We're Not Going to Get Over Wounded Knee

PBS, Wounded Knee "We Shall Remain"

Lakota people have heard countless times, "It was a long time ago. Get over it."

How does one dismiss genocide? Do we accept it as a means of extermination in the name of political repression? You ask us to erase the lives of the men, women, and children slaughtered at Wounded Knee? No. We won’t. We won't dismiss, accept, or erase. We won't get over it. Just as we wouldn't expect families traumatized by genocide in Africa, Armenia, Bosnia, Cambodia, China, Germany, Iraq, North Korea, Romania, Syria, and Vietnam, to get over it. We must remember it because history repeats itself. Dictators rise, colonialism flourishes, imperialism triumphs, genocide continues.

The 500-year genocide of Native Americans is the most overlooked and understated in world history. Ward Churchill, a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado, believes the reduction of the North American Indian population went from an estimated 12 million in 1500 to barely 237,000 in 1900, and represents a "vast genocide . . . the most sustained on record." And yet, a multitude of people refuse to acknowledge it today.

Genocide of indigenous people began with the arrival of Columbus, and while tactics may have changed, they have never ceased. Europeans arrived on a continent flush with wildlife, saturated with crisp clear running waters, grounded with fertile unblemished land, and they wanted it.

"Columbus and his successors were not coming to an empty wilderness, but into a world which, in some places, was as densely populated as Europe, and where the culture was complex, where human relations were more egalitarian than in Europe, and where the relations between men, women, children and nature were more beautifully worked out than perhaps in any other places in the world.” Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States.

In 1784, a British man traveling in the newborn United States recorded, “White Americans have the most rancorous antipathy to the whole race of Indians; and nothing is more common than to hear them talk of extirpating them totally from the face of the earth, men, women, and children.” In 1867, General William Tecumseh Sherman (ironically named after the great Shawnee Chief Tecumseh) said, "We must act with vindictive earnestness against the Sioux [Lakotas] even to their extermination: men, women and children." The US Cavalry carried through with the threat.

Wounded Knee is looked upon as the brutal end of the free-roaming Lakota. Red Cloud brought in his Bad Face band of thousands to Fort Laramie in the spring of 1869, uttering the simple words, “We want to eat.” Crazy Horse surrendered in May 1877 for the same reason; to halt the inevitable starvation of his loyal band. Sitting Bull, murdered in Standing Rock Reservation on December 15, 1890. Big Foot, executed two weeks later at Wounded Knee while the white flag of surrender blew in the winter wind in front of his tipi. Leaders gone, people traumatized, the struggle to find a new way of life began.



Lakota Medicine Man


On December 29, 1890, four Hotchkiss guns ripped apart tipis at the encampment of Big Foot. Fleeing Lakota were mowed down by rifle fire; the Cavalry pursuing the terrified men, women, and children for two miles until all were eliminated. Mothers and babies were killed with one shot; a bullet penetrated the back of the mother, going through her body to enter the child she carried in her arms.



The Bloody Aftermath

Stained with blood, limbs missing, frozen stiff, their mangled bodies were thrown into a mass grave.



Black Elk was 27 years old. He recounted the terror of this day in Black Elk Speaks. “We heard that Big Foot was coming down from the Badlands with nearly four hundred people. Some of these from Sitting Bull’s band. There were about a hundred warriors and the rest women and children and old men. They were all starving and freezing, and Big Foot was so sick they had to bring him along in a pony drag. They had all run away to hide in the Badlands, and they were coming in now because they were starving and freezing. They crossed Smoky Earth River, they followed up Medicine Root Creek to its head. Soldiers were over there looking for them. The soldiers had everything and were not freezing and starving. Near Porcupine Butte the soldiers came up to the Big Foots, and they surrendered and went along with the soldiers to Wounded Knee Creek where the Brenan store is now. It was the next morning, December 29, 1890, that something terrible happened.

In the morning, I went after my horses and I heard shooting off toward the east, and I knew from the sound it must be wagon guns (cannon) going off. The sounds went right through my body, and I felt something terrible would happen…I painted my face red, and in my hair I put one eagle feather for the One Above. It did not take me long to get ready, for I could still hear shooting over there…We stopped on the ridge…There was much shooting down yonder, and there were many cries, and we could see cavalrymen riding along the gulch and shooting into it, where the women and children were huddled under a clay bank…

By now many other Lakota, who had heard the shooting, were coming up from Pine Ridge…We followed down along the dry gulch, and what we saw was terrible. Dead and wounded women and children and babies were scattered all along there where they had been trying to run away. Sometimes they were in heaps because they had huddled together…Bunches of them had been killed and torn to pieces where the wagon guns hit them…When I saw this I wished that I had died too.”

No. We will not get over it.

Prayers to the people of Aleppo. You are in my heart.

What Planet Do You Live On?

U2: iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Live in Paris (currently on HBO) is two and a half hours long. I have watched it twice, and loved every second of it. I first discovered U2 after the release of "Under a Blood Red Sky" which was recorded at Red Rocks. In thirty-two years, my love for the band and their music has not wavered. They have always stood in the forefront promoting peace and unity. Bono is a voice for anyone who believes that with humanitarian effort we can make a better world.  

I can't believe the news today
Oh, I can't close my eyes
And make it go away
How long...
How long must we sing this song
How long, how long...
'cause tonight...we can be as one
Tonight...

And it's true we are immune
When fact is fiction and TV reality
And today the millions cry
We eat and drink while tomorrow they die

(Excerpted lyrics from “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” written in 1983 by The Edge and honed by Bono.) 

 

 Video https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK34htyQpSSuCNX9zlAEagQ

This was U2's message thirty-five years ago and it is still as relevant today. Many thought these lyrics were about the killings in Northern Ireland, but they were written to depict world violence as it existed in the 1980s. The Paris concert, performed after the November 2015 terrorist attack, was so beautiful, powerful, and loving, and moved me to tears more than once. U2 has always affected me that way. In the second hour of the performance, a voice resonated throughout the arena with a message for global unity - "When we see Earth from Space, We see ourselves as a whole."

This observation may seem simplistic, but there is no denying the reality of it, and on the other hand, the denial by some people of this reality. We inhabit one planet, and we all belong to the species Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Our creator blessed us with physical differences: skin tone, hair color, body type, eye shape and color; traits that enabled human beings to survive and thrive in their land of origin correlating with latitude and sunlight. Improved methods of transportation gave us the ability to travel great distances across oceans and around the world, eventually resulting in the merger of cultures and ethnic groups. Strong genetic attributes began to diminish as cultures blended. This integration has continued for generations and we are becoming a whole. The more whole we become, the harder political and religious factions seek to segregate the people and destroy unity. When I look at a person, I look beyond their genetic make-up and religious beliefs. I look into their heart. The heart has nothing to do with ethnicity or religion. The goodness of a person has nothing to do with ethnicity or religion. You can be an evil person if you are Christian, Muslim, or Jewish. Evil is not dependent upon your faith, the part of the world you inhabit, or the style of clothing you wear.

Religion has been used to divide and conquer since its inception. During the Age of Discovery, the Catholic Churches of Spain, Portugal, and France sent missionaries to the New World(s) with the sole purpose of converting the indigenous people to Christianity. This Spiritual Conquest of North and South America continued for the next four centuries, resulting in the genocide of millions of Indigenous people. Christians worldwide, including those in America, are guilty of genocide and the subsequent displacement of the survivors.

My point is, to instill fear in Americans while proclaiming that America and Christians are an elite civilized society that must be protected from the rest of the world is a foolish deception. When I see the divisive tactics being used and the shameful propagation of xenophobia in the U.S., I sometimes feel like an alien who comprehends the concept of Earth as one small planet in a vast universe. A planet that should not be carved up and destroyed by religious fanatics or power hungry elitists. A planet that needs love. A planet that needs saving. I do not understand why so many cannot see the big picture. We humans have much to learn.

How long must we sing this song?

Open Letter to Lakota Warriors

Chief Oliver Red Cloud

One hundred and thirty-nine years ago today, warriors from the Great Sioux Nation, led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, defeated the 7th Cavalry in the Battle of Greasy Grass. The gathering of the Oceti Sakowin stretched for miles, tipi poles high in the air as far as the eye could see. The battle was fought after years of broken promises from the white man, and their steady encroachment upon Lakota land proved that the treaties were not written to be honored, but were offered only as appeasement.

There is unrest right now in the Hills area, and the conflict surrounds an unlikely enemy - the Rainbow Family. I always support my Lakota people and rally behind them, but this display of hatred is unacceptable. While I may not agree with certain viewpoints, I understand that everyone has a right to their opinion – unless they are maliciously defaming others. Because I have stated that the Rainbow Family should be an ally and not an enemy, I have been accused of being a Rainbow.

I am Tracy Hauff from the Oceti Sakowin of Oglala and Sans Arc Lakota. I am Sixth Generation of Chief Crow Feather of the Sans Arc (brother to Walks As She Thinks - the mother of Chief Red Cloud.) My relations populate the Cheyenne River, Rosebud, and Pine Ridge reservations.


The founder of the United Urban Warrior Society (U.U.W.S.), James Magaska Swan, sent me this message on Facebook after I called him a bully because of his treatment of the Rainbows. And with this message, he proved that he is indeed a bully. In response, I say, “James, I have no desire to speak with you. I have listened to you shout threats and obscenities at others who disagree with you, and only a fool would volunteer to be on the receiving end of your irrational vulgarity.” You claim to stand with the Lakota traditionalists, but a Lakota warrior would not speak to an elder woman this way.

I could dismiss his intimidation, but in collaboration with the Lakota Strong Heart Warrior Society, he is now attacking my good friend Alex White Plume, a life-long advocate for the protection and preservation of Treaty Rights. Alex has more warrior spirit in his little finger than Swan has in his entire body. Alex has been fighting for the traditional Lakota his entire adult life. He was very close to Chief Oliver Red Cloud, the last recognized chief of the Sioux Nation and former Chairman of the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council. In 2012, Alex represented Chief Red Cloud in Geneva, Switzerland at the United Nations Third Seminar on Treaties. In 2013, Alex sat with Chief Red Cloud as the leader’s life slowly waned, and he received a special gift from Red Cloud - the chief told Alex the story of his life. Red Cloud also told Alex that there should be no more Lakota chiefs after he left this world, that the Lakota needed to strengthen their tiyospaye and each family should have a Nancha (interpreter) for his tiyospaye. Do you think Chief Red Cloud would have selected Alex for this great honor if he doubted Alex’s integrity or purpose for the Lakota people?

Video Courtesy of Kent Lebsock

The Lakota Strong Heart Warrior Society posted an article on their website on June 22, 2015 - Standing Together with the Lakota Against the Rainbow Gathering in the Black Hills. “We are asking for the public to call Floyd Looks for Buffalo Hand at 605------- and give him support and encouragement in sanctioning the following individuals who have sold out their people. These people are encouraging division and the disrespect of traditional protocols that protect a nation. Their unwise and unhealthy actions cannot continue to go on without comment.” There are thirteen tribal members on this black list, and Alex White Plume is one of them. When I read this, I was at first stunned, then angry, then sad. What has happened to these young men that they would dishonor an elder who has fought long and hard for treaty rights? Who is guiding them and filling their ears with lies?

They claim that Alex is promoting the sale of drugs on the reservation. This is malicious slander. It is no secret that Alex is an advocate of hemp farming, and he is the only farmer to openly plant, cultivate, and produce cannabis-related crops within the borders of the United States since they were prohibited in 1968. He also owns the only hemp seed that is acclimated in America. He pursues the dream of becoming a legal hemp farmer in the hope of generating income for his tiyospaye and a viable industry for tribal members. He is currently involved in an on-going battle with the Federal Government to lift a restraining order banning him from planting hemp. Alex has told me for years that he is only interested in producing hemp and does not want to get involved in the marijuana business, and I know this to be true because he asked me to help him write a business plan and it was for hemp production NOT marijuana.

I spoke with Alex last night, and he told me that earlier in the day he had a phone conversation with Floyd Looks for Buffalo Hand. Floyd is recovering from a recent heart attack and doesn’t understand why he has been receiving so many phone calls; he is confused by this. To attach an elders name to your cause without his permission is disgraceful. The Lakota Strong Heart Warrior Society also wrote that Looks for Buffalo Hand is the elected leader of the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council. This is not true. He is one of three delegates, and one man alone cannot make a decision on whether or not the Rainbow Family can enter the Black Hills. The truth is that the Treaty Council has NOT made a decision on this and Swan and others are fabricating stories to suit their own agenda.

Do the Natives who support the U.U.W.S. petition – “Rainbow Warriors Stay away from The Black Hills of South Dakota” – really believe that the Rainbow Family members are the only people who are violating the 1868 Treaty? Where is your outcry when ALL the other groups invade the Black Hills every summer? And this is a long list beginning with millions of tourists, to the hundreds of thousands of bikers at the Sturgis Rally, to the thousands of Corvette enthusiasts, etc. All journey to the Black Hills to vacation, camp, party, drink and possibly do drugs. Explain to me the difference between the Rainbows and the Tourists and the Bikers - in terms of treaty violation. Why should one group be allowed and another denied? What about the 250,000 inhabitants of Rapid City, Spearfish, Sturgis, Belle Fourche, Deadwood, Lead, Keystone, Custer, Hot Springs, Hill City and Newcastle and the many gatherings that these cities host?

The Rainbow Family has been around since 1972. I had my first encounter with them in Boulder, Colorado in 1971. At age 17, I hitchhiked from Rapid City to Boulder specifically to satisfy my curiosity about the hippies. I saw hundreds and hundreds of hippies. I watched men play Frisbee, strum guitars, sing, and blow on their harmonicas. Small audiences crowded around long-winded poets who were waxing philosophically about peace and love. Women wore halter-tops and ankle-length skirts, swaying to the music, many with a baby propped upon their hip. Older children twirled in dizzying circles, their peals of laughter filled the air and were infectious to everyone near them. Toddlers meandered about wearing nothing but diapers on their bottoms and wildflowers braided in their thin sprouts of hair.

I was fascinated with these strangers and their laid-back energy. Many were having serious discussions about the Vietnam War, but most were jovial, living for the moment. I never asked, but I must have had a hungry look in my eye because I was offered food and drink, which I gladly accepted. There was no animosity from anyone and no drunkenness.

That was my first, and only, encounter with "real" hippies that have now become the Rainbow Family. The hippie subculture came into being because young people were protesting the federal government, the Vietnam War, and the practice of brutal military policing tactics at demonstrations. They held the first organized Earth Day. These are just a few of the similarities I see between the Rainbow Family and the Lakota. I often call myself an "old hippy" because I strive for love and peace, not because I have ever lived the lifestyle.

Rainbow Family members are being accused of panhandling. I have seen many Natives panhandle in Rapid City. It is an unfortunate way to have to get money, but it is not a crime, and it is not exclusive to the Rainbow Family.

Swan called these people the very same names that Natives have been called by ignorant racists - “dirty,” “filthy,” "druggies," “bums.”

“I will say this!” he (Swan) continued. “I have met a bunch of you and do find some of you to be legit. As far as the rest of you … you can burn in hell for all I care! I can handle it and encourage it! Bring whatever you think you got!” Unnecessary inflammatory bullying.

The Rainbow Family does clean up after themselves, they have a system in place, but no one wants to talk about anything positive regarding them. Below is an excerpt from a Utah television station following the 2014 Rainbow Gathering in Utah.

“After the 8,000 people at the Rainbow Family Gathering packed out of the Uinta National Forest, the group left behind a cleanup crew. Thousands of pounds of garbage, trampled trails and plants, temporary kitchens, fire pits and slit trenches were all taken care of. The Forest Service says the Rainbow Family left the 1,300 acres of land they were camping on in great condition. And because of their thorough cleanup, in addition to a lot of rain in the past month, vegetation is growing back better than expected. Officials with the Forest Service said there is no additional cleanup necessary on the land.”

I would love to see a gathering of the Oceti Sakowin at Pe'Sla in the Black Hills. The sight of hundreds of tipis, children playing, dogs cavorting, and Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota men and women coming together would lift all of our spirits. Why do we want to disgrace another group of people who do this?

Certain members of the U.U.W.S. and Lakota Strong Heart Warrior Society are creating division. They are inciting hatred and promoting cultural prejudice. They do not represent me. I am not sure who they work for.

Fire and Brimstone

It may seem a tad early to begin political reporting on the 2016 Presidential election, but the list of candidates is steadily increasing, and I, like Hunter S. Thompson, cannot silence my fear and loathing of some politicians embarking upon the campaign trail. This day, I am targeting Ted Cruz – the first person to announce his Republican candidacy.

He looks like a BMW car salesman with a perpetual condescending stare, delivers fire and brimstone speeches patterned after Evangelical ministers and geared toward Christian conservatives and angry Tea Partiers, and he is backed by the Koch Brothers. His political views are borderline fanatical, saturated with Christian supremacy and privilege. He is emerging as an unofficial leader of the religious right with strong ties to the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). In 2007, during a ceremony in Texas, NAR leaders destroyed Native American artifacts in an act of spiritual warfare they say was intended to promote “reconciliation” between estranged groups of people.  

In Indian Country we cherish our resources. Indian activists are in the front lines all across the nation fighting for clean water, fresh air, and treaty rights to hunt, fish, and gather. In the beginning, before colonialism fractured the Lakota way of life, the creator, in his infinite wisdom, took care of all survival needs and today we must protect all he has bestowed upon us. I was raised in the Episcopal faith as many on the reservation are, but the more I witness the destruction of Unci Maka, the more I appreciate Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit. 

We should understand well that all things are the works of the Great Spirit. We should know that. He is within all things: the trees, the grasses, the rivers, the mountains, and all the four-legged animals, and the winged peoples; and even more important we should understand that he is also above all these things and peoples. When we do understand this all deeply within our hearts, then we will fear, and love, and know the Great Spirit, and then we will be and act and live as he intends. ~ Black Elk

Senator Cruz’s father, Rafael Cruz, is a pastor who declared that his son has been “anointed by God” to bring righteousness to the presidency of the United States of America. Thanks to his father’s tutelage of “Mother Earth Worship” (the elder Cruz’s term for environmentalism); Senator Cruz is a strong supporter of the Keystone XL Pipeline and a naysayer of climate change. In 2013, he co-sponsored the Federal Land Freedom Act which would “authorize a state to establish a program covering the leasing and permitting processes, regulatory requirements, and any other provisions by which the state would exercise its rights to develop all forms of energy resources on available federal land in the state.” This would allow states to lease energy rights on federal lands. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) determined “The use of trust lands is governed by the tribes, subject to certain federal restrictions, and the land is usually not subject to state laws.” Incorporating the word “usually” opens the door for debate on Sovereign Immunity and encroachment by the states of trust lands. Since 2009, oil production on state and private lands has increased 61 percent while production on federal lands has fallen 9 percent. The Federal Land Freedom Act proponents cite this statistic with enthusiasm. They do not want to see any potential oil field or mineral bed go untapped.

On Welfare Reform, Cruz is quoted, “Government is not the answer. You are not doing anyone a favor by creating dependency, destroying individual responsibility. 55 years ago, when my dad was a penniless teenage immigrant, thank God some well-meaning bureaucrat didn't put his arm around him and say let me take care of you. Let me give you a government check and make you dependent on government. And by the way, don't bother learning English. That would have been the most destructive thing anyone could have done. Instead, my parents worked together to start a small business, to provide for their family and to chart their own future. That's the American dream.” This nice story about his family’s struggle is based on a Republican principle that everyone living in the United States who is “capable” of working and chooses not to, does so because they would rather live off government hand-outs. This flawed simplification of poverty does not consider the genocidal strategy and oppression that Indians have dealt with for hundreds of years.

The Senate convened for its first calendar session on March 26, 2015. Proposed amendments covered social issues of health, education, and welfare that would benefit the low-income population - natives on and off the reservation. The outcome of the voting reflects the power the Republican majority currently has. Below are just a few Democrat sponsored amendments rejected by the Republican Senate.

Amendment No. 432, rejected: To provide additional resources to create the opportunity for more Americans to obtain a higher education and advanced job skills by supporting two free years of community college paid for by raising revenue through requiring millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share. 55 votes against - 54 Republican, 1 Democrat - Manchin WV

Amendment No. 601, rejected: To create a point of order against legislation that would privatize Medicare, cut guaranteed benefits, increase out-of-pocket spending, or turn Medicare into a premium support plan. 53 votes against – 52 Republican, 1 Democrat - Warner VA

Amendment No. 828, rejected: To provide additional resources to save student financial aid and keep college affordable for more than 8,000,000 low-middle income students by restoring the $89,000,000,000 in cuts to Federal Pell Grants in the Republican budget. 54 votes against, all Republican.

Amendment No. 951, rejected: To establish and fund a new Federal-State partnership to expand access to high-quality preschool programs for children from low- moderate income families, offset with revenue from closing loopholes. 54 votes against, all Republican.

Amendment No. 1072, rejected: To provide additional resources to reject the Senate Republicans' proposed $435 billion in cuts to Medicare. 54 votes against, all Republican.

It is important to note that The Keystone XL Pipeline Act is far from dead. The Senate has resumed consideration of this bill and it was the subject of lengthy discussion on the Senate floor on March 26, introduced by Senator Murkowski, Alaska (R): “Mr. President, we are back to continue debate and voting on amendments to this bipartisan Keystone XL bill.” With over 100 amendments currently proposed on the Act, President Obama’s veto is only one small step in stopping it. The Republicans are still determined to see it pass.

I’m not worried that Indian Country will vote for Senator Cruz in the unlikely event he should win the Republican nomination, but I am concerned about voter apathy. Like it or not, politics play a critical role in the coming times. The decisions that politicians make affect your future and the future of your takoja. Whether it is Ted Cruz or Rand Paul or Marco Rubio, Republicans do not represent Indian Country and they are now in the majority. We must not let the 2016 Presidential election become a repeat of the 2014 Midterm Elections when the Republicans swept the House, Senate, and gubernatorial races. This sweep gave the Republicans 54% of the voting share in the Senate and 56.6% in the House. Votes cast in Indian Country are extremely important; our voice is critical and it is not too early to get involved. Apathy has never furthered any cause or won a battle.