Post by Spirit of the Owl Woman on Sept 24, 2009 1:07:23 GMT -5
Sitting Bull His Life and Legacy,
by Ernie LaPointe, Great-Grandson of Sitting Bull,
Gibbs Smith Publishing, 2009, $19.95
by Ernie LaPointe, Great-Grandson of Sitting Bull,
Gibbs Smith Publishing, 2009, $19.95
I just finished this powerful little book with less than 150 pages and found I just could not put it down. It is written with such truth telling, passion, clarity and wisdom that compels the reader to move on to the next page.
There have been many books written about the life of Tatanka Iyotanke but never has one been written by a direct descendant. Ernie LaPointe is the Great-Grandson of Sitting Bull. In this publication he writes his families oral tradition with stories accounting Sitting Bull's life, spiritual quests, his wives and children, life in Canada and his murder and the reparation of Sitting Bull's leggings and lock of hair. Ernie's stories dispute some of the written history about Sitting Bull that have over the years become known as fact.
One of the most shocking stories that I did not know, was about the treatment of Sitting Bulls body after death; the Lakota beating him beyond recognition so as to have parts of his skull, eye sockets and jaw missing. And, the story of the brave warriors of the Silent Eaters that swore to protect him and died upholding that oath. Their bodies laid were they died for two weeks when Rev. Riggs rode out and found them. He tried to bury them himself and give them a proper burial but could not do it alone due to the winter ground being so hard. Unable to find anyone to help him, he eventually had to pay/bribe the Lakota men to help by offering the chickens and farm animals that once belonged to Sitting Bull for their assistance. And, the account of the treatment of his grave site by Standing Rock tribal officials down through the years is so heart breaking as to make you wonder where have all our tribal leaders gone.
The book contains a family tree with family stories regarding the people on that tree along with plenty of pictures. And, as we all know, no one knows that stories about our families and the individuals in them like we do, and so is the case here.
This is an absolute must read for all who love the history of our people and for those who entertain researching the genealogy of this special spiritual leader whose life just keeps on giving almost 120 years after his death.
Lavanah