II
The Early Years
Pat was born in Pocatello, Idaho on January 21, 1928. At the time of her birth, her father was a clerk for the Bureau of Indian A²airs (BIA), and her mother was a nurse for the Indian Health Service (IHS). They were stationed at Fort Hall, Idaho. Her younger sister, Frances (Milligan), was born two and a half years later on November 3, 1930. As a result of her father working for the BIA, the family moved frequently. BIA housing was usually close to the o¹ces for the convenience of the employees. The result was that the girls did not mingle much with children from the Reservations. There is no indication that Pat had any enduring friendships from her childhood days. Her children and grandchildren recall that most of her early day recollections were about her parents and her sister. Her son Kevin said she was generally known as a BIA brat, the common term for the children of government employees living on the Reservations. When Pat and her sister were too young to go to school, their working parents found a reliable and responsible person to take care of them. He was a Shoshone medicine man named Tagwits. Pat recalled an incredible story from these early years. One day their mother had prepared some soup for Tagwits and he was peacefully enjoying it when the over-tired little girls, sitting on the ·oor, started fussing. Tagwits tapped on the table and sang. As he sang a broom
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