EXCLUSIVE. Sandy White Hawk (Sicangu Lakota – Rosebud Sioux) is an award-winning, longtime advocate for Native American children and the elder-in-residence at the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS), where she previously served as president of its board.
Recently, White Hawk faced her own personal battle with a health issue that landed her in the intensive care unit at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Hospital. While there, she was treated by Alex Pretti, a VA ICU nurse whose death last Saturday at the hands of U.S. Border Patrol officers sparked national outrage and widespread protest.
Through our extensive coverage of Indian boarding schools, our Native News Online staff, including me, have interacted with Sandy numerous times. I interviewed her for tomorrow’s Native Bidaské. The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Native News Online: I understand you were just released from the VA hospital in Minneapolis on Monday. While there, you were a patient of Alex Pretti, who was tragically killed last Saturday. Tell us about your interactions with him while he was your attending nurse.
Sandy White Hawk: I want to say, first and foremost, that the ICU team that works there—the nurses—are remarkable. Alex was assigned to me. The thing that struck me about him was that he was one of those individuals who would just go above and beyond, making sure you’re comfortable and making suggestions about things that would help.
He was always, always smiling, and he made it seem like when I needed something—and it felt like I needed a lot—I was okay asking. I said I think I became high-maintenance, and I remember him laughing about that. He said, “You’re not high maintenance, you just need help right now.”
He was always encouraging and nurturing and liked to visit. He wanted to hear about my service, and we ended up talking about my time in the Oneida Nation Color Guard. I got to tell some awesome stories from that experience, and I could tell he was genuinely interested. He even said, “I really like listening to the old guys talk about their experience.”
He was someone who really put his patients at ease. His genuine interest in your service, your life, and who you are all contributes to healing, because you can relax and feel safe. That’s what I experienced with him. He was always smiling. No matter what was going on, he had a smile on his face.
Native News Online: In a Facebook post, you wrote that he truly “understood you.” What did you mean by that?
Sandy White Hawk: I felt like he understood the vulnerability someone feels when they’re that sick and have to depend on others for help.
No one likes to be vulnerable. He had a way of conveying that it didn’t matter that you had just turned your light on 20 minutes ago. He understood that hesitancy. It’s hard to put into words, but he always knew how to put you at ease.
I didn’t have to explain my background or why it’s hard for me to ask for help. That, in itself, was healing. That’s the energy he carried every time we interacted.
Native News Online: If there was one word you could use to describe Alex Pretti, what would it be?
Sandy White Hawk: Nurturing. Very nurturing.
Native News Online: How did you find out that he was killed by Border Patrol officers?
Sandy White Hawk: I didn’t know at first because I wasn’t watching much TV. I was on Facebook, but not really paying attention. Then I got a text from a friend who asked, “Sandy, would you happen to know this nurse from your time at the VA?” She wasn’t even thinking about the ICU—I think she thought maybe I knew him from before.
I said, “Geez, he looks like this Alex,” and told her I’d try to confirm it. Then I started thinking, Could it be Alex? It was unbelievable.
So I asked one of the nurses. I said, “Was the man who was shot Alex Pretti?” She said yes.
He had just taken care of me a week before—just a week before. The nurses who knew him and had worked with him were devastated. Everyone was shocked and could barely talk without tears coming to their eyes. I just couldn’t believe it. I kept saying, “Really? What?”
When I finally saw the video and what happened, I thought, Yep, that’s who he was. He was nurturing and took care of people. Of course he would have tried to help the woman who was pushed down. Of course he would have put himself in between to protect her. That’s who he was—a protector.
It was so hard to accept that it was him, of all people—not that anyone deserves that. But this man, this nurse, was nurturing and extremely knowledgeable. He was always expanding his knowledge. I think he was involved in medical research.
We didn’t have words. We were all in tears when we found out. And the way they tried to villainize him made it even harder, because it was the complete opposite of who he really was—who we knew and experienced.
Native News Online: As we bring this interview to a close, what is your last word?
Sandy White Hawk: I really appreciate you inviting us to speak so we can share what we know. People get so much misinformation.
In our white community, people often feel pretty safe because they haven’t experienced the same onslaught that we have. But now they saw Renee, and they saw Alex, and they’re realizing, “Hey, this really can happen to anyone.” It wakes that spirit up in them.
That spirit was always there, but they didn’t have the opportunity to see it—to recognize that it was there in them—that they are community.
The full conversation will be shown on Native Bidaské.
Streaming on our Facebook, YouTube, and nativenewsonline.net.
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