Say a prayer for White Fish Jrs.

[saskman_99]

just a story about my friend

It was and still is all very surreal when i think that my friend is no longer here with us. The lives of so many were touched by g-john and his music. The life of my friend was so well lived and he is loved by so many that it is hard to say good bye. To think that i will never again be able to tease him about his weight or sit nex to him at a round dance and talk about who's cheatin who and whose songs sound like someone else's. This young man was a great singer but he was so much more. He was a scholar and was always trying to better educate himself. He was an athlete who as a young boy loved to play soccer and he was an excellent horsemen. He was a good kaiser player and you couldn't drag him away from a pool table. He was also very honest and he loved to smile. He loved his wife and his children, I remember teasing him about getting a big belly after he first lived in ministikwan and he just rubbed his belly and smiled saying that his woman loved him enough to cook for him. I send my deepest condolences to the rest of the boys and to his father. I wish that i could have been there to comfort your family g-john but i know that where you are now is a much better place and you will watch over all those that you love. I pray that the sisters will be strong, my prayers are with you all. I know that it is hard to believe that everything will be ok but the creator does not take without giving so please have faith that he will heal all those that mourn the loss of this man. I've known this family for a long time and i owe them alot , there were alot of times when we all jumped in their dads bus to go round dance somewhere. There were also a lot of times when i would go sleep at pa-pas place after we would come home from the powwow trail. When i think that my friend is gone i remember that he is still here through his family. He is in Micheal's smile, jerry's sense of humour, Harvey's integrity, Brian's strength, Archie's stubborness, moise's wit, gordon's eyes, and lennys innocence. He is mostly living in the love that his sisters have for each and everyone of their brothers.
I remember when we sang together in tulalip washington and we entered the hand drum contest and competed and beat harvey,gordon and archie. I will always remember how proud you were of bob,yourself and me that we beat your older brothers. Your competitive spirit and the creators love for you made you the song maker that you were and your music and your accomplishments will never be forgotten. I love you bro and will miss you,but i will see you again,

orville morin

[NATIVE_DIVA]

THANKS........

Thank you MichMich for what you had posted I know there were minor thangs that were not mentioned, but was not exactly sure of it so with what correct info I knew for sure I had I posted. THank you for the clarity in your posting.;) ;)

My family are there in Saskatoon , and as for myself I am still hear at home waiting to hear any new updates on any info. that I can provide to all of you. I was not able to attend the funeral with the rest of the family unfortunatly, but the way that I remember Percy is probably the best way I would like to remember him, always being silly and happy, but I do wish I was there to show my own personal feelings and memories of him with the rest of the family.
And unfortunatly the distance kind of kept that from happening, but thru all the postings I know I was not the only one. I know that some of you wish that you could shared your feelings as well, with them. It is with great apprecitaion that we have Powwows.com as a form of communication for all us Native people to express our feelings good or bad. I only posted what I felt everyone out there would have been curious to know to break any crazy rumors that may have surfaced. Especially with it being a well-known group that there were alot of people that may have known them or know of them that cared for them(Whitefish Jrs. / Dreaver Family ). I have been in situations before where I had been good friends with some one on the trail and was not able to constantly stay in touch, and the next thang I knew months down the line I heard they passed away. THat is the most hardest thang. Even if it were any other well known drum group or even a dancer it is good to be informed by a reliable source to follow up on the family and even if you do not know them you can pray for them and share your words of wisdom like most of you all had. On that note I hope I am not boring any of you but that was just my thoughts of my postings.
Thanks, ND:) :)

[NDNQt]

Saskman - That was an awesome tribute!!! You should be proud to have had such a great friend and to have been such a great friend to him! Just because Percy is gone your friendship is not over - his family is still here to continue it. You need to be there for his children to keep his memory strong for them. I know that because my brother has to do that for his best friends kids. His best friend passed away in 2000 and he has to do the same for those boys. So please ALWAYS be there for those children. They will need you for the rest of their lives. Not just now, but 2 months from now, 6 months and so forth. Take from a daughter who has recently lost their father!

[itokasniye]

My sincerest condolences go out to WF jrs and their family. I will be thinking of you guys for a loooong time. Words cannot express the way I have been feeling since last week.

I was at Schemitzun last year and was standing by the host drums pretty much all weekend. WF Jrs were sounding strong. I never heard a drum that good before. They definitely made my heart beat louder, even brought a tear to my eye.

NDN guy posted a pic of WF Jrs in the handdrum contest, can anyone tell me which one Percy is? Im building a website for my drum and want to include a memorial page for Lew Foote(Rock Creek) and Percy.

Again, all my best to the Dreavers and their families.

From Mike and the Bum Knees singers in NJ.

[gasco49]

As the singers of NDN Ave/Crickethill, we would like to express our deepest sympathy for the Dreaver Family and Whitefish Jrs. as a group.

The loss of a loved one, as we all know, is hard to deal with. We would just like to let the family know that they are in our prayers, and that we hope for a full recovery for those who have already been released from the hospital, and for Jerry and Serina who, last time we heard, were still in the hospital.

**On a personal note to Native Diva, or anyone else who might know anything about it. Please let me know as soon as a bank account is set up for the family. Harvey and Marie's extended family here in Michigan are wanting to know where to send donations to help the family.

[Smokin' Ace]

I dedicated last night's Native Voices to Percy Dreaver. I asked the listening audience to pray and continue to pray for his family. In honor of him, my playlist consisted of music from Battle River, Tha Boyz, Mandaree, High Noon, Black Lodge, Tha Tribe, Black Eagle, Red Elk, Little Otter and of course, Whitefish Jrs. There is no doubt in my mind that WFJ has been a great influence on most drums across Native America.

It was just one thing that I could do. My family and drum continue to keep you in our prayers.

Again, thanks to the many people who continue to keep us all updated.

[prairie_storm2000]

We are all Family

Today I cried after talking to a dear friend and rehearsing the whole scene, of the nite we heard over in Onion Lake rounddance about the accident, then making phone calls to see how the family was, who were involved in the accident. Hearing the rumors that Percy left us, then calling and hearing he was still with us, brought hope to me. I prayed and phoned friends from the north, friends from the south,east and west for prayers. Then getting the call that early morning that he was really gone. Going to the wake and then to the funeral. I saw how warm the family were. Though they were greiving they bought rooms for the ones who came from far. Thank You. Thank You. You are such kind people and generous.

I learnt from this that we are all one big family. In the pow wow we become one family and though I did not personally know Percy, his journey to the spirit world has affected me more than I can express. I shook his hand, I said hi to him, called him my favorite singer, a lot of small talk. Brian, Twins( J+W), Randy, Marc talked of him. The funny things he would say, and I'd laugh.
We Are One Big family in the rounddance circiut. To laugh, to visit, to sing, to dance, to love, to live, to share, to listen. We all matter to each other. I put his memorial card away, because I like many of others that i talk to have him fresh in mind, the night of Kehewin rounddance when Percy was singing. I think about his four small children and his wife Serena. I think of Jerry, and the rest of his brothers and sisters, and I pray for them all.
Then I thought of my mom, who passed away also in June of 2001, and smile knowing that Percy is now with his mom. Wow.
He is with his mom now. That is what gives me peace.
Knowing oh my god, Wow Percy is with his mom, The Love Of His Life. RIP young man. Sing hard for us all here. Thank You
Delia

:Angel2 :Angel2 :o :o

[oOoSouthernStyozoOo]

Hearing of all this makes me so sad. I have heard of WF Jrs. I never heard them before though. I live in AZ, and just hearing of all this really makes me sad. No matter if you know each other or not. We are all apart of the same circuit, and it hurts each and everyone of us. I have always heard that WF jrs can jam, and wished I could go and see them sing, just hearing that one of the members is longer with us is so............:(

R.I.P Percy and God Bless all of the family member, you will all be in my prayers!

[NATIVE_DIVA]

INFORMATION ON DONATIONS

I had spoke to some of family there in Saskatoon and they had some information on where to send any donations to the Dreaver family, especially Percy's little family. Percy has 3 boys and one little girl : Logan,Brayden,Keshana, and Everson. Unfortunatly they are all suffereing the hardest of all times financially, mentally,
and physically. Thankfully Sirena's health is slowly improving, but unfortunatly Jerry is painfully suffering the most, he is still undergoing surgery on his legs. For all of them this is a time of mourning and they all are trying there best to get thru.

I was told to post on here that if any of you are interested to send any donations to them (The Dreaver's) please send them to:
SWEET GRASS RECORDS
P.O.BOX 23022
SASKATOON, SASK.
S7J-5H3
PHONE : 306-343-7053
IN CARE OF THE DREAVER FAMILY

At this time this is where the family had asked of anyone to send there donations. If there will be any changes it will be posted.
thank you all for your help!!

[Kiwehnzii]

Thanks Deev

I know is hard for the family to get through these trying times. Most've us have had similar situations at one time or another and welcome the opportunity to help out.

[Smokin' Ace]

Thanks Native Diva for this info! I will pass it on.

[MichMich]

Just in from Saskatoon

I would just like to put in a good word for the sisters and aunties of the Dreaver men who were involved in the accident. Cecelia, Almah, Bev and Priscilla have all been very supportive of their brothers. Jerry recently underwent a surgery, at which time the sisters and Jerry's aunties have never left Jerry's bed for more than a few minutes. Judy (Jerry's wife) has also been very supportive during Jerry's hospital stay, as a double duty she also has her young son to care for.