| My
name is Rosalie Little Thunder. I am of the Sicangu band of
the Lakota Nation. I hold no position of power and I hold no
wealth, but I do have an important message for you.
Historically,
the buffalo were critically essential to our survival and
were the center of our culture. We hold them sacred (we, who
hold fast to the laws and sacredness of the natural world).
For many of our people, especially our elders, the slaughter
was a horrendous tragedy, reminding us of similar massacres
of our people in the not-so-distant past. I am a descendant-survivor
of two massacres: the 1855 Little Thunder massacre in Nebraska
(within the boundaries of the 1851 treaty territory) and the
Sand Creek massacre ten years later. But that is not unique;
all native people in this country have haunting massacre histories.
In
the late 1800's, 60 million or more buffalo were mindlessly
slaughtered, in a very deliberate, calculated move to starve
and conquer the native people. The buffalo were slaughtered,
we were slaughtered, the buffalo are being slaughtered again....
Like
the two sides of the buffalo/Indian-head nickel, we are synonymous;
two sides of a single coin. We, and the buffalo, share a common
history that we dare not forget. We may be generations and
miles removed from the buffalo, but according to the wisdom
of thousands of years of existence in the natural world and
interdependence with the buffalo, we hold a belief; a prophecy
of an inseparable destiny.
Surely,
as a leader, you must at least understand the challenge of
being responsible for not only the people, here and now, but
also for future generations. "In every deliberation, we must
consider the impact upon the 7th generation" was the challenge
of our traditional leadership.
If
the sacredness of the buffalo is so difficult a concept to
understand, then consider this: science recognizes the buffalo
as a keystone species of the ecosystem and like us, who serve
as "miners' canaries" for humanity, the buffalo too serve
as such for the natural world that sustains us all.
If
this land could support 60 million plus buffalo that were
almost completely exterminated, save for those very few that
sought refuge in Yellowstone, then we have yet to comprehend,
to experience the full impact of their absence.
It
is happening all over again. Beneath the layers of pathological
politics, once that smokescreen of disease is blown away,
you will find that same brutal violence that this country
was built upon. Mr. President, that violence is not just a
faint memory in family history, I've been in Yellowstone,
I have seen it.
You
have signed an executive order, directing your agencies and
departments to consult with tribes in matters that affect
them. The buffalo are of historic, cultural, and religious
significance and we have not been consulted in a meaningful
manner. We have not even been participants on the Environment
Impact Study team. As the leader who affixed his name on that
Executive Order, you must honor Government to Government Relations
and tribal consultation in determining the fate of the sacred
buffalo; your national symbol.
We
remain in Yellowstone with many friends; peaceful but determined
guardians of the buffalo. Ho, hecetu! |
