Mike Cross Obituary, Death – Mike Cross, also known as “Maaishu Dzeedish” (Yellow Eagle), passed away on December 23, 2020 in Stanley at the age of 79. He was from New Town. On May 17, 1941, he was born to his parents, Martin and Dorothy Cross, in the home that their family shared outside of Elbowoods, North Dakota. He belonged to the Prairie Chicken Clan and was one of its members. In a family that included five other brothers and four sisters, Mike was the seventh youngest brother. His educational background includes time spent at Elbowoods Day School, Stephan Immaculate Conception Catholic School, and Parshall High School, from which he graduated in 1960.
Haskell University was where he chose to complete his education. In 1966, Mike enlisted in the United States Army and completed his service with an honorable discharge after two years of active duty and four years of active reserve. During the 1970s, he uprooted his life and moved to Oakland, California, where he began working at the Intertribal Friendship House. On May 7, 1979, Mike went back to the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, where he had grown up, to tie the knot with Kyle Patterson. They settled in Parshall before moving to New Town, where they raised their three children: Amanda, Kara, and Forrest.
Mike had a career working for the Three Affiliated Tribes as well as the Fort Berthold Housing Authority. Additionally, Mike established his own independent consulting practice. His life’s work consisted on developing initiatives for native communities, the majority of which were geared toward improving the lives of indigenous children and teenagers. Mike had great pleasure in spending time with his family, particularly his grandchildren, as well as in reading, writing, gardening, and watching sports. He taught the community, particularly the small children who attended the neighborhood tribe Head Starts, about the ancient gardening practices he had grown to love.
Mike’s children, Amanda Cross and Kara Fox (Clint), as well as his grandchildren, Kayla Franklin, Kylie Franklin, Isaak Franklin, Tristan Fox, and Ellie Fox, as well as his siblings, Milton Cross, Alfred Cross, Carol Juneau, Dorothy Atkinson, and Raymond Cross, as well as a large number of cherished nieces and nephews, survive him. His paternal and maternal grandparents, Martin and Dorothy (Bartell) Cross, as well as his son, Forrest Cross, and his siblings, Martin Cross, Forrest Cross, Phyllis Old Dog Cross, and Marilyn Hudson, all passed away before him.
