Buffalo Field Campaign To Me Today at 2:36 PM Rosalie Little Thunder September 19, 1949-August 9, 2014 The Buffalo Field Campaign family is mourning the passing of Rosalie Little Thunder, our co-founder, leader, and a strong source of inspiration to all who had the honor of knowing her. She passed away on Saturday, August 9. Since hearing the news I’ve been having a hard time finding words to express who she was, the impact she made with her life, and how much she gave for the buffalo and all beings. Seeing the Montana buffalo slaughter firsthand in 1997 inspired her to found Buffalo Nations, the organization that would become Buffalo Field Campaign. In her words: Since I witnessed the 1996-97 slaughter, I have continued to be involved in the ongoing effort to stop the slaughter. Mike Mease and I collaborated and founded Buffalo Nations, whose mission was simply to protect the Yellowstone buffalo herd. Two strategies evolved and therefore, two projects also evolved. The immediate threats to the herd, demanding immediate action, was undertaken by Buffalo Field Campaign. The second strategy was to coordinate cultural approaches and seek tribal involvement. Buffalo Nations continued to function by its Lakota name, Tatanka Oyate. In the winter of 1999 Rosalie led 40 Lakota men and women and 60 others from different tribes on a 507-mile walk from the Black Hills of South Dakota to Yellowstone’s Roosevelt Arch, at Gardiner, MT. She carried the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe Bundle of her people. The walk was, in her words, an act of spiritual activism for the buffalo. In her view, activism is an integral part of community and community is essential to survival: Remind yourself every morning, every morning, every morning: ‘I’m going to do something. I’ve made a commitment.’ Not for yourself, but beyond yourself. You belong to the collective. Don’t go wandering off or you will perish. While we knew her as a visionary activist, artist, and organizer who dedicated a great part of her life to protecting wild buffalo, Rosalie was so much more. She was a counselor, a professor, a guardian of the Lakota language and culture, and a well-respected elder who fought tirelessly for the rights of Native (and all) people. As a mother and grandmother she was devoted to her extended family and their well-being. Rosalie was a member of the Sicangu Lakota Oyate; Burnt Thigh Band, of the Little Thunder Tiospaye and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. She lived in the Black Hills Treaty Territory in Rapid City, South Dakota. Rosalie remained active in the struggle to protect the buffalo until the very end of her life. In April Rosalie and BFC habitat coordinator Darrell Geist co-wrote “The Bloody Politics of Bison Slaughter: An Open Letter to Tribal Leaders and the American People,” calling on tribes and tribal organizations to stop participating in the wild buffalo slaughter and calling attention to the corrupt bison management policies of Montana and the federal government: Traditional people must guide our tribal leadership in a manner that reflects the integrity of our historical and cultural relationship with our relative, the buffalo. Montana politics has made a mockery of a keystone species. A close friend of Rosalie’s, Jacie Estes, wrote on her blog about the belief that after you pass you meet a grandmother who asks whether you have helped the people, fed the hungry, and been kind to all. “Knowing Rosalie,” she wrote, “she has been having good conversations with her but we know her answer to all questions is yes.” A memorial fund has been set up in her honor. Please contribute if you can by sending a check to: Rosalie Little Thunder Memorial Fund PO Box 1894 Rapid City, SD 57709 or make a direct transfer to: Rosalie Little Thunder Memorial Fund / Highmark Federal Credit Union Routing #291479686 Acct # 341520020 Wakes will be held this Thursday and Friday and the burial will take place on Saturday: Thursday, 8/14, 5pm, Mother Butler Center, 220 Wright St, Rapid City, SD Friday, 8/15, 2pm, He Dog School Gymnasium, W Hwy 63, near Parmelee, SD Saturday, 8/16, 2pm, White Horse Cemetery, near Parmelee, SD In Memory of Rosalie, Daniel Brister Director Buffalo Field Campaign links: buffalofieldcampaign.org/legal/bisonlawsuit/Declaration_Rosalie_Little_Thunder.pdf buffalofieldcampaign.org/media/press1314/pressreleases1314/042914.html websleuths/forums/showthread.php?252916-Rosalie-Little-Thunder-Lakota-Activist-RIP-My-friend&p=10844889
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 19:49:03 +0000
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