ANADARKO — It’s cultural tradition in some Native American communities for families to honor those who pass away for the ensuing four years, typically by celebrating them in an avenue of life they were passionate about.
On June 15 two years ago, Oral Roberts basketball player Ashley Beatty, 20, was found dead in her dorm room of an apparent suicide.
In her memory earlier this month, on June 14, Ashley’s older sister, Lakota Beatty, hosted the Ashley Beatty Girls’ Basketball Tribute Camp for the second straight year. Put on by the Beatty family and instructed by the Oral Roberts women’s basketball team, the free Division I camp in their hometown of Anadarko for all girls entering fifth through 12th grade saw more than 150 basketball players show up, commemorating Ashley’s life by playing the sport she loved.
“My sister loved working with little kids and training them so we decided to do a free kids camp,” Oral Roberts basketball star Lakota Beatty said. “I hate the anniversary and it’s hard, but it’s great seeing people from all over Oklahoma come to the camp, and I know she’d be proud of it and so happy.”
For Lakota, having her Oral Roberts teammates and coach Misti Cussen there for camp instruction and support meant everything as the Golden Eagles continue to cope with the tragedy.
“It’s been amazing, but it’s been hard for the girls too because they lost a teammate and in the manner of how we lost her. It’s hard for our whole program,” Beatty said. “It says a lot just to have them come work the camp and how positive and inspiring they are.”
“Any time you have a staff like ORU’s, each has their own specialty so every kid took something from this camp that made them a better player. That’s huge,” echoed Anadarko coach Jeff Zinn, who made three title game appearances and won a state championship in 2012 coaching the Beatty sisters. “Ashley loved kids. Even the fundamental camps we had here, she was everybody’s favorite. So it’s important for kids to come to a camp like this. They remember Ashley, and I hope this camp continues as years go by.”
Hosting a free basketball camp was also important to Beatty, considering how expensive Division I camps can be and how she wants to see other young girls have the same opportunities that she and Ashley did when falling in love with basketball.
“I was fortunate enough that my parents had the means to send me to all kinds of camps, but I know some people don’t have that financial opportunity, so the camp was free,” Beatty said. “And it’s cool to see the young girls interact with Division I athletes and coaches, especially the Native American kids in the community.”
The Beattys, of Dakota Sioux, Gros-Ventre and Caddo Nation of Oklahoma heritage, are thankful for basketball now more than ever as the sport has provided structure, particularly for Lakota.
“Basketball kept me living in a way,” Beatty said. “This is a hard process and probably the hardest thing our family will ever have to endure, but basketball has been so good to us. It’s good to still be around the game because it brought our family so much joy and opportunities we wouldn’t have gotten without basketball.
“We’ve reached a lot of people just with basketball. It’s given me a huge platform and I’m so thankful for that.”
A vibrant spirit serving everyone
In three of the four Gospels, there is a distinct scripture passage that Lakota Beatty holds dear.
“Jesus didn’t come to be served, but to serve,” explained Lakota, referring to Bible verses in Matthew, Mark and John. “Ashley exemplified that in every single aspect — just the way she served others.”
One way Ashley did that was by making others feel involved.
“Ashely could make anyone feel special. It was her laugh and her smile and how she treated people,” said Lakota, who admitted she’s more of an introvert while Ashley was ‘the life of the party’ who was outgoing and an extrovert. “She’s so loving and makes everyone feel like they’re seen and known.
“She helped me with my faith in so many ways and still does even now that she’s gone.”
To put into perspective, the Beatty sisters had just gotten brand new, $200 basketball shoes as teenagers. Ashley and Lakota — a self-proclaimed sneakerhead — had worn the new pair of sneakers once before they were stolen out of the locker room.
After playing back security footage, it was discovered that two younger boys were the culprits. When the shoes were returned to their coach and put back in their locker a couple of days later, Lakota was still enraged and wanted to confront the kids.
Ashley didn’t say a word to her older sister but gave her shoes back to the kids.
“Sissy, they never get new shoes,” Lakota recalls Ashley telling her after finding out. “We get new shoes every two months.”
Ashley told the kids, “All you have to do is ask.”
“She was just so kind,” Lakota said. “As soon as Ashley did that, it opened my eyes and changed my view towards everything — forever.”
Lakota then gave her shoes to the kids, too.
“She was 14 years old at the time and what do we know at 14?” asked Lakota. “Let alone now?”
On road games at ORU, several fans from the Native American community would come watch the Beattys.
Lakota was sulking following a triple overtime loss to Kansas a couple of years ago when a bunch of little “starstruck” girls who had made posters came to watch the sisters.
Ashley grabbed her by the shirt and said, “C’mon, people are here to see us.”
“Ashley was still mad about the game, but she went out there with a smile on her face,” Lakota said. “It’s bigger than basketball. And she helped me see that.”
After the game, Ashley saw a lady who was crying and asked her, “Can we pray for you?” The sisters then prayed for her.
“Ashley would serve anyone,” Lakota said. “It was never about her. Ashley just wanted to make everybody else feel loved.”
‘Sissy, we did it!’
In elementary, the sisters, separated by 17 months and two grades, played on the same little league team with their mom, Michelle, as their coach.
Ashley was a fourth grader and Lakota was a sixth grader when they played in a tournament where if your team made it to the championship game, you got to play at the Warrior Fieldhouse.
In the semifinals, Ashley and Lakota were playing a stacked team that had won the tournament two years running.
Down by two late in the fourth quarter, Ashley stole the ball and converted an and-1 to give their team the lead before the sisters went on to win the championship.
They remember talking to their mother after. “We’re gonna win a state championship together.”
In 2012, the sisters did just that.
While Fort Gibson received runner-up medals during the trophy presentation, Ashley turned to Lakota and said, “Sissy, we did it!”
“We won a lot of games,” said Lakota, who is one of 49 players in Oklahoma high school girls basketball history in the 5-on-5 era to become a 2,000-point career scorer. “And we won a lot of game at the collegiate level, beating good teams we had no business even playing with.”
When Zinn first arrived in Anadarko, he had a sit-down with the core six players and told them he was defensive minded.
“Would you rather have Lakota score 30 and we may win?” Beatty recalls Zinn asking the girls. “Or you guys score 10 or 12 points apiece, we play defense and shut teams down?”
Lakota recalls the Warriors not even touching the ball in some of their preseason practices, instead focusing on defense.
This past season at Oral Roberts, coach Cussen turned to Lakota — who started all 31 games as a redshirt senior while averaging 15.1 points per game on 44 percent shooting (43 from 3-point range) along with 5.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game — and asked her about high school and Anadarko’s defensive rotations. By midseason, the Golden Eagles had adopted several of the Warriors’ defensive principles.
“Coach Zinn brought it day one and we wouldn’t have won without it,” Beatty said. “We were always good offensively, but to win a state championship you need to shut teams down. That’s how we won — all credit to coach Zinn.”
And so the legend of ‘Darko’s stifling defense was born.
Seven years later, the Anadarko girls won another state championship, courtesy of 15 steals and 34 forced turnovers turned into 27 points in a 54-49 win over Muldrow that capped a 21-game winning streak.
“So amazing. I remember a lot of those girls coming to the gym when they were little and now they’re grown,” Beatty said. “Coach Zinn is my favorite coach of all time. I’m so happy for him.”
The ‘Darko defense lives on, as do the Warrior legends, who will likely have their No. 23 retired.
“We’re gonna do some things in the gym,” Zinn said. “In Lakota’s honor and Ashley’s memory.”
Raising mental health awareness
According to a CDC study a few years ago, Native Americans have the highest suicide rates of any racial or ethnic group in the United States. Among young adults, ages 18 to 24, their rates are higher than the general population.
Living without her sister has been hard on Lakota Beatty most days. Initially, her parents had to force her to go to therapy.
But it opened a door for her career path.
Now Beatty plans on going to grad school in August as she is switching her focus to professional counseling with the plans of getting her doctorate degree and becoming a licensed therapist to start pouring back into the Native American community, focusing on trauma.
“It’s not a secret,” Beatty said. “Native Americans have the highest suicide rate, alcoholism rate and drug abuse rate. It’s just so prevalent in the Native American community. That’s an area that needs to improve. Someone has to do something about it so I’m going to focus on that for my career and the rest of my life.”
Therapy has done wonders for Lakota’s mental health in the wake of losing her sister.
“I have been lacking in the passion and the joy area for the past two years so this is really God opening up the door and watching out for me,” Beatty said. “I’m going to integrate therapy and counseling sessions into a tribal setting and try to get grants and make efforts to implement mental health courses for young kids.
“Everyone needs to be mentally healthy. If you’re not mentally healthy, it affects everything.”
Those who knew Ashley deeply remember the vibrant spirit that could light up a room.
“Ashley is one of those kids who would be sitting on my desk after practice and even after she graduated talking about 25 different subjects. In five minutes, you might not say one word,” Zinn said. “That’s what I miss the most about her — that personality.
“You couldn’t be in a bad mood around Ashley. Ashley in true form was really funny. Lakota was so mature. They were such a great duo because of that.”
As Lakota carries Ashley’s memory with her, she hopes to make this world a safer place for her people.
“We’re still suffering from the repercussions of 200 years ago and trying to adjust. Although Native Americans suffer from suicide and alcoholism, I’ve seen a turnaround with the focus of mental health and getting healthy. I think we are just a resilient group of people as a whole.
“We’re still here. I think there’s a lot of work to be done but I think we’re making good strides.”