In the life that our Lakota ancestors knew, a warrior was viewed much differently than society defines that word today. In mainstream America, just the word warrior stirs thoughts of aggression and testosterone. A warrior in today's time is revered and rewarded with praise for acts of aggression.
Our Lakota Nation, those living within our Tribal Nation homelands and urban treaty lands need to revitalize the concept of our warrior societies on our own terms. A gathering of great minds to produce strategies that guide solutions for the many challenges our tribal peoples face on and off the Reservation.
We should not expect our tribal leaders to be warriors, they are often just politicians. We should not expect Uncle Sam to be our warrior although in today's time they can be our allies. We need all to step up and make the good fight to improve the quality of life of those a warrior defends.
The grandmother who never spoke to a member of Congress made those calls to demand passage of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. That is not the act of a victim but one of a warrior who understands her voice is one message and added with the hundreds of others who advocated for passage of this treaty right and trust responsibility was very powerful in producing this victory for all.
Communication is the most powerful tool you as a warrior can have. Your voice is more powerful than bullets when directed from the values of your heart. It is that spiritual thought that makes the Lakota warrior more awed than others. As Lakota people our weakness occurs when we forget that our power lies in the way our ancestors told us to take on any battle. Not from a point of anger as most would expect from a warrior mentality but solutions directed from the idea that a warriors way is most effective when we choose mind over emotion.
We are defending our community from the affects of intolerance, misunderstanding and negligence of what is rightfully owed to all human beings in our community – respect and justice. They say war is ugly and the darkness that comes to light in our community are the senseless deaths of our young people at the hands of others. The senseless acts of hate against a people who's core values dictate that we are all interconnected, we are all related. Shared stupidity might make some beget violence with violence, hate promoting hate as that is the ugliest part of all the indifference we face. Both sides of the battle have voices of dysfunction. A good listener can hear past the voice of anger and ugliness and understand the most effective solutions for a warrior is understanding that your voice carries a much stronger punch coming from the heart of your values than it does from your anger.
The grandmother who made those calls to Congress did not cuss them out. No frying pans where thrown. She spoke truth to power as we all should, from the values we want to live. Our ancestors understood that a true warrior's victory is not defined by the enemies they knock to the ground but by the justice served using those values that help us all to stand up together.
In the spirit of that thought, I ask all to join together in shared values as we move forward with a Campaign to Unite a Community.
General Beadle School
North Rapid City
5PM MST Meal
Bring a friend...
-Andrew Iron Shell
Community Organizer & SANI-T Board Member
Western SD Native American Organizing Project
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