Suddenly the world, especially Oklahoma, seems a lonelier place today with the shocking news that our sister, dear friend and mentor Janice Stevens of the Sac and Fox Nation and Stroud, Oklahoma has been taken from us, along with her aunts Mary Clark of Shawnee and Juanita Goodreau of Stroud, in a head-on collision with a drunk driver, this March 4, 2003.

Jan was a daughter to Marvin Stevens; mother to sons Sam and Allen; grandmother to Harrison and Santana; sister to Marvin, Jr., David, Mark, Matthew, Anita and Lisa; auntie, niece, friend and mentor to many. She follows to the spirit world her mother, June Grass Stevens, other relatives, friends and her husband, Ray Spang, an environmental activist who fought against pollution by the mining industry on the Northern Cheyenne reservation.

Jan was the director of the environmental department for the Sac and Fox Nation, a council member for the Indigenous Environmental Network, board member for Honor The Earth, founding member of the Oklahoma Region IEN and served on several other grassroots and tribal environmental committees and organizations.

Jan possessed seemingly endless knowledge of tribal environmental policy and history. A skillful strategist and organizer who brought clarity and purpose to all who worked with her, she also was a traditional Sac and Fox woman for whom family, community and friends were most important. She was always busy doing for others.

Jan loved gadgets and was very methodical and process-oriented, paying great attention to detail in all matters. She always had an interesting story to tell about her life's adventures or her family. There are no words for the ways in which she will be missed.

A traditional feast will begin at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 6, followed by traditional Sac and Fox services at the Sac and Fox community building near Stroud, Oklahoma. Burial will be at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 7 at the Sac and Fox cemetery.

JK Dowell
POB 762
Park Hill, OK 74427
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Live in Peace with ALL of humanity and in kinship with Creation.

(Davenport-AP) -- Three people were killed in a head-on crash in Lincoln County overnight.  The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says Janice Stevens of Davenport, Juanita Goodreau of Stroud and Mary Clark of Shawnee died in the crash on State Highway 66 about 10 last night. Troopers say the three were in a car that was hit head-on by a pickup truck that was left of the center line.  Two people in the truck are hospitalized with injuries.

The funeral will be at 9 am on Friday, March 7, 2003 at the Sac and Fox Community Building, five miles south of Stroud.

Melinda Hoskin, Sac and Fox Environmental Department, 918-968-2583

Family members and Friends of Jan Stevens,

     We are grieved and at a loss at the news of the death of our sister, friend and associate, Jan Stevens. We are also saddened to hear of the death of her two aunts who were in the vehicle with her. Many of us personally know how it is to lose a loved one, but to lose three family members at one time is very tragic. On behalf of the Indigenous Environmental Network, the Indigenous Mining Campaign Project and Honor the Earth, we extend our hand in support and offer the strength in our hearts to all family and friends of Jan. She will always be remembered as a very loving, caring, and dedicated person towards striving to protect our Mother Earth in order to have a safe and healthy environment for her family, her Tribal Nation and the world. As the director of her tribal environmental department, she extended her expertise to others as a representative of the Oklahoma Regional Indigenous Environmental Network and as a board member of the Honor the Earth. She will be missed, but the legacy of her good work will stay with us all, forever.

Tom Goldtooth
Director, Indigenous Environmental Network
Board member, Honor the Earth

Esteemed Friends and Associates,

     The IITC Board and staff wishes to express our profound shock and sadness at the news of the sudden passing last night of Jan Stevens and two of her aunts. Jan was a shining example of a strong, loving and dedicated Indian woman. She always knew how to express the most difficult issues with grace and thoughtfulness, and her smile radiated the true warmth of her soul and spirit. She was an alternate on the IITC Board of Directors for Jackie Warledo, representing Oklahoma Region IEN. We will miss her, and we share our sincere condolences with her family, friends, community and Nation.

Andrea Carmen
Executive Director, International Indian Treaty Council
456 N. Alaska St., Palmer, AK 99645
tel. (907) 745-4482, fax (907) 745-4484