Native Americans

Geronimo. Everyone knows his name and the famous picture of him kneeling with a rifle. That photo is arguably one of the best images ever taken of any human being, and there’s no denying the indomitable fierceness staring out of his eyes. He was a man that was pissed off, and he was going to remain pissed off for the rest of his life and the rest of forever.

Crazy Horse. He was a man who wasn’t afraid to die. He fervently believed in his people’s way of life, and he fought to his very end to protect it. The Crazy Horse Monument being carved in The Black Hills is a sad tribute to the great warrior that will likely forever remain unfinished, just like how his own life will forever remain undone.

Sitting Bull. He was a spiritual leader of the Ghost Dance. He believed in the power of ancestral spirits and the spirits’ ability to fight off the encroaching white man. His Ghost Dance movement was the last-ditch grasp that the native people had on who they were as a people, but they lost their grip when the white man pried their fingers off their spiritual rope.

Sacagawea. She was absolutely critical to the Corps of Discovery’s survival. It was because of her intimacy with the land and her native skills that Lewis and Clark were able to make it all the way to Oregon and back. She crossed some of the land’s most difficult terrain, and she managed to do so while carrying a newborn baby on her back.

Cochise. He was a heroic warrior who fiercely defended his people, homeland, and way of life. He was a man who only wanted peace, and he was willing to murder every single white man if he needed to in order to achieve it.

Red Cloud. He was a man who spent much of his life fighting. He fought soldiers and government agents, but he always fought for his people. He said that the white man made many promises, but the only promise they ever kept was the promise to take their land away from them.

Chief Joseph. He resisted the forced relocation of his tribe and fought until he could fight no longer. When he said the words, “I will fight no more forever,” the spirit inside all native peoples died. The fight for their survival was over when they were told that a new age was beginning —a new age that didn’t really see them in it.

My book Memory Road Trip (e-book or paperback) has a chapter titled Native America where I explore many historical sites.