Funeral Service for Caroline Corrine Renville, Anpetu Numpa Win, "Two Day Woman", 94, of Sisseton, SD will be held on Thursday, September 6, 2018 at 2:00 P.M. at St. Kateri Hall, Sisseton, SD with Rev. Fr. Charles Chan, Episcopal Lay Readers, Arvol and Paula Lookinghorse officiating.  Pianist Billy Kohl.  Pallbearers will be Shilo Renville, Moses Renville, Nowell Renville Jr., Michael Renville, Felix Renville III, Eugene Garcia, Tony Sanchez, Scott Kelly, Joe Sanchez, Harvey DuMarce, Sylvan Flute, Gavin Wolfe, James Wolfe and Sylvanus Flute Jr. Honorary pallbearers will be Lorraine Rouseau, Doreatha Wilson, Celine Buckanaga, Barb Ryan, Ione Eagle, Beverly Thompson, Darlene Pipeboy, Rose Max, Kaye Bursheim, Darlene Schaunaman, Carmen Wabasha, Irene Renville, Zelma Flute, Lilli Runnels, Fern Backer, Gayle Barse, Morning Star Kitto, Gordon, JoAnn, and Jackie Bird, Browns Valley Health Care Staff, Dr. Pete Warhol, and Dr. Stanley Gallagher. Honorary  Adopted Hunka, Les Shepherd, John Shepherd, Jackie White, Darrell White, David White, Richard Bird, and the late Pete Musil.  Interment will be in the Sisseton Cemetery. There will be a wake service on Tuesday, September 4, 2018 starting at 7:00 P.M. with a Traditional wake service on Wednesday, September 5, 2018 starting at 7:00 PM both held at St. Kateri Hall in Sisseton, SD.  The Cahill Funeral Chapel of Sisseton, SD is in charge of arrangements.

Caroline Renville (Anpetu Numpa Wi) passed away on September 2, 2018, at the Browns Valley Health Care Center, surrounded by family, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She was 94 years old. Caroline celebrated her birthday on August 4, 2018. Her passing reveals a history of compassion for others, caring for her family, and always wanting the best for others, those who had less.

Caroline was born August 4, 1924, at Veblen, South Dakota, to Decorah and Emma (Light) LaBelle. Her mother originally came from Sioux Valley Canada. Caroline lost her mother at the age of 2, and was raised by a host of relatives until she reached school age. She was then sent to the Wahpeton Indian School at the age of 7 where she remained for 9 years. In the school library there hangs a group photograph of students taken in May of 1930, that show Caroline as a seven-year-old student. She remembers graduating from the school at the 9 ^th grade level.

Caroline's experience at the Wahpeton Indian School is a testament to her courage and resiliency. She never succumbed to the negativity that is sometimes associated with the Indian boarding school experience. Instead, she found ways to survive, endure, and ultimately thrive in the boarding school. While a student at Wahpeton, she wrote a research paper on the early history of the school. Her paper included footnotes and other evidence that she conducted research before writing her paper.

Just like other students at the boarding school, Caroline experienced times of loneliness but found the fortitude to transcend those times. One of her favorite teachers was Esther Horne, a long-time teacher at the school, who adopted Caroline as her teacher's pet. She often went to the home of Mrs. Horne.

Caroline lived through the Dust Bowl period of America in the 1930s. She recalls the dust storms that wreaked havoc on the land and on the lives of many people, white and Indian. She remembers the dust storms that turned day into night, and the inside of homes being covered by the relentless dust.

Just like many young Indian women of her generation, Caroline came to experience life beyond the boundaries of the reservation. At the outbreak of World War II in 1942, She and 18 Dakota women were sent by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to Hasting, Nebraska, to work in a factory, building artillery shells for the "war effort", as she called it. She remembers traveling in a bus to Hastings in a blizzard. While they were not soldiers, these Indian women helped America to win the war through their hard work. Caroline was a part of this.

Her stay in Hasting, Nebraska, was a defining experience for Caroline because it exposed her to other cultures and experiences beyond the reservation. She recounted one time when she heard a new kind of music in Hastings which she had never heard before, she said, "I think they call it the blues." Caroline was never resistant to hearing and listening to other ideas. She was a person who was engaged with the world around her.

Through all of these experiences, Caroline never lost touch with her Dakota cultural values. She clung to them with a tenacious spirit. She showed compassion for those persons who were struggling in life. Her empathy is evident in the numerous young people she and her husband, Felix Renville, Sr., took into their home when they had no place to go. But she kept her interest in broader issues too.

In 1968, Caroline worked for the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy. She believed in his message that life can be better for those people less fortunate. She became his northeast South Dakota campaign organizer, registering and hauling voters to the polls. She and her staff made countless telephone calls encouraging people to vote for his candidacy. She even set up his campaign headquarters on the main street of Sisseton. When he was assassinated in June 1968, it was a devasting time for her. She remembers standing alone in his campaign headquarters on main street and crying over his death. As testament to her work, she later received a personal thank you letter from Ethel Kennedy, Robert Kennedy's widow.

In the early 1970s, Caroline was appointed to the South Dakota Indian Commission by then Governor Richard Kneip. She had an opportunity to travel throughout the state visiting other reservations, talking with other native people on their issues whether it was health care, housing, or education. She was a firm believer in education as an empowering experience. She practiced what she preached by being an avid reader until the end of her life. Her particular favorites were mystery novels and books on American Indian people and culture.

Some of the broader issues that Caroline was involved in later in life include taking part in the Longest Walk in 1978 with her daughters, son, and grandson, Colleen, Pam, Nowell, and Shilo, being a supporter of the American Indian Movement. She carried a petition in support of Leonard Peltier. She was an active member of SWSCO, a grass roots organization that worked for elderly issues.

Later in life, Caroline served a term as an Old Agency District representative to the Tribal Council. She practiced what is called servant leadership. She put the needs of others above her own. In 1987-88, Caroline was active in helping to draft legislation that led to the creation of Tiospa Zina Tribal School. Later she worked at the school assisting teachers. Caroline also sat on the Tribal Council from 1989 to 1990.

Caroline led a full and meaningful life. She touched the lives of many people. Her home was a welcoming place for people who wanted to talk and share a cup of coffee. She kept in touch with her Episcopal faith and at the same time, she respected the traditional spiritual beliefs of the Dakota people. She maintained her role as a caregiver, caring for others with no expectations in return.

Someone once asked if she had any advice for today's generation, without hesitation, she said, "Respect your elders"; that's good advice.

Caroline is survived by her children: Darlene Faye (Renville) Sanchez (Paul), Moline, Illinois; Colleen (Renville) DuMarce (Harvey), Sisseton, SD; Felix Renville, Jr., (Denise), Agency Village, SD; Pamela Renville, Sisseton, SD; and Nowell Renville, (Crystal), New Effington, SD. She is also survived by 19 grandchildren, 48 great grandchildren, and 6 great-great grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Felix Renville, Sr., her parents, Decorah and Emma (Light) LaBelle, a sister, Florence (LaBelle) Lopez, a sister, Grace (LaBelle) Wilson, a brother, James LaBelle, a brother, Everett LaBelle.

For Caroline's obituary and on-line registry please visit www.cahillfuneralchapel.com