| Origin of Cheryl Yellowhawk's name |
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| Nancy and Kenneth West |
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| Cheryl is from a mixed ancestry. Her father was a mix of Irish and Scots and her mother half Native American and French. Cheryl took on her Sioux name after her mother died in a terrible car accident in 1985. It was at that moment that it became imperative for her to hold onto her Native roots. Cheryl's great-great grandfather was a Peace Chief with the Sioux (Sans-Arc meaning "Without Bows"). Her great grandmother was Nancy West also known as Nancy-Who-Sees-the-Horses. She was a survivor of the Battle of Wounded Knee. Nancy is the daughter of John and Victoria Cloud who was born on July 10, 1873 at Sisseton. On February 5, 1893 Nancy married Allen West and moved on to a ranch house along the Cheyenne River about 30 miles from Eagle Butte, South Dakota. As the story goes the larger family group called the Yellowhawks were divided and those members who lived west of the river became the West's and the Yellowheads. Nancy West was awarded a Lewis and Clark peace medallion.
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