Compiled and written by David R. Schleper
Patrick Leo Lléȟleȟya Máni Walks with Fire Foote III was born January 14, 1987, in St. Paul, Minnesota. His parents were Llwellyn “Louie” Foote and Georgette Garvin.
In his early years, Patrick went to the Heart of the Earth Survival School.
Heart of the Earth Survival School was established in January 1972 by members of the American Indian Movement. According to MNopedia, the school was opened “in AIM’s Minneapolis office without a penny spent, the school was austere in the extreme. Students from that first class recall a basement classroom with a single bare lightbulb, cockroaches crawling on the walls, and a toilet that wouldn’t stop flushing. There was one old blackboard, a single piece of chalk, and one pencil for the students to share. What the school lacked in resources, it made up for in vision.
“Unlike the public schools, which taught a Euro-centric perspective, Heart of the Earth’s vision included the restoration of vanishing knowledge like fishing and hunting skills, wild rice gathering, maple syrup harvesting, and Indigenous languages.”
When Patrick moved to Shakopee, he attended Shakopee Public Schools from second through tenth grade.
Patrick loved listening to all kinds of music, and he loved his Wacipi ceremonial music. He loved to cook and hang out with his nieces and nephews.
Patrick was a kind, loving person who had a heart of gold, and helped when he was asked to and would never say no, even when he wasn’t feeling good. He loved all his family members and his friends. He was funny, and always joking around, even through his illness.
Patrick Leo Lléȟleȟya Máni Walks with Fire Foote III passed on to the Spirit World on May 10, 2020, due to congestive heart failure. He was 33 years old. Patrick was survived by his mother, Georgette Garvin; stepmother, LaVita Wells; sisters, Renelle Foote, Dacia (Leon) Lussier, Daneen Foote, and Alaina Foote; his brother, Garrett Garvin, among many others.
Patrick also had Hunka mothers, Hunka brothers and Hunka sisters. The Hunka Ceremony is a ceremony when two people adopt the Hunka relationship toward each other, according to Internet Sacred Text Archive.
The Hunka relationship has existed among the Lakota and Dakota since ancient times. Once shamans assumed control, adding rites until the ceremony assumed its present form. The most common designation of the ceremony is They Waved Horsetails over Each Other. The relationship of Hunka is difficult to define for it is neither of the nature of a brotherhood, nor of kindred. The relationship of Hunkaya binds each to the Hunka by ties of fidelity stronger than friendship, brotherhood, or family.
Patrick’s Hunka mothers included Judy Exum, and Anita Campbell. Patrick’s Hunka sisters were Barrie Lawrence, LeAnn Exum, Tawney Burrows, Katie Brewer, Jenny Brewer, Lizzie Bendel, Georgianna Drapeau, Grace Goldtooth, Danelle Grey Eagle, and Sarah Iron Cloud, and Patrick’s Hunka brothers were Chaske LaBlanc, Glenford Drapeau, Dallas Goldtooth, Mike Rein, Jacob Melton, Reuben Crowfeather, Sr., Geno Barrientez, Anthony Barrientez, Matt Chuy Estrada, Phillip Steele, and Matt Pendleton.
Patrick was preceded in death by his father, Llwellyn “Louie” Foote; brothers, McConnell Allen Garvin, and McAllen Lee Hart-Garvin; grandparents, Patrick Foote, Sr., Evelyn Little Eagle-Foote, Margret Hart, Arnold Garvin, and Louise Youngbear; uncles, Geoffery Garvin, Rodger Wells, Patrick Foote, Jr., Joseph Foote, Sr., and Mark Foote; aunt, Delphine Foote.
A private traditional all-night wake was held on Tuesday, May 12, 2020, at the Tiowakan Spiritual Center, 14625 Prairie Grass Drive NW, Prior Lake. The private funeral service happened on Wednesday, May 13, with officiating by Jerry Dearly and Reuben Crowfeather, Sr.
Patrick’s interment was at the Catholic Cemetery in Shakopee.
Bibliography
Lurie, Jon. “Heart of the Earth Survival School.” MNopedia, 14 July 2020. https://www.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/group/heart-earth-survival-school.
“The Hunka Ceremony.” Internet Sacred Text Archive. https://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/pla/sdo/sdo34.htm.