William “Sonny Bill” Whitehead was born to Willliam Whitehead and Eunice Blacktail on June 10, 1939 in Fort Totten, ND.
He had 3 siblings, Iris, Lyle and Rusty. He was blessed with 3 children, Keila, Kenny and Barb.
When he was 17 years old, he had sneakily tried to enlist in the US Army. Upon returning at age 18 he was then stationed in France and Honorably discharged in 1959. Thereafter he received his Bachelor of Arts at the University of N.E. Illinois.
Throughout his teens and early 20’s he trained and broke horses and became really good at it. He played, coached and organized Native basketball games and tournaments and once played opening game for the Chicago Bulls.
He had been a civil rights organizer and a progressive activist in Indian affairs his whole adult life which was his passion. He was a co-founder of the Little Bighorn High School as well as NAES college. He was a former Montana state legislator and served on the Fort Peck Tribal Council for 2 terms. He was Chairman of WPCO, Native American Development Corp., and ASRWSS, Vice chair of FPCC and on the board of Looking Eagle Manufacturing as well as countless other organizations. He also helped create and worked at American Indian Centers all over the country. He was a plaintiff for the Northern Coast Rivers Alliance in a suit against the U.S. State Department to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline.
William is survived by his 3 children, Keila, Kenny and Barb; his brothers Lyle and Rusty; numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
He is preceded in death by his parents, William and Eunice; and his sister, Iris.
William passed away on July 24, 2023 in Wolf Point. We lost a library of knowledge for the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.