Dr. Caleb Shields
Dr. Caleb Shields, Wambdi Wahachanka, Eagle Shield, 83, died Jan. 1, 2022, in Mesa, Ariz.
He was born April 15, 1938, to Fred Shields Sr. and Frances Smith in Poplar at the old hospital building. He grew up on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and in several West Coast cities where his parents worked in the shipyards during World War II.
He attended various schools. In the early years, he went to school in Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Ore. He then attended a few years of grade school in Poplar and one year at the Old Day School in Fort Kipp. From there, he went to Pierre Indian School in South Dakota from fifth through eighth grade. He spent his first two years of high school at Flandreau Indian Vocational High School in South Dakota and finished his last two years of high school in Poplar, graduating in 1956. Right after graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and spent seven years serving our country aboard an aircraft carrier, destroyer and finally with the SeaBees, a mobile construction battalion.
After military service, he attended Western States College of Engineering in Los Angeles, Calif., majoring in electronic engineering. During this time, he met Yvonne LaRoque while she was employed at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. They married in Compton, Calif., at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church on Nov. 30, 1963.
His employment field was within Vanguard Electronics, a major aerospace firm. He advanced within the company and became their operations manager for a plant opened in Mexicali, Mexico, to manufacture and assemble electronic components for the space industry. He spent four years working at the Mexican facilities until he had the opportunity to return home to work for the Fort Peck Tribes as the director of the Fort Peck Planning District in 1974.
He entered the political arena in 1975 when he successfully ran for the tribal executive board, where he served for eight terms before his election to the chairman’s position in 1991. He served as chairman until 1997, then ran for another term on the tribal council until his retirement from politics in 1999.
While chairman, he worked on improving relations between the state and tribal governments and preserving the reservation’s natural resources, water in particular.
In 1992, with the help of tribal attorney Mary Pavel of the Sonosky & Chambers firm in Washington, D.C., an initiative was developed to set the path for the tribes’ water pipeline and water treatment center project.
The project addressed the need for quality water on the reservation and throughout northeastern Montana in response to energy development contamination of water sources, according to The History of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, a book Shields co-authored.
In September 2012, 20 years after he set in motion the process to build the pipeline project, the Fort Peck Tribes dedicated its new water treatment plant in honor of him and named it the “Wambdi Wahachanka (Eagle Shield) Water Treatment Facility, in honor of his Indian name.
He was also among several dozen Fort Peck Tribal members that were proud members of the American Indian Movement, a national activist organization which formed to address poverty, discrimination and police brutality among Native Americans.
He was also a devoted Poplar Indians fan who frequently served as announcer for the teams’ star quilt ceremonies at the district basketball tournaments as well as sitting in the stands cheering on his children and grandchildren. He enjoyed all kinds of music, including powwow and Sundance songs and classical music. He enjoyed dancing at powwows and participated in the Sundance ceremony during the summers.
In 2009, he received an honorary doctorate degree of human letters from the University of Montana.
He led a joint task force to assemble and coordinate a book, The History of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana, 1800-2000. Publishing the book was a tireless effort and a dream of his for many years.
He was also a frequent visitor to Washington, D.C., where he incessantly lobbied on behalf of the Tribes and Indian Country.
He loved his family unconditionally. He had close relationships with all of his siblings and kept in regular contact. He was proud of his children and grandchildren in all that they did including their educational and military milestones.
He is survived by his wife, Yvonne; son, Anthony Shields Sr.; daughter, Suzanne Boyd; brothers, Stoney Anketell, Chet and Chuck Eagleman; sisters, Roseann Shields, Sherry Shields and Sandy Azure; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his daughter, Antoinette Shields; brother, Fred Shields Jr.; and sisters, Joy Shields, June Stafne and Shirley Redstone.
Funeral services were held Saturday, Jan. 15, at the Poplar Cultural Center. Interment was at Poplar City Cemetery. Clayton Stevenson Memorial Chapel was entrusted with arrangements.
