Ariyah was a ball of light, every room she walked into lit up. She was a nurse. She cared for everything from bugs to buildings. She had kind eyes and a kind soul but was fierce and would tell me that she would fight dragons for her brothers when she was little.

Family was important to Ariyah, her brothers, baby sister, niece Audreya, cousins, Aunties, Uncles, animals, especially horses, lacrosse, skateboarding, being outside in the country, representing Lakota people. Franks Red Hot, she put it on everything. She wanted to make people happy.

Ariyah was skateboarding without a helmet and was in an accident that would have left her in a body that was not her own. We talked openly in our family about our bodies and our choices, so even at 13 she had voiced what she would want to do. She was the most amazing person.