Risingsun, Ted (1927-1995)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1995 Apr 13 p. 6

Longtime Native American Church Leader Dies at 68

Busby, Mont. (GCMC) — Longtime church leader Ted Risingsun, 68, died April 5.

He was an active member of the Mennonite Indian Leaders Council, or MILC, a part of the Commission on Home Ministries (GC), and was a former MILC staff person for Montana. He was also a tribal council member.

The funeral service was held at White River Cheyenne Mennonite Church.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1995 Apr 27 p. 1

Native Leader Loved God, Cheyenne Ways By Malcolm Wenger

BUSBY, Mont. — One night as Ted Risingsun was driving his pickup with his 12-year-old grandson, the boy asked, “Grandfather, did you ever kill a man?”

Risingsun hesitated. Yes," he finally replied, "and not only one. But I don't want you to kill people.”

“Don't worry about me, grandfather,” was the reply.

Risingsun had not ceased to be a warrior, but he had chosen to follow a different Leader and use different weapons.

“We were in the [U.S.] Army together, but now we are in God’s army," said Joe Walks Along, pastor of Lame Deer Mennonite Church.

Risingsun, a leader among Native American Mennonites, died April 5. He was 68.

At his funeral at White River Cheyenne Mennonite Church, a military honor guard of Cheyenne veterans stood at attention on the hillside splashed with melting snow as the casket was carried from the church.

They were acknowledging Risingsun's service in the Army at the end of World War II and in the Korean War — in spite of his later efforts to steer youth away from the military.

Risingsun chided Mennonite missionaries for not speaking out more clearly on the biblical teachings of peace and loving one's enemies. He participated in Northern District Conference (GC) “boot camps" designed to offer young men options other than violence in serving their country.

He told them that when he was in foxholes in Korea he knew that his mother was praying for his safety and credited those prayers for his survival. Then he realized some of the enemy soldiers he was trying to kill also had mothers and fathers praying for their safety.

He realized he had been brainwashed to think of the enemy as animals. He also remembered the peace teaching he received at Bethel Academy in North Newton, Kan., and Freeman (S.D.) Academy.

During those dark days in Korea, Risingsun turned to alcohol to push back memories of the horrible things a soldier must do and experience. But in return for temporary forgetfulness, alcohol took a grip on him, leaving scars not only on his life but on the lives of those dear to him. The times of victory seemed always to be swallowed up by failure.

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Native Leader Brought His Faith and Culture Together

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                 Risingsun was a military veteran who became a
                 peacemaker. He battled alcoholism, helped preserve 
                 Cheyenne culture and promoted the spread of the 
                 gospel among Native Americans.

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Years of ups and downs ended in a black despair that brought back memories of an attempt at suicide in Korea and the temptation to try it again. Recovering from a hangover, he cried out to God, “You’ve got to help me. I just can’t do it myself.”

He credits the power of Jesus Christ with loosening the grip of alcohol when he was helpless to achieve lasting sobriety.

Risingsun left his mark on many projects and people. He was a staff person for the Northern Cheyenne Mennonite Churches and a member of the Mennonite Indian Leaders Council (GC).

“We are assured that Ted's faith, values, wisdom and stories will live on and will continue to guide his people and be an inspiration to many," said Walter Franz of Native Ministries in Winnipeg in a letter read at the funeral.

Risingsun encouraged the Christians on the Northern Cheyenne reservation to respect each other and work together. There is now increasing cooperation between Catholics, Mennonites, Pentecostals, Baptists and Lutherans.

Reconciliation was important to him. He even found it possible to say a good word for Christopher Columbus because his coming, with all its pain and hurt, opened the way for Native Americans to hear the Good News of Christ.

Linguist Danny Alford, who worked under Risingsun to develop a bilingual education program for Cheyenne schools, wrote: "Through Ted I learned how Christianity and Cheyenneness, which might be seen as opposites by some, can coexist. . . without denial of either."

Risingsun’s vision formed the Cheyenne Christian Education Project, which has produced portions of Scripture in what one might call “Today’s Cheyenne Version," using contemporary Cheyenne phrases.

Risingsun and T.R. Hughes, a Lutheran businessman from Seward, Neb., whom Risingsun adopted as a brother, helped the Cheyenne bring buffalo back to the reservation. Hughes gave animals from his own herd, and he and Risingsun worked hard on the tribal buffalo committee to make the herd viable.

"I can still see the glow on the face of an old Cheyenne brother as he said, 'Buffalo calves are again being born on Cheyenne land,’ ” Hughes said.

Risingsun knew that to heal the losses his people had experienced, one step was to take more control of what was happening to their children. He worked hard to bring a school — started in 1904 by the Bureau of Indian affairs to "civilize" Cheyenne children — under Cheyenne control. The success in doing this caught the attention of other tribes.

Risingsun is survived by his wife, Imogene, of Busby; two daughters, Myra Jackson of Bartlesville, Okla., and Ruth Phillips of Hebron, Md.; three stepchildren, Corlett Teeth, Earlene Clown and Julia Blackwolf, all of Busby; two sisters, Louise Fisher of Busby and Maretha Charette of Lame Deer; and 10 grandchildren.

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The Mennonite obituary: 1995 Apr 25 p. 18

Birth date: 1927

text of obituary:

Ted Risingsun, 68, Busby, Mont., died April 5. Risingsun had been an active member of the Mennonite Indian Leaders Council. He served as MILC staffer for Montana and was a Northern Cheyenne tribal council member. The funeral service was held at White River Cheyenne Mennonite Church in Busby.