Vincent Brewer Sr., 1922-2015. Photo from Facebook
A note from the LCT editor’s desk
By Brandon Ecoffey Vincent Brewer Sr. was a man who accomplished so much in his life. As a young man he served valiantly in the U.S. Navy, he played for a St. Francis team that managed to pull out a victory over the Harlem Globe Trotters, and he would go on to be a longtime Chief Judge for the Oglala Sioux Tribe. He was a family man and a tough as rawhide cowboy. For me he was a grandfather and the only person I could run to when my childhood perception interpreted my father’s directives as bullying. He would set my dad straight every time I told him. My Grandpa had my back. This past week my grandpa Vincent made his journey to the other side after living 93 years on this earth. Born in 1922 he saw so much change throughout his life everything from the implementation of the reservation system, world wars the civil rights movement, and all the others things an individual experiences on this earth. As the saying goes “he lived a full life.” Prior to leaving however he showed me so many things about living and dying. In life he showed me how to halter break a horse, run from angry geese when they had eggs near, and all those little lessons that a young cowboy must know. Although I retired my boots and spurs long ago the memories of being with my father and grandpa are as clear today as ever. One of my favorite stories that my Grandpa Vincent told me was how he turned down an offer from the NBA’s Lakers because it “was just too much traveling” for him. As a young person I could not understand why someone would turn down that sort of an opportunity but he did and I know he had no regrets about doing so. Instead of playing ball under the bright lights my Grandpa Vincent chose to take a road that led him to a life filled with love, family, and peace. Although my early childhood memories are filled with memories of watching him and my father stacking square bails in front of the old “Herd Camp” just outside Pine Ridge while I rode the family Shetland pony named Rosebud, I never fully grasped how beautifully my grandfather lived his life until his last days. At some point in our life we will all recognize that our time in human form is dwindling and the epiphany that forces us to encounter our own morality will happen whether we like it or not. When my time comes I hope that I can look back on my life and be content with leaving this world as it is – just like Grandpa Vincent did. Just before going in to a major surgery two weeks ago I sat with him and asked if he was nervous about what could happen and he told me a couple of things that I will carry with me the rest of my life. He said, “I am not scared. I pray to the blessed mother everyday and I know she is here with me. I miss my mom and if it is time to go, I get to see her.” He would then go on to tell us that if he made it through the surgery he would “watch the big guy from Little Wound play in the state tournament.” It was funny at the time but I had a sense that the decision to stay here or go on to the other side wasn’t in God’s hands but in his. One could look at his words as bravado but they were absent of ego and drenched in a selfless love for family and a rock hard faith in the creator that allowed for him to look at his life as something he had completed. There were no loose ends, no unfinished business, nothing needing his immediate attention except for his family that was there at his side. It was at this moment that I realized just how great of a man he was and I wanted to be like him. So much of my own life I have spent chasing money, jobs, accolades, and all those silly things that we as humans value in this world but in the end it was love that was there with him and he was happy. Surrounded by three generations of family my Grandpa Vincent left this world for the next in peace. When it is my time to go I hope to be able to look in to the eyes of my family with that same sense of serenity and the understanding that I completed what the creator sent me here to do. Just like my Grandpa Vincent did. Brandon Ecoffey is the editor of Lakota Country Times and an award winning journalist who was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Find the award-winning Lakota Country Times on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter.
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