Warm greetings to you from the sacred (and chilly) He Sapa (Black Hills)! I’m here to witness and celebrate many young, Native runners on route from Fort Robinson, Nebraska to Busby, Montana, where — in solidarity with our Northern Cheyenne relatives, and on behalf of Lakota Law, Sacred Defense Fund, and the Standing Rock and Oglala Tribal Nations — I’m bringing you along for this year’s 29th Annual Fort Robinson Outbreak Spiritual Run. 

I encourage you to watch my short video introduction to this important and deeply meaningful yearly event. It honors — with a 400-mile run over six days through subzero temperatures and some of the most beautiful, wild, and sacred territory in all of Turtle Island — Northern Cheyenne ancestors who broke free from captivity in Fort Robinson on January 9th, 1879. The run retraces their steps and allows their descendants to complete the journey they were unable to finish to their homelands nearly a century and a half ago.

Watch: Here I am at the Fort Robinson barracks. In my new video, I discuss the history behind this run, which promotes healing through acknowledgment of generational trauma and taking healthful action.

I want to give recognition to the Two Bulls family and Yellow Bird Foundation for hosting this powerful event. The runners — mostly youth from many tribal nations — began with an orientation on Thursday before hitting the trail yesterday from Fort Robinson to Hot Springs, SD. After crossing though the He Sapa into Deadwood today, they’ll have three remaining legs before reaching their final destination in Busby.

Our participation here — and yours, through your support — is important, not least because it raises more awareness (both within our communities and without) of how colonization and imprisonment in “frontier” forts impacted our Northern Cheyenne relatives. In some ways, being present for and supporting this run embodies what our work is all about. It gives us a real opportunity to acknowledge the painful past while alchemizing generational trauma through healthy activity to empower the next generation.

Wopila tanka — my gratitude for your solidarity with our youth and ancestors!
Tokata Iron Eyes
Spokesperson & Organizer
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund

P.S. A second reminder: We remain deeply grateful to all of you who give of yourselves to make the ongoing work of Lakota People’s Law Project possible under our new home at Sacred Defense Fund. For those of you who donate through checks, please send them to our new mailing address, listed below, and kindly make out your checks to: Sacred Defense Fund. Thank you so much!

Note our new mailing address (and please make any checks payable to: “Sacred Defense Fund”)

Lakota People’s Law Project
c/o Sacred Defense Fund
PO Box 27
Santa Fe, NM 87504