day.  Minnie has friends all over the world. In 2000, her husband passed on, and her son Pahe was Minnie’s caretaker during this time, passing on himself in 2009.  Her need for 24-hour care took her to the Caring House, on the Gila River reservation.  At the Caring House her advocacy and compassion did not cease, she was an active member of the Senior Counsel, an advocate group for the residents, and she sang with the residents’ church group. April 17, Minnie was taken to the hospital, on the third day at the hospital she told family, “I’m tired, I’m ready to go.”  On the fourth day, hospice was arranged at the Caring House and that evening the Creek Singers of Phoenix, Gary Long, Reginda Sands, Betty Weston and Ella Ruth Barnett, sang hymns in the language.  From the very first day she was in the hospital until the fifth evening, friends, relatives, and staff from the Caring house, sang, prayed, and thanked her for including them in her life.  In the twilight of April 23, Minnie June Lee McGirt Tsinhnahjinnie traveled on to join her family and Lord.  This is a very condensed reflection of a life well lived. Wake services will held at the Achena Presbyterian Church, Southeast of Maud, Oklahoma on Thursday, April 28, 2016 starting at 7:00 P.M. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, April 29, 2016 at the Achena Presbyterian Church, with burial at the McGirt Family Cemetery. Rev. Rick Harjo will officiate at the services. Services are under the direction of Swearingen Funeral Home in Seminole, Oklahoma.   Funeral Information: April 29, 2016, 2:00 PM Achena Presbyterian Church, with wake services being held at the Church on, Thursday, April 28, at 7:00 P.M. located at Maud, Maud, OK 74854