His grandfather,
young teen Sioux,
had snuck away
from Wounded Knee
The fight, so fierce,
had spilled harsh
into his young life
Cavalry soldiers,
lionized in print
But women,
children, men,
dying and dead
Leonard Littlefinger,
resonant with anger
for his people
Echoes of the
ghetto—Detroit
People damaged,
alone, bereft
Drunk and listless,
no work or pay
1890’s photos
hung proudly
at the school
A captive people
yet vibrant,
eyes bright
Fast forward,
A mother’s grief
To dark temptations
her son succumbed
Fast food lines
Dull faces, empty eyes
We’ve drug them down,
with us . . .
On a Quaker mission to Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in 1997, the author assisted with construction of a large, circular coming-of-age celebration shelter. Former tribal president Gerald One Feather wanted one as part of his efforts to revive Lakota culture. Leonard Littlefinger spoke at a dinner held in thanks for Quaker assistance. The Loneman reservation school was built by Presbyterians. Based on a lottery, they were assigned to Christianize Lakota children. The Wounded Knee attack took place on December 29, 1890, on a Lakota encampment in freezing weather. Why the attack occurred isn’t known, as almost all Lakota had been disarmed. A few youths escaped, including Leonard’s grandfather, but soldiers hunted them for several days. Somehow, they survived without shelter. Two to three hundred Lakota were killed and buried in a mass grave, along with 31 cavalrymen. Twenty of the soldiers won the Congressional Medal of Honor. Oglala Lakota County, where Pine Ridge is located, is often ranked as the poorest in the country.
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