Phillip Red Woman, a Northern Cheyenne tribal member and an Army veteran, died from COVID-19 while incarcerated
Phyll Mendacino, 65
Died Jan. 26, 2021
Two Rivers Correctional Institution
Release date: Sept. 2, 2023 (tentative parole)
Phyll Ambrose Mendacino (Phillip Red Woman) passed away Jan. 26 at Trios Health in Kennewick, Washington. He was 65.
He belonged to the Northern Cheyenne tribe and was born on June 5, 1955, to Clara Horse Roads and Eugene Red Woman in Crow Agency, Montana.
When Mendacino spent his first Christmas along the banks of the Clearwater River in a town named after ropes used by the Nez Perce to fish for steelhead, he never imagined he was stepping into the future home of his daughter and five grandchildren.
“He will be missed dearly,” wrote his daughter, Pamela Steffy, in a memorial shared with Street Roots. “He was a loving and caring man.”
Pamela, who Mendacino loved more than life itself, related her father’s story of how he came to the town of Kamiah, Idaho.
“I remember coming from Oakland, California, and I was just going to stay until the snow quit, until spring. I walked into Kamiah with a green windbreaker, an old army backpack and a black hat. I was unprepared for the winters ‘up north’ and the windbreaker was a reminder of my migrant farming jobs in nice and sunny California.”
Mendacino was a military veteran, managing to enlist in the Army when he was just 15 years old.
After asking for letters of support and falsifying his age, Mendacino was sent to Basic Training in Fort Benning, Georgia, where he also trained as a paratrooper.
He received an honorable discharge following his service in the 82nd Airborne Division.
In Kamiah, Mendacino met Muriel Slickpoo, and the two fell in love. They married on Christmas Day, 1974.
Muriel gave birth to Pamela, his only child. Mendacino and Muriel later divorced.
During the four decades that Mendacino spent in state custody, he was part of an ongoing movement to establish the right to practice Indigenous religious ceremonies and cultivate cultural programming.
“The younger people who want to learn their language, their songs, their culture, we want to give them a taste in prison,” Mendacino told Oregon Public Broadcasting when interviewed at Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla, “so that they’ll be able to go out there and hopefully follow what they learned here.”
Mendacino also hoped one day to carry the knowledge and lessons he had learned on his journey toward a life of freedom.
Fellow prisoner Earl Allen (Klamath Modoc) befriended Mendacino at Oregon State Penitentiary back in 1979.
“We played a lot of buffalo ball together,” Allen said. “Instead of basketball, we call it buffalo ball. There are no rules to the game. We might have eight people on one side and five on the other side. There was always someone who’d get a black eye or a bloody lip, but it’s just fun, right? It was never aggressive.”
Allen said Mendacino was interested in traditional medicines and paintings. “He spoke his own language, Northern Cheyenne, and he was very knowledgeable about a lot of ceremonies from his people. He was always willing to share that with us.”
Allen said the last time he saw Mendacino in person was before Mendacino was transferred to Two Rivers Correctional Institution. “He was a young man when I had last seen him, and here we are: two old guys.”
Allen remembers Mendacino’s advocacy at OSP, and said he continued that work at Two Rivers — the two saw each other again last year when Two Rivers hosted a POW WOW. “He always fought for ceremonies. And there he was, again, out there still doing the same thing. That’s just who he was,” Allen said.
Among Mendacino’s proudest accomplishments were the two bachelor’s degrees he received from the University of Great Falls, Montana: a Bachelor of Science in sociology and Bachelor of Science in human services, with a minor in psychology.
“He always encouraged me and his grandchildren to further their education,” Pamela wrote. “He had much regret for how life changes for us, and always wished we could turn back time. His love was unconditional, and he was very proud of his grandchildren.”
He is preceded in death by his parents and siblings: brothers Jerry, Larry, Perry, Clyde; and sisters Blossom and Cleo Ann. He is survived by his only daughter Pamela Steffy (David Steffy) and five grandchildren: Kaleigh, David Jr., Emali, Cesalli and Lance Steffy.
His family hopes that he may find peace, love and serenity.
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