Maria White Butterfly, a seven-year-old member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, died last week after succumbing to the hantavirus.

Louise White Butterfly told the Associated Press that her granddaughter was an energetic young girl. It's not clear how Maria contracted the disease, which is spread through rodents -- typically, deer mice in South Dakota.

A second person on the Pine Ridge Reservation has been hospitalized with the disease. The tribe is distributing kits of cleaning supplies and is providing information to educate its members about the virus.

"Until it hit us ... it was something we couldn't even imagine," spokesperson Donna Salomon told the AP.

Get the Story:
2nd case of rodent disease reported at South Dakota reservation (AP 6/5)
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