It takes a while. These visits to places and spaces in the United States that leave me so conflicted that I can't immediately process all that I take in.
So many events, both good and bad, of cultural and historical relevance. Today I revisit a place visited 3 summers ago and as I plan another summer trip I have to pause and ask, "why are you always drawn to these places of conflict?"
I think I have injustice baked into my dna. When I see, sniff, or hear about it, I want to go to it. I have some sort of impulsion to try to right all injustices, even if in a seemingly small and irrelevant way. After all, it is my soul work and perhaps I emit psychic energy up into the universe that will mean something going forward. I certainly know that I can't change the past. At least I can say, "I'm sorry."
That's what these trips across the Nation have become. Healing hops. AND shame on you's- that's right I also spit on and wag my finger too!
So today I reflect on the healing hop to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Where I'm sorries we doled out and spit happened.
Starting with a name and borrowing from another blog. The National Parks Conservation Association had a post by Nicolas Bruilliard in 2020 that stated:
"Less than three years after the victory of the Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho over the troops of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer in June of 1876, the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn was preserved to protect the graves of the U.S. soldiers who died there, and the site was named National Cemetery of Custer’s Battlefield Reservation. Until 1991, Little Bighorn National Monument was still known as Custer Battlefield National Monument, and the name change is part of a larger shift in the interpretation of the site."
Viewing the site and imagining the heart-hurt of being pushed off your land, it would have really pissed me off to have the site named as it was in 1876. That it took 115 years to correct blows my mind.
In the back of my mind as we cross this Nation, trying to hit all states and occupied spaces, the mantra that stays with me is the title of the Nat'l Parks blog post and also a take-off of white Woody Guthrie's beloved song (This Land is Our Land),
"This Land is THEIR land." Period. Stop. End of Story. Or... it should be. Yet, it is only the beginning.
What draws me back to this visit, that blog, and now here, is the grappling with the Land Back Movement and what it means to me- a lover of National Parks and despiser of Teddy Roosevelt (yeah I know- trying to hold these 2 truths has caused me a livelong head-hurt).
So more on what Nicolas Bruilliard wrote in 2020, the same year the Indian Collective put forth their Land Back Manifesto:
"In 2003, the Indian Memorial was dedicated to the Native American warriors who perished in the battle, and with that dedication, the park moved further away from simply being a tribute to Custer and his troops to a more balanced portrayal of the battle, which was the Plains tribes’ last armed attempt at preserving their way of life."
I go back now and look upon this big sky country site of vast open land and it is just... just... wow.
It was odd to be staring out on such vast wide open, and silent, land. Trying to imagine such chaos and carnage. Why do we fight? Such a complex question.
Native American prayer ties, often made with tobacco or cornmeal wrapped in cloth, are left on trees or in sacred places as offerings of prayers, intentions, and gratitude, and all who come in contact with them are blessed by the prayers
From Brittanica Kids:
"The bronze sculpture Spirit Warriors (2003), by Lakota artist Colleen Cutschall, commemorates the Native American warriors who fought at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. The sculpture is part of the Indian Memorial at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument."
It was a powerful monument to walk up to and immerse oneself in.
1928- almost one hundred years and still the struggle persists. For recognition, land, sovereignty, and as I learned from my visit= the fact that they are STILL here. The power of place can not even be written about adequately. Get up, go out and experience as many different spaces as you can is my belief. Glad I came.
No comments:
Post a Comment