Copyright © 1999 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

PIERRE, SD - I have risen high and fallen hard a few too many times today. At the Seven Council Fires Spiritual Camp as a Christian Peacemaker Teams observer, I heard this morning that a complete rejection of the "Mitigation Act" has been submitted; more than any of us had dared to hope for. The "Mitigation Act" would transfer 200,000 acres of land from the Federal Government to the State, and this non-violent society (Oyate), against the transfer, was born March 22, 1999.

          In 1868, the Great Sioux Nation and the United States of America agreed that land including those 200,000 acres belonged to the "Sioux" (Lakota, Dakota, Nakota), and a treaty was drawn.

          I sit with a wise young man and a gentle warrior who have been praying, singing, sweating, and working daily at the Camp; knowing that prevention of the "Act" is one step toward honoring that treaty.

          A repeal is good news, but each new phone call adds confusion: Is it truly a repeal, or just a reintroduction of the Act under a new name?

          Restlessly, I sit with the two men, wondering about their thoughts. In answer to my question, I hear their words.

          "Things are better up there, aren't they?" the warrior asks the other; a young man of the Cree Nation from Alberta. They are discussing the differences between Canada's and the United States' treatment of Native Peoples. "They pay money for some of the land they took, don't they?"

          "Well," replies the young man, "That's what some say, but a lot of people don't realized that money isn't everything. Sometimes it does no good at all."

          "But," presses the warrior, "They give your land back once in a while, too. Wasn't there a place near your home where that happened?"

          The wise young man speaks sadly. "Yes. The government took it, ruined it and then gave it back."

          There is a long pause.

          "That may be true," responds the gentle warrior finally, "but that land will heal if it's left alone. Maybe not in your life-time, but think of your unborn. That's what I think of here at camp. Our grandfathers thought of us before we were born, struggling to protect the land, and we do the same."

          My mind wanders to the stories of this warrior's ancestors: In 1890, three hundred unarmed Lakota men, women and children were massacred at Wounded Knee as they prayed and danced for a return of the land to which they belonged. Members of the U.S. Calvary received medals for their efforts. Repeatedly since then, land promised to the Nation has been taken. Between 1973 and '76, thirty Native Americans were murdered on Pine Ridge Reserve, their deaths never investigated. Pine Ridge is this warriors home

          His talk about the unborn could be from one of the "politically correct" movies portraying quaint, "olden times Indians" as protagonists. But there is nothing quaint about his life:

He's got grandchildren about whom he quietly boasts.

He's worked on his home reserve with people addicted to alcohol.

He's seen violence on many levels.

There's a bullet permanently lodged in his face.

Today he's watching the violence of a government trying to take his people's land again, knowing that even a true repeal of the Mitigation Act and its passing the Senate will only be a preliminary step in the struggle.

Its 105' F.

The flies are biting.

And this gentle warrior takes a moment to add his voice to the chorus of his ancestors.

Information provided by: Kathy Kern, Rochester, NY of CPTnet
Kathy.Kern.guest.48855@MennoLink.org

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative among Mennonite and Church of the Brethren congregations and Friends Meetings that supports violence reduction efforts around the world.
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