Barbara Birdsbill

Barbara Jane Swift Eagle Birdsbill, “Wawokiya winyan” Helps Others Woman, 86, of Wolf Point died Dec. 3, 2023, in Browning.

She was born Jan. 18, 1937, in Poplar to Daniel Swift Eagle and Lucy Bow. She was raised in Hogan Yutapi community, Fort Kipp, raised by her grandmother Agnes, great-grandmother See’s End of Horn, Sterling and Mamie Red Eagle, who also raised her brothers William and Alfred.

She was an enrolled member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes and a member of the Church of Latter-day Saints in Wolf Point.

In 1953, she met Verdell Birdsbill. They married in Wolf Point and had three children: Carmen Dale, Colleen Ann and Charlene Kay.

She worked various jobs. She was a waitress at the Triangle Café, Huskies Diner, Jessi Supperclub, Fort Peck Tribal gun factory, Bureau of Youth Services, Fort Peck Tribal commodity office and she also served five terms on Fort Peck Tribal Council from 1993-2003. She retired in 2003.

She was a fluent speaker of her Sioux language and also a founder of the Silver Wolf Casino, along with Earlena