PINE RIDGE — In January, the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation lost a community leader, a youth supporter and friend. 

On Jan. 5, 2026, Yvonne Jane “Tiny D” DeCory died after a lengthy stay in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). She was 73.

DeCory was a beacon of positivity in the Pine Ridge community, founder of the BEAR Project, a literacy and life outreach program on the Pine Ridge Reservation. She dedicated her time to helping kids facing mental health struggles, including suicidal thoughts. 

Everyone knew DeCory on the reservation, and everyone knew her. 

“She was everybody’s angel, everybody’s everything,” said Lakota Tech coach Laura Big Crow, who is DeCory’s niece. “It’s definitely been rough without her and that’s speaking from her niece. I can’t imagine what the rest of the world is doing without her out there because she played such a huge part in everybody’s lives.”

The Lakota Tech and Mahpiya Luta girls basketball teams are doing their part to honor DeCory. Multiple players on both teams are wearing warmup T-shirts at this week’s Class A state girls basketball tournament in Watertown, honoring DeCory.

On the front is a picture of DeCory and the saying “Be Good To People” on the back. Among the players wearing the T-shirts is Mahpiya Luta senior Mya Mills, DeCory’s granddaughter. 

“It’s really special to me because she was the light in all of our lives,” Mills said about wearing the shirts. “She really meant a lot to all of us and she was always happy and she always pushed us to keep going.” 

Big Crow said the T-shirts were made for DeCory’s services, and soon afterward multiple players chose to wear them as their warmups. Among the players wearing them are Big Crow’s daughters, eighth-grader Amelia Shangreaux and sophomore Isabella Shangreaux. 

“It means a lot to my daughters to get to go out on the court with her on their shirt and it means a lot for the team to be OK with honoring their grandma, too,” Big Crow said. 

What would DeCory think of Lakota Tech and Mahpiya Luta both playing in the state tournament?

“She would be so happy and proud and I know she is proud and smiling down on us,” Mills said. 

Big Crow said DeCory was always “front and center” supporting basketball teams, and she also predicted Lakota Tech would make state prior to her death. 

“She gave a lot of support to my daughters,” Big Crow said. “We’ve been doing this travel basketball thing since they were second grade and she was the first one to step up to support them, to help them get to where they needed to go and she was really excited for this season. This summer she told the girls ‘You can be there. You can be playing at the state tournament,’ and here we are.” 

When Big Crow’s father, Jamie, died, she said DeCory became the rock she needed in her life.

“She’s just so amazing,” Big Crow said. “She got me through everything. She is my dad’s baby sister and when I lost my dad she was right there to step in and fill in and do whatever she needed to do.”

Lakota Tech lost on Thursday in the opener, while Mahpiya Luta won its first-round contest. 

And Big Crow said “I just hope she’s up there and I hope she’s got the best seat in the house next to my dad and watching her granddaughters out here because they are doing something special and they’re young. So they will be doing it for a few more years.”