Dr. A. Chuck Ross will present his lecture titled “American Indian Star Connections” Feb. 29 at 6:30 p.m. at Black Hills State University Rapid City, 4300 Cheyenne Blvd.
Ehana-mani shares American Indian Star Knowledge
By Ernestine Chasing Hawk
Native Sun News Editor
www.nsweekly.com RAPID CITY –– Ehana-mani’s knowledge of the origin of man transcends the listener to the outer edges of the Universe into the Pleiades Star systems. Dr. A. Chuck Ross aka Ehana-mani (Walks among) will share his lecture series on American Indian Star Connections Feb. 29 at 6:30 p.m. at Black Hills State University Rapid City, 4300 Cheyenne Blvd. The writings of Dr. Ross (Mdewakantonwan) began to evolve during a time referred to as the renaissance of the Dakota/Lakota language, culture and spirituality. Raised a Christian, Ross went through his own cultural renaissance. His quest to reconnect with his indigenous roots was prompted in an unlikely arena, in Mainz-Gosenheim, Germany. Like many of his contemporaries who were raised to embrace Western culture, Ross began a journey that would bring him full circle, to become a historian, philosopher and professor of Indian Studies. That journey would also lead him to embrace the traditions, culture and spirituality of his ancestors, the Mdewakantonwan Oyate. Ross was raised on three different Indian reservations in South Dakota; Flandreau, Rosebud and Pine Ridge. His early education began at a Bureau of Indian Affairs school in Pine Ridge and later he attended Bishop Hare Boarding School for Boys on the Rosebud Reservation. After graduating from Todd County High School on Rosebud he joined the U.S. Army and served in the 505th Paratrooper Brigade of the 82nd Airborne and was stationed in Germany. It was the result of being stationed in Germany that Ehana-mani began his own extensive research into the history and culture of his people. “I became aware of the German clubs that studied American Indians. One day I met a member from one of these clubs and he knew more about the Dakota/Lakota history than I did!” Ross wrote in chapter one of his first book, “Mitakuye Oyasin, We Are All Related.”
Read the rest of the story on the all new Native Sun News website: Ehana-mani shares American Indian Star Knowledge (Ernestine Chasing Hawk can be reached at editor@nsweekly.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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