
Horse ride honors life of Native educator Dorothy Kiyukan
350-mile journey from Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation to Yankton Sioux territory
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Indianz.Com
NEAR LINCOLN, Nebraska – The 56-year-old Lakota man hoisted the eagle staff up and shouted over the rush of wind.
He told the six men and women who sat mounted on horses before him to spend the first 20 minutes of their ride in silence and prayer. He called on them to ask the creator for guidance and watch over them as they made their long journey across Nebraska.
Above them, the sky threatened rain. A strong breeze pushed the grass and trees by the side of the road. Tom Ziegler lifted the red cloth-wrapped staff a little higher and yelled, “Hoka hey! Let’s ride.”
With that, the seven riders turned their horses west and began trotting down the gravel road.
The riders began their journey on March 21 in Mayetta north of Topeka, Kansas, and they plan to arrive in Marty, South Dakota, on April 4. The 350-mile ride is being held to honor the life of Dorothy “Scootie” Kiyukan Ziegler, who died at the age of 58 on January 7 from liver cancer.
Kiyukan Ziegler was a citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.
Her husband, Tom Ziegler, said his wife loved horses, Native culture and children, and he knew after she died that he had to honor her by taking a long horse ride north.
“One of the main things she wanted to do was bring the horse society back into each culture, especially on her reservation and in the reservations up in South Dakota,” he said.




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