Today I am thankful for the opportunity to be tribal again. In 1882, the U.S. Federal Government began to work towards banning American Indian Religious Rights, which impacted our ceremonies. At that time, U.S. Interior Secretary Henry M. Teller, ordered an end to all heathenish dances and ceremonies on reservations due to their great hindrance to civilization. This was further supported in the year to follow by Hiram Price, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, his 1883 report stated: ...there is no good reason why an Indian should be permitted to indulge in practices which are alike repugnant to common decency and morality; and the preservation of good order on the reservations demands that some active measures should be taken to discourage and, if possible, put a stop to the demoralizing influence of heathenish rites. These attempts to suppress the traditions of our Ancestors eventually led to many murders of innocent American Indian people, who just wanted to live by the instructions the Creator gave them. The door to the memory of the old way of prayer and life was in the process of being shut on the people and the generations to come. On Feb 27th, 1973 a group of American Indians occupied a church and decided they would make their last stand for the rights of Indian people and the traditions, in Wounded Knee South Dakota, the massacre and burial site of innocent murdered Mnicoujou Lakota. Tired of the abuse and dehumanization of Traditional People, the American Indian Movement stood up, enough was enough. People from many different tribes made their way to Wounded Knee to join in the fight for the sake of their traditions also. The bottom line is that they threw themselves in that door way, to prevent it from being closed forever. I think about that time every day of my life. What courage it had to take for them to stand there, knowing that they were facing a giant and what love they had for our Ancestral ways and all of us. I remember watching a video that was taken on the inside of the church. Ate Chief Leonard Crow Dog was loading the Canupa, when he was done, he stood up and said in the morning I am going to stand out there and pray, you can join me if you want. On August 11th, 1978, President Carter signed into law the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. It gave us the right to believe, to express, and to practice our traditional ways. This is to be achieved by establishing a comprehensive and consistent Federal policy directed toward protecting and preserving the Indian religious practices in this country. Today I want to say Wopila Tanka to the American Indian Movement that began in the days of Crazy Horse and carried on by Ate Chief Leonard Crow Dog, and all the relatives who were there at Wounded Knee in 1973 and I honor those who didnt make it home and who are no longer with us physically but remain in spirit, such as Leksi Russell Means, Leksi Carter Camp and many more, I also think of those who are still incarcerated from that time and all the families of these brave relatives. I get to pray in the traditional ways of our people today. If it wasnt for your courage, that door would have been closed on the memory of who we are created to be. I am far from perfect and I have done many foolish things in my past, but I have learned from them and if it wasnt for the traditional way of life, I wouldnt know what LOVE is. I can promise that I will keep heading in the direction of being tribal again. Thank you for the opportunity you have given us all.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 19:14:50 +0000