Ivan F. Star Comes Out. Photo from Native Sun News

American history is a series of lies that we have come to agree on
By Ivan F. Star Comes Out
www.nsweekly.com

I grew up in a remote community on the Pine Ridge during the late 40s and early 50s where Lakota was the primary language. I still recall the seemingly fearful manner in which older people talked about certain things such as the Wounded Knee (WK) massacre. It was as if they were fearful of the newcomer to this land. I learned in recent years that if they were fearful, it was for good reason.

I can imagine the high tension in the aftermath of WK when my Great Grandfather, No Water (Hunkpapa), walked the earth. I remember the tension and fear we lived under in the aftermath of the recent Wounded Knee (1971-72) incident. Local vigilantes backed by federal law enforcement were on the prowl for sympathizers.

Getting back to the late 1800s, with Lakota leaders being killed or jailed, people were beginning to look to No Water here on the Pine Ridge. As a result, the Indian agent charged him with conducting a Ghost Dance at his first camp on July 0f 1891. He was arrested, tried and found guilty, and incarcerated in a Sioux Falls prison where he died. I see now why my older relatives spoke in hushed tones.

Read the rest of the story on the all new Native Sun News website: American history is a series of lies that we have come to agree on

(Ivan F. Star Comes Out, POB 147, Oglala, SD 57764; (605) 867-2448; mato_nasula2@outlook.com)

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