Prayer for today

Good morning relatives, I said a prayer for you today
May the sun shine brightly, may there be little moisture in the air, may the winds gently carry our words as Mother Earth absorbs our wounds.
May Creator protect all whom ride to a place that honors our ancestors very lives, and bring comfort to all who have sacrificed so much to make peace over a very bad time.

May each stop be filled with warm furnishings, plentiful supplies, healing interactions, and restful nights sleep.

May the circle continue to grow, and the blessings to unfold; for today and everyday you show us all how to become free

Love, honor, and respect

Mitakuye Oyasin A'ho
Mo

The Riders are up in their saddles and raring to go! The horses are chomping at the bit, excited that they can again run for the People, for the Ancestors, for those who were hung in 1862 and for YOU. After some Ceremonies they will start this year's Ride.

The first place they will go to will be the landing site of the Dakota in 1863, the land that was unknown to them, the place is known as Crow Creek. It is a very windy area, next to the Missouri river where they landed.

Sick, frightened, mourning, scared women, children and elders, who had been thrown off of their Homelands and kept in captivity for many months in Minnesota (Fort Snelling). This was the land that they now had to get used to living on. Many died from starvation, from the weather, from the army; who were there against their wishes, to police these Native People who were so subdued they were no danger to them. Those who were supposed to ensure that they were able to survive, didn't care for them, the food they were given was no better than slops. Mothers watched their children die from the elements and from starvation. It was a place of death.

Three years later, many of those who managed to survive were taken to Santee in Nebraska where their conditions were so much better..

The Dakota Survived
and now live back on their Homelands!

Some Historic Facts about the Dakota's stay on Crow Creek.

Acts of Congress in February and March 1863 abrogated, or revoked, all treaties between the U.S. government and the Santee Dakota. As a result, all but a few protected groups of Dakota were exiled from Minnesota. Minnesota’s Ho-Chunk Indians living in Blue Earth County near Mankato, eleven of whom were tried for participation in the war, were also expelled from the state. This expulsion ushered in an era of bare survival for the Dakota, as well as the disintegration of many families.

In May of 1863 1,300 Dakota were loaded onto steamboats and sent to Crow Creek reservation. Crowded onto the boats and weakened by imprisonment, many died on the voyage. The new reservation was desolate and food was scarce. In the first six months at Crow Creek more than 200 Dakota people died, most of them children.

John Williamson, the son of missionary Thomas Williamson, accompanied the Dakota to Crow Creek and was instrumental in their survival. During the winter of 1863, he convinced Colonel Thompson to allow some of the Dakota men to go on a buffalo hunt, which furnished them with enough meat to last through the winter. "It is not starving to death here yet, but it is starvation all the time." John P. Williamson, Crow Creek, Dakota Territory, January 6, 1864.

See more at: http://usdakotawar.org/history/aftermath/exile

From one of the Riders:
"By the time they were sent to Crow Creek, most of the people left were women. A lot died along the way, a lot died when they got here. I've read lots of journals from soldiers and missionaries. One of the soldiers mentioned that the women would go to the horse corrals each morning and pick grain from the horse feces to feed their children. A lot of honorable women also had to resort to prostitution to feed their children. These are the things they were forced to do. To us Dakota people, women are sacred, and should be treated as such. I want to make sure they're recognized for their strength, perseverance, wisdom, and intelligence."
Peter Lengkeek, Crow Creek, 2011

Taken from http://usdakotawar.org/history/aftermath/exile
Copyright is theirs.

The Dam Memorial Site, Fort Thompson, SD - Taken on the 2013 Ride

These flags show the Memorial to the People on the banks of the Missouri. The flags are in the Four Colors. The sound of them makes you realize just how bad the wind is there, they can sometimes be deafening in their intensity. I have been there a number of times over the years and every time the wind didn't let us down, always there, always loud, the flags flapping as if they were angry. On ground level there is a Circle, a Medicine Wheel, where you can walk around and pray, leave offerings, sprinkle tobacco as you walk, that is immedietly picked up by the wind and taken to where it is supposed to be.

See the stone that is in the Center of the Wheel below.

The Ride will go 11 miles today

The Riders leaving for today's stretch of road
Photo © Todd Finney

Photo of the Riders today, taken by ©Todd Finney out of his vehicle's side mirrror.
It's snowing out there!!

Be safe Rider's We are praying for you

The Riders will be staying at the Fort Thompson Hotel tonight.
The Horses will be at the Fort Thompson Rodeo Grounds Coral.
Breakfast will be at the Lower Sioux High School at 7:30 am
Dinner tonight will be with the Diamond Willow Ministry, who have helped the Ride in previous years.

Thanks to all who have helped in the area.