Not Right versus Left – A Complete Collapse of the U.S. Myth

October 15, 2025 / aztec8888 / Leave a comment

I have a short, one-question quiz for you today. What does Wounded Knee have in common with Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland? At a glance, perhaps not much. But the rights and sovereignty of people across Turtle Island are now at risk as the federal government, as it did at Wounded Knee in 1890 and again in 1973, is sending armed troops into American cities to violently subjugate the people of this land.

We need to talk about this moment, what it means for our constitutional sovereignty, and what we can do about it. That’s why we’ll be hosting our next Lakota Law Membership Circle Event — Indigenous and Constitutional Sovereignty at Risk — at 5 p.m. PST on Wednesday, Oct. 29. Tokata will host, and I’ll be joined by our legal team to share our perspectives. Please become a Lakota Law member (for just $10 — the price of one fancy coffee!) to take part in this important discussion.

The invasions of left-leaning U.S. cities are not happening in a vacuum. The troops are there to accomplish three things. They’re enforcing the Trump administration’s racist and inhumane immigration policies, and they’re providing a means of distraction — a way to keep the American people from addressing, or even seeing, the corruption, grift, and scandal that should be synonymous with this version of the executive branch.

Perhaps most importantly, they’re sending a clear message that resistance, dissent, and demonstration — cornerstone First Amendment rights of our constitutional republic — will not be tolerated. Last week, Trump codified this ethos by issuing a national security memorandum that further erodes the rights of all U.S. citizens. It seeks to label those questioning the policies and methodologies of the administration as domestic terrorists — familiar territory from where I sit, as it’s exactly what happened to me and my family at Standing Rock in 2017.

The (same old) cavalry is coming, and I suggest that should be of comfort to absolutely nobody. In our homelands, it started with Custer, whom some descendants of the original immigrant settlers still love to exult and celebrate as a hero. In reality, he was a butcher of noncombatants, a gutter of women, children, and elders. His armed compatriots then earned Congressional Medals of Honor for doing the same to Native People who believed the Ghost Dance (incorporating elements of Christ consciousness) might bring about much needed shifts for our human family.

Fast forward 135 years, and our nation and our world are still badly in need of such a shift. Once again, large swathes of the population have bought into a mythology foisted upon them by the nefarious agents of the blood profiteer war machine — the main beneficiaries of government largess — at the continued expense of life, liberty, and happiness.

Many more of us are waking up to the reality that this is it; we must engage with everything we have in the existential battle to preserve our constitutional, civil, and human rights. It’s time to unite and fight! So, my relative, I hope I’ll see you on Oct. 29 to talk more about what we can and will do together to protect our sovereignty.

Wopila tanka — thank you for fighting for justice!
Chase Iron Eyes
Executive Director
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund

P.S. Please join us as a Lakota Law member today and join us on Zoom on Oct. 29 for this important online conversation!

****Please take note of the complete shift in the political landscape. It is no longer left versus right. What is happening now is the total corruption and collapse of government. The U.S. experiment in democracy is over. The U.S. government is sponsoring and supporting genocide in Gaza. The prior and the current administration is complicit. Remember this in your discussions. RM

National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding School Survivors

October 15, 2025October 15, 2025 / aztec8888 / Leave a comment

September 30th, 2025

Today’s National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding School Survivors is another solemn reminder of how we acknowledge and learn from the past. The National Day of Remembrance began in Canada and is acknowledged in the States to honor the generations of Native and First Nations children forcibly removed from their homes to be sent to boarding and residential schools. Many of these institutions were government funded and many were church funded, but all were responsible for the oppression of Indigenous culture, language, and spirits.

And still — last week — we were given another reminder that those at the federal level continue to deny the truth. This past Thursday, as reported on our Last Real Indians Native News Desk, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that soldiers who were awarded Medals of Honor for their 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee of nearly 300 Lakotas — including defenseless women and children — will keep them. Hegseth’s announcement, made on X, followed a review requested by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in 2024.

Read on LRI: Here’s the Wounded Knee Memorial on the Pine Ridge Reservation, located where more than 250 Lakota women, children, and men were killed by the U.S. military on December 29, 1890.

Many tribal leaders and organizations issued statements condemning the announcement, largely pointing out that the decision is not reflective of real American history — nor our shared values. People are simply asking for a correction in awarding the slaughter of women and children at Wounded Knee. This should not be a complicated issue.

Thankfully, our voices are being heard. After LRI Native News published our story on Hegseth’s announcement, Yahoo News and many others republished comments made by Lakota Law director Chase Iron Eyes. That’s important, because mainstream media often forgets to include voices from Indian Country, even on the issues that directly affect us. I see it as a simple equation: if you’re writing about a community, include that community’s voice.

While the announcement to rescind the Wounded Knee Medals of Honor was denied by the current administration, and though Hegseth said the decision is final, that doesn’t mean this battle is over. There are still other pathways to remove the medals from history. For instance, we can and should tell Congress to pass the Remove the Stain Act. It also took far too long to end the political imprisonment of Leonard Peltier — but through tremendous, coordinated organizing and continued discussion and pressure, we got there.

Soon, we’ll publish an op-ed on LRI Native News from South Dakota Senator Red Dawn Foster detailing the steps it took to pass the resolution in the South Dakota State Senate asking Congress to investigate the Wounded Knee Massacre and next steps we can take to rescind the medals. We’ll also have much more to say later this week on the pattern of governmental overreach currently eroding our human, civil, and constitutional rights.

Indigenous residents of Turtle Island have long known these struggles. And we also know that when things look grim, you can’t give in, give up, or lose faith. So I thank you for standing with us. Let’s keep fighting together.

Miigwech — my enduring gratitude to you as a fellow member of this movement!
Darren Thompson
Director of Media Relations
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund

The Black Hills: Garden of Heroes?

June 19, 2025 / aztec8888 / Leave a comment

Happy Juneteenth to all! Speaking of American racism, the domestic news cycle this past week largely focused on protests by millions nationwide against the attacks on migrant communities by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (as well as President Donald Trump’s costly, sparsely attended military parade). Those are important issues, and we hope you stand with us in the ongoing fights for equity and justice — and against fascistic policies and displays.

Meanwhile, it’s also important not to overlook the myriad implications of the administration’s proposed legislative agenda, including for Native communities. Those include massive budget cuts to eliminate funding for key programs and services, and now — as I report to you on our sister site, the Last Real Indians (LRI) Native News Desk — South Dakota elected officials want to put Trump’s proposed “Garden of Heroes” on Lakota homelands in the Black Hills, without consent from Native People.

Read on LRI: Do Native People want Trump’s Garden of Heroes in our homelands? Did anyone think to ask us?

In the story, you’ll get the gist of the proposal, and you’ll notice a vast difference in approaches toward it from South Dakota’s (white) elected officials and from Indigenous leaders. Because the Lakota have never ceded the sacred He Sapa (Black Hills) to the U.S., and because the area was stolen in violation of treaty law, one might think the elected officials would make it a priority to get thoughts — permission, even — from the land’s original inhabitants. Unfortunately, they continue to operate from a place of entitlement.

As you’re likely aware, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 45 years ago in favor of the tribes, but the Lakota have never accepted the (now more than $1 billion in) settlement money. The Black Hills are not, and never have been, for sale. As Lakota Law and Sacred Defense Fund executive director Chase Iron Eyes mentions in our story, if the federal government wants to place its garden on Lakota lands, it should return them first.

On a positive note, the garden is slated to include Indigenous representation. That, at least, is something. But, on this monumental day commemorating the end of U.S. slavery, let’s be clear that respecting the perspectives and agency of marginalized groups must also be part of the process. Now more than ever, we must keep fighting — not just for recognition, but for an inclusive and healthy path forward for all who call this place their home.

Miigwech — thank you for fighting for equity and justice!
Darren Thompson
Director of Media Relations, Lakota People’s Law Project
Editor-In-Chief, LRI Native News Desk

Return Lands

March 10, 2025 / aztec8888 / Leave a comment

Over the past months, we’ve shared with you about our exciting partnership with the Muwekma Ohlone people of California’s Bay Area. We’ve helped the tribe create media and, together, we designed a call to action to assist the Muwekma — proud descendants of some of California’s original inhabitants — as they seek to restore their rightful status as a federally recognized tribe.

This week, we met with the Muwekma again to discuss and help amplify another of their important initiatives: namely, returning the Presidio to their caring hands. Giving this sacred and historic land back to its original stewards would be a huge win for Indigenous justice — and it’s a real possibility in this moment of change and opportunity. Please watch the new video from the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, in which they lay out the reasons why it should happen.

Watch: The Muwekma Ohlone have the original right to the Presidio.

You may recall that, years ago, I helped to organize the #landback movement by calling to return the Black Hills to the Lakota. I was present at the protest action near Mount Rushmore when President Trump visited for American Independence Day during his first term. Today, we remain dedicated to the return of our own sacred lands — and we stand in strong solidarity with other Indigenous groups seeking the same.

Perhaps ironically, Trump’s return to office could present a new opportunity to achieve those goals. His administration’s efforts to gut the federal workforce, eliminate programs, and lessen the financial burden for the federal government could create openings for tribes to step into voids created around stewardship of federal lands. And while Lakota Law stands with needed federal workers who keep our society running smoothly, we also recognize Indigenous ownership and stewardship as the ultimate outcome for stolen, sacred lands.

As with many things these days, this is a rapidly evolving issue, and we’ll have more to say on it soon, including action opportunities and more messages directly from our friends at the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. As always, I’m grateful for your solidarity with us and with Indigenous landback efforts across Turtle Island.

Wopila tanka — thank you for standing for the sacred.
Tokata Iron Eyes
Spokesperson & Organizer
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund

LEONARD PELTIER IS HOME!

February 19, 2025February 19, 2025 / aztec8888 / 2 Comments

A few weeks ago, we let you know that our respected American Indian Movement (AIM) elder and activist Leonard Peltier was granted his release from federal prison after nearly 50 long years. Today, my daughter, Tokata, and I were present on the ground in Florida to witness this momentous event. Watch our new video to get more of our thoughts on what this means for our movement and what comes next.

Watch: Tokata and I discuss the significance of Leonard’s freedom.

Though former President Biden commuted his sentence, Leonard has not been granted a full pardon and remains on house arrest under the watchful eye of the federal government. If Leonard wishes it, we will remain active in helping him fully clear his name so he can live out his remaining days in true freedom. We’re so grateful to you and every one of our tens of thousands of supporters who demanded that Biden free him. And I want to credit Jenipher Jones and all the good folks at For the People, who have handled so much of the legal strategy on Leonard’s behalf.

Today, Leonard flew by private plane to his homelands among the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa on Anishinaabe territory in so-called Minnesota. This week, there will be a feed to honor him — a hero’s welcome home, thanks to our friends at NDN Collective. Our media relations director, Darren Thompson, will be onsite to report on that. We know you join us in wishing Leonard well. We’ll continue to honor his sacrifice as the USA’s (and its Native nations’) longest-serving political prisoner.

As we shared with you a few days back, we recognize AIM’s legacy as the genesis point for the modern Indigenous justice movement. We must continue to assert and defend Indigenous sovereignty and American constitutional sovereignty as key pillars of that movement. We’ll always be grateful to stand on the shoulders of giants like Leonard, Russell Means, Dennis Banks, The Bellecourt brothers, Pat Bellanger, Madonna Thunder Hawk, Phyllis Young, and so many more.

As this week’s headlines attest, we are now in a moment when fighting for justice is all-important. Our basic freedoms are under attack — and not just ours as Indigenous people. As key government agencies are gutted, as funding for vital programs is shut off, and as airplanes crash out of the skies, we’re all affected. Thus, the lessons of the AIM era should resonate stronger than ever before: we must rally together to protect one another. We must fight to restore sanity. Stay ready. We will have much more to say about what that will look like later this week.

Wopila tanka — thank you for supporting justice!
Chase Iron Eyes
Executive Director
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund

Note: Please look back at our posts over the years when we asked for justice for Leonard. He now needs a complete pardon, and the past injustices need to be exposed.

This is a great time to shine a light on all government agencies. As you see, that is what is being done, and like peeling off a bandage, it might hurt; however, we are living through a fantastic time of exposure. Sometimes, you need to get those agencies to get rid of the entrenched corrupt officials. Prepare yourself for new people with integrity to step in—get involved in the process. We have been knee-deep in corruption for decades.

The powers we are fighting want us to view what is happening as a threat. Ask yourself who the people are who are complaining and why they are complaining and in a panic.

The Last Four Years: Remember

Lockdowns for a fake pandemic

Sudden Deaths

Endless Wars

Open Borders

Billions to support neo-Nazis

Isolation

Inflation

Mask Mandates

Genital mutilation of minors

More Wars

Supporting Genocide

Devastating Hurricanes/Wildfires/Flooding/Train derailments/Chemical plant explosions

……need I continue? It is like people think the last four years were in paradise.

Action: Tribal Recognition for the Muwekma Ohlone

February 10, 2025 / aztec8888 / Leave a comment

A couple months back, amid the tail end of their “Trail of Truth” cross-country horseback ride to Washington, D.C., we introduced you to our partnership with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area. For decades, these relatives — some of the original peoples of California — have been denied their rightful status as a federally recognized tribe. That’s unacceptable, and so through a partnership that involves our assistance with media creation and outreach, we aim to help them right this grievous wrong.

Today I remind you that your voice is critical in helping the Muwekma restore their federal recognition. If you have not done so, please send a message to your congressional reps demanding justice for the Muwekma. While you’re at the page, please also watch the new video we produced with their cooperation and on their behalf, then share the action on your preferred social media channels.

Watch, take action, and share! It’s long past time some of California’s original peoples had their federal recognition rightfully restored.

As Muwekma Chairwoman Charlene Nijmeh makes clear in the video, this is “about standing up and demanding justice for the Muwekma Ohlone.” It’s about creating a future for her people that appropriately recognizes their history — more than 10,000 years living in one of the world’s most beautiful, powerful, and wealthy places. San Francisco, the Silicon Valley, Stanford University, U.C. Berkeley, and I could go on and on: all of these places occupy land stolen from Ohlone ancestors.

Restoration of federal recognition is the very least the Muwekma deserve. The tribe previously held federally recognized status under its former name — the Verona Band of Mission Indians. Though this status was never officially terminated, the Muwekma were eventually, inexplicably, left off the government’s official rolls.

Federal recognition is tremendously important to Native People for a number of reasons. Those include access to key government funds that can provide educational opportunities for youth and elevate living conditions for entire communities, not to mention the abilities to establish new paths toward self-determination and repatriate artifacts and ancestral remains that should come home to Native care.

As Indigenous People, we understand how big a difference these things make. As I mentioned to you in our last message about the Muwekma, the horses Chairwoman Nijmeh and her companions rode those many miles came from Percy White Plume of the Horse Nation on the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s Pine Ridge Reservation. On the rez, we know we have to stand together, now more than ever.

That’s why, under Sacred Defense Fund, Lakota Law will continue to expand its mission to create and foster partnerships that elevate voices and address concerns far beyond Lakota Country. We support sovereignty efforts across Turtle Island and justice movements worldwide. We stand for equity, and we fight for fairness. And we remain extremely grateful to you for being there with us, every step of the way.

Wopila tanka — thank you for your friendship, courage, and activism.
Chase Iron Eyes
Executive Director
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund

P.S. Please write your reps and demand federal recognition for the Muwekma Ohlone. Let’s show solidarity with our California relatives and keep fighting, every day, for tribal sovereignty and respect.

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

Leonard Peltier: Free!

January 20, 2025 / aztec8888 / Leave a comment

“It’s Finally Over – I’m Going Home” ~Leonard Peltier

Greetings, Lekší Leonard is returning to his homelands of Turtle Mountain Anishinaabe territory! President Biden has granted Leonard Peltier commutation of his life sentence, to serve the remainder of his sentence at home, effective February 18, 2025.
This grant of clemency resulted from 50 years of intergenerational grassroots organizing in Indian Country. Together we witnessed the unveiling of extensive evidence of prosecutorial misconduct and constitutional violations committed during Peltier’s case. “Leonard Peltier’s liberation is our liberation – and while home confinement is not complete freedom, we will honor him by bringing him back to his homelands to live out the rest of his days surrounded by loved ones, healing, and reconnecting with his land and culture,” said Nick Tilsen, NDN Collective Founder and CEO. Watch the NDN LIVE:

There is no real justice after losing 50 years of freedom, but today, our hearts are full of joy and gratitude that Lekší Leonard is returning home. “Today’s decision shows the combined power of grassroots organizing and advocacy at the highest levels of government. We are grateful to President Biden and the leadership of Secretary Deb Haaland. said Holly Cook Macarro, Government Affairs for NDN Collective. “All of us here today stand on the shoulders of three generations of activists who have fought for justice for Leonard Peltier. Today is a monumental victory – the day that Leonard Peltier finally goes home.”
We remember the countless prayers that were said for Leonard. We remember and honor those who organized, mobilized, took to the streets, rallied, signed petitions, called representatives, lifted his story, and fought against Leonard’s unjust incarceration across Turtle Island and internationally— especially those who have traveled on and are witnessing this moment in the stars.

To learn more about Leonard’s release, read NDN Collective’s press release here. For media inquiries contact: Cabot Petoia, cabot@ndncollective.org, 828-899-9239, and Sarah Manning, sarah@ndncollective.org, (208) 591-0672.

READ PRESS RELEASE

Our hearts are with our relatives who are still unjustly incarcerated and continue to be targets of police and state violence. The fight to release Leonard Peltier from prison is over, however, the fight for justice and the healing of our People from systems that continue to violate Indigenous rights globally, and target, criminalize, incarcerate, and murder our people, is a fight we continue to take on at NDN Collective.
Please continue to hold Leonard in your hearts and say prayers for all that comes next for him. ✊🏽
In Gratitude, NDN Collective

New Title: The Mahkato Reconciliation and Healing Ride

January 13, 2025January 13, 2025 / aztec8888 / Leave a comment

From acknowledging the winter solstice to celebrating mainstream society’s holiday season, this time of year has always brought together gatherings of family and friends throughout Turtle Island. And every December, reminders of our history add to the difficulties faced by many families, and tribes, as some of their people’s most tragic memories all occurred during this month — the assassination of Chief Sitting Bull, Wounded Knee Massacre, and the Dakota 38 Hanging.

The day after Christmas is more widely known as “Boxing Day,” especially outside of Indian Country, but in the last several years there has been growing momentum for mainstream society to acknowledge the day after Christmas as the day when 38 Dakota “Sioux” men were hanged in Mankato, Minnesota in 1862. The hanging, the largest mass execution in United States history, was carried out in front of an estimated 4,000 people in downtown Mankato and remains largely hidden from classrooms and public knowledge.

As the year ends, and millions gather to celebrate and acknowledge the holiday season, some Indigenous communities acknowledge its tragic past through memorial ceremonies aimed at teaching and healing while building community.

The hangings were approved by former President Abraham Lincoln as a result of conflict between Dakota people and settlers in southwestern Minnesota. Dakota people were promised food and safety in exchange for ceding their lands, but they received neither, leading to attacks on white settlements in August 1862. The resulting widespread war in Minnesota lasted for five weeks, culminating in the hanging of 38 Dakota men in Mankato on Dec. 26, 1862.

Some say the Dakota War officially ended after the hanging, but the U.S. government’s oppression of the Dakota people, as well as other Indigenous groups, did not end with that atrocity. After the mass hanging, Dakota people were exiled and forcibly removed from Minnesota. Many sought refuge in Canada, South Dakota, Nebraska, and other communities willing to take them in. Memorializing such a painful history involves more than riding on horseback through blizzard-like conditions. While it remains a painful and tragic past, many have undertaken healing and positive efforts to repair relations with those in the places where history unfolded, hoping that such history will not repeat itself.

The movement to pay tribute to tragic times past is active healing in Indian Country. While memorials take time and tremendous effort, the initial memorial horse ride has caused great positive ripple. Today there are additional horse rides and a memorial run that begins at Ft. Snelling, the military fort where thousands of Dakota people were imprisoned during the Dakota War, and all convene at Reconciliation Park in Mankato, MN on Dec. 26. Many other Indigenous communities have begun to host memorial rides, runs, or walks, to pay their respects to their past, as well as to the land in hopes we continue to heal beyond times past.

Beginning in 2008, an annual memorial horse ride was organized to begin on the Lower Brule Reservation in central South Dakota and ride for 16 consecutive days, convening in Mankato, MN on Dec. 26. Their ride and ceremonial arrival to memorialize the Dakota 38 continues to this day — now under a new name — Mahkato Reconciliation and Healing Ride.

Forever riding forward, while sometimes looking back, is magic we all have to embrace in this work. We’re grateful and gain strength as we join together to honor the pain and sacrifices of the past by celebrating and supporting these ongoing healing movements.

Miigwech — thank you, always, for remembering with us!
Darren Thompson
Director of Media Relations
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund

Your support makes jsutice possible - Donate Today

Lakota People’s Law Project
P.O. Box 27
Santa Fe, NM 87504

29th Annual Fort Robinson Outbreak Spiritual Run

January 13, 2025 / aztec8888 / Leave a comment

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

December 19, 2024 / aztec8888 / Leave a comment

Apologies for the incorrect subject on this message a few minutes ago. I hope that won’t detract from this important content.

I wish you a happy holiday season! When most people think of December, what comes to mind might be the holidays we celebrate, gathering with family, and the turning of the page to a new year at month’s end. In Lakota Country, unfortunately, the end of the Gregorian calendar year is also inextricably linked with a pair of troubling anniversaries. In solidarity with us, I hope you’ll make a little room to remember them with me today.

First, Dec. 15 was the 134th anniversary of the assassination of the great Hunkpapa Lakota Chief, Thatanka Iyotake, or Sitting Bull. I, too, am Hunkpapa Lakota, and I’ll say that Sitting Bull is one of our most celebrated ancestors for good reason. To learn more, I urge you to read (or reread) this blog, which I penned last year to give you more about Sitting Bull’s life, the context of his death, and an action you can take and share to rescind Medals of Honor granted to U.S. soldiers responsible for the second anniversary I referenced: the massacre of hundreds of Natives at Wounded Knee just days later, on Dec. 29, 1890.

Photograph of Sitting Bull by David Francis Barry, circa 1883.

Tied to both of those anniversaries, I’ve been doing research and thinking a lot about the unique, historic nature of policing in Indian Country. In general, cops have never been especially friendly to us — even when they are from our communities. They have always been in direct correspondence with and there to enforce rules made by American governmental officials and corporate institutions that we all face together, even today. In turn, those entities have frequently displayed genocidal intentions and undertaken endeavors, from the Wounded Knee Massacre and the murder of Sitting Bull to railroading pipelines through our sacred lands, meant to degrade or eliminate tribal nations (or, potentially, anyone demonstrating the will to defend American lands and waters).

In our last message to you, my father thanked U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Pueblo of Laguna) for her service over the past four years. Let it not be lost on anyone the importance of a Native woman occupying that seat, because for many years, her department was (and sometimes still is) a great nemesis to our communities.

And that brings us back to Sitting Bull. In 1890, the Indian agent James McLaughlin, overseen by the U.S. military and the Secretary of the Interior, ordered him taken into custody. As 43 policemen and volunteers arrived that sad morning at the chief’s house and announced his arrest, a crowd of community members gathered at the commotion and began to protest. 150 Lakota arrived to protect him, and his son then led a group who attempted to free Sitting Bull from police custody.

Bureau of Indian Affairs police lieutenant Henry Bullhead and police sergeant Charles Shavehead, who bracketed Sitting Bull to prevent his escape, were shot. Mortally wounded, Bullhead then murdered Sitting Bull, shooting him in the ribs. Indian agent Red Tomahawk, who’d been behind Sitting Bull, then assumed command of the police. The ensuing fight resulted in the deaths of six police and eight Lakota protectors. After Thatanka Iyotake’s assassination, his people fled to join Spotted Elk (the brother of Iron Eyes, from whom my family takes its name). Then the band fled toward Red Cloud and the Oglala at the Pine Ridge Agency — and soon thereafter came the massacre at Wounded Knee.

These events live on with us — not just, unfortunately, as histories. As an Oglala who lives on Pine Ridge, I have witnessed police abuse in the modern day. And I have heard direct testimony and firsthand accounts of abuse of power and undue violence by Indian police over the past few decades. One example, and this is something I plan to expand on for you in subsequent messages, was the Reign of Terror on Pine Ridge in the early 1970s, which ultimately laid the foundation for the American Indian Movement’s occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973.

There is much more to say about that, and there’s so much more we can do moving forward. I promise you’ll hear more from me again soon. In the meantime, please hold us close, as you would all your loved ones at this time of year. I’m so grateful to be able to share with you, and I know that, together, we can continue to make progress. We can and we must use the often harsh lessons of the past to understand the present and create a future we can be proud of for all human beings.

Wopila tanka — thank you for your friendship!
Tokata Iron Eyes
Spokesperson & Organizer
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund

Water is Life

Standing Rock, North Dakota

history