February 13, 1976 – March 6, 2025
Naomi N. Kasto passed away Thursday, March 6, 2025 at Monument Health in Rapid City surrounded by loved ones.
Funeral services were held on Monday, March 17, 2025, at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Eagle Butte. Burial followed in Green Grass Cemetery at Green Grass.
Naomi was born on February 13, 1976 to Marilyn Grace (Hawk Eagle) Kasto and Abraham Kasto. She was raised in a family that instilled strength, love, and connection to their Lakota heritage. Her Lakota name is Waho’siyapi Wo’was’ake Winyan, meaning Power of the Messenger Woman.
Growing up, Naomi was full of life and energy. As a teenager, she was an avid basketball player.
Naomi earned her GED in her early twenties and received an associate degree in Small Business Management from United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, ND. She continued her education at University of North Dakota hoping to receive a bachelor’s degree but had to withdraw to return home and help her father who suffered from a stroke.
In her early thirties, Naomi was diagnosed with Lupus, a chronic illness that caused her many ups and downs. Despite the pain and the many challenges the disease brought, she faced each day with strength, determination, and perseverance.
She began reconnecting with her Native spirituality, and in time, she became a sundancer at the International Sundance in Green Grass, where she completed her four-year commitment to the sacred ceremony.
In her forties, Naomi made the decision to move home to Eagle Butte to be closer to her family. She worked for many years at the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program. She started the Toys for Tots program.
In the last year of her life, Naomi faced the loss of her mother, Marilyn Grace Kasto. She found solace by attending cultural nights, where she learned how to sew and passed on the traditions her mother had instilled in her and her siblings.
Naomi is survived by her children, Kallison (Wambli Wacinhin) Kasto and baby son Liam Kasto; niece Aspyn Kasto and nephew Camden Dauphinais; father Abraham Kasto; siblings Dulcie Keith, Winona Kasto, Moria Kasto and Seanacy Kasto; grandmother Margie (Bluecoat) Clown; aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, extended family and one great-grandson, Delmar Scott West.
She was preceded in death by her mother Marilyn Grace (Hawk Eagle) Kasto; maternal grandmothers Elinor Rose (Blue Coat) Bad Hand, Cora Mae Marshall, Alberta Hawk Eagle, Carol Ann Thompson, Ruby Red Dog; maternal grandfathers Benjamin Hawk Eagle, Joe Blue Coat, Robert Archie Blue Coat, and Jerry Blue Coat; aunts Doris Hawk Eagle, Frances Hawk Eagle, Mandi Sands, and Harriett Blue Coat; uncles Donovan, Frank, Darrell, Allen, and Benjamin Jr. Hawk Eagle, Phillip Blue Coat, and Ira Blue Coat.
Luce Funeral Home of Gettysburg was in charge of arrangements.