Salina Norma Laluk

On March 23, 2022, Salina Laluk, mother, grandmother, sister, auntie, cousin, and friend, passed away in Chandler, Arizona, surrounded by the love of her children, at the age of 68.

Salina will be lovingly remembered endlessly by her two children, Nicholas and Owen, ex-husband George, four grandchildren, four brothers, two sisters, and numerous cousins and nieces and nephews.

Salina was born in Whiteriver, Arizona, where she lived until she was 7 years old, before being one of the last White Mountain Apache tribal members to be "adopted" off the reservation, by the Lutheran Church, as part of the Indian Adoption Project that took place from 1959 to 1967, which was seen as a means to solve "the Indian problem." As a result, Salina lost her language, but was raised by a respected family in Bisbee, Arizona. There, she grew up and eventually met her ex-husband while attending Cochise Community College. From there, she shortly lived in Cleveland, Ohio before returning to Bisbee. She then moved to Tucson where she found her calling as a CNA. She loved to help the elderly or those less fortunate. She moved back and forth between Prescott, Arizona and the reservation, eventually returning to the White Mountains permanently, where she lived the rest of her life.

She loved to play tennis (she had a mean back hand), hike, socialize with her friends, and help people any way she could. She loved fresh vegetables and fruits and would never turn down a coffee.

Salina was preceded in death by both her adoptive and biological parents, one older adoptive brother, and two biological sisters(one of which she never met due to her also being adopted off the tribe).

There will be a viewing from 10:00AM to 12:00PM Friday, April 1, 2022 at Riverside Church (East Fork) in Whiteriver, AZ, with funeral services starting at 12:00 PM at the church. Burial will follow immediately at the Pinon Tree (Turkey Creek) Cemetery in East Fork.

She will live in our hearts and memories forever.