Joy, grief for Peshlakai family, adopted Indian school

The Santa Fe Indian School attempted a delicate balancing act on Monday. How do you celebrate a state championship while the loss of the Peshlakai sisters is still heartbreakingly fresh?

The school, led by head girls basketball coach Cindy Roybal, did it with tact and grace.

The entire student body, grades 7-12, packed the Abeita Gymnasium bleachers for the nearly two-hour ceremony. Seated on the floor in chairs facing the stage were dignitaries, staff and the Peshlakai family.

With "Olé Olé Olé," the international soccer anthem playing, the Santa Fe Indian School Lady Braves basketball team burst through a paper banner and ran out onto the court wearing T-shirts with the pictures of the late Peshlakai sisters, Deshauna, 17, and Del Lynn, 19, printed on the front. The backs of the t-shirts read, "Athletes Against Drunk Driving."

The students cheered the team's entrance, belying the fervor that basketball has on the school, much like schools on the Navajo Reservation.

But, giddy as they were, the girls also kept their celebration in check. And after some talk about basketball, and the mayor of Santa Fe, David Coss, proclaiming the day "Lady Braves Day," Roybal reminded the audience that there are things more important than basketball.

"Less than three weeks ago we were complete strangers, and now we're family," Roybal said, addressing the Peshlakais. "Your grief became our grief. Our school became your school. Our team became your team, and our joy became your joy."

With that, Roybal presented the Peshlakai sisters' parents, David and Darlene, with two of the team's state championship medals.

The parents are still recovering from the injuries they received in the car accident and David uses a wheelchair to get around, although he did stand to say a few words after Roybal's speech.

He said how important basketball was to his daughters, adding that Deshauna especially "was one of those - how do you call it - ankle busters?" "I don't have the time to grieve or mourn because all the strength you've given me and all your love and support," David Peshlakai said, his voice breaking. "Nobody could ask for more."

Despite the solemn atmosphere, it was apparent that the mood of celebration would win. The Lady Braves players were presented their state championship medals to much cheering from the crowd.

The girls could hardly contain themselves, smiling and hugging, but always it seemed with a careful eye on the Peshlakai family so as not to do anything disrespectful.

The Braves' mascot, the Running Brave, a student with face paint and a Plains headdress, led the crowd in a rousing cheer.

After each player received her medal, she in turn gave a state champion T-shirt to a Peshlakai family member seated in the audience.

Afterward, Danell Peshlakai, third oldest of the six surviving Peshlakai siblings and older sister to Deshauna and Del Lynn, admitted it was a difficult trip for the family.

"Coming back up here brought back a lot of emotion and memories of our two sisters in Santa Fe," Danell said.

The Indian school team invited the Peshlakai family to the state championship game in the UNM Pit in Albuquerque, but it was at the same time as the funeral, said Danell.

For her part, Danell said she could understand the players happiness, adding she "almost made it (to a state championship)" when she played high school basketball.

Despite the celebratory mood in the gym after a closing prayer and a highlight video of the Lady Braves championship run, Danell Peshlakai acknowledged the loss of her sisters is still too close.

The trip home won't be the same, she added. The Peshlakai family had a tradition of eating at Panchos in Albuquerque before the long drive home. "But I don't know how it will be now that they're gone," said Danell.

As David Peshlakai said in his address to the crowd, however, the support of the Santa Fe Indian School family goes a long way.

The alleged drunk driver who plowed into their vehicle March 5 in Santa Fe, James Ruiz, 34, is in jail facing two counts of vehicular homicide. His bail is set at $2 million, cash only.

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