The following story was written and reported by Randall Howell. All content © Native Sun News.
Bernice White Hawk, Charley New Holy, Chubb Thunder Hawk

Anpowin While Plume, Jeremiah Young Bull, Rosie Lipp

MANDERSON, SOUTH DAKOTA — This year – the 120th anniversary of Chief Big Foot’s ride into disaster on the creek banks of Wounded Knee – marks a significant transition from elders to youth leadership for the annual trek.

“The younger generation – young men and young women – need to step up. That was our planning several years ago … to put our younger leaders in front of our elders,” said Chubb Thunder Hawk, Porcupine, during yet another planning session for what is transitioning from the SiTanka Wokiksuye/Chief Big Foot Memorial Ride to Future Generation Riders/Oomaka Tokatukiya.

The yearly ride, which starts at Bullhead in mid-December on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, is seeing an increasing number of youth leaders – leaders who already are significantly involved in planning this year’s event.

“Our younger riders are the ones needed to start practicing leadership,” said Thunder Hawk, long a spiritual member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a consistent elder offering his organizational skills to the quarter-century event. “We are losing our elders and these youngsters were depending on the elders for (traditional and cultural) teachings. Now they must step up.

” Thunder Hawk, who opened the Oct. 16 meeting at the Oglala Lakota College’s instructional building in Manderson, with Lakota prayer and a hand-drum song.

“We already have leadership commitments from some of our younger-generation riders,” said Thunder Hawk, widely known on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation as a spiritual leader and talented horseman.

He pointed to four younger generation leaders selected to spearhead some of the planning for the 2010 ride, that follows – as close as possible – Chief Big Foot’s trek. The inaugural ride was in 1986.

Meanwhile, elder Bernice White Hawk, Manderson, asked the Creator “to look after each of the young leaders and the riders – each one here today – and to give us guidance.”

The 78-year-old expressed concern that the sacredness of the ride could be lost during the transition to what is being referred to as the Future Generation Riders group, which is about 20 strong, unless the younger leaders make it a priority to protect its significance.

“I learned it (the traditions) when I was a little girl through the wacipi, the Sundance, the ceremonies,” White Hawk told nearly 20 Lakota men and women at the meeting. “I didn’t learn it yesterday. But you guys, in terms of my learning, were born yesterday. I was born way back there.

” The planning session was spearheaded by four younger-generation leaders: Jeremiah Young Bull Bear of Kyle; Rosie Lipp of Manderson; Anpowin While Plume of Manderson; and Charlie New Holy of Oglala.

Youth leadership — selected in December 2009 — for the ride also includes: Tre Goings of Pine Ridge; Tyson White Plume of Manderson; Joe Sierra of Manderson; Edgar Yellow Earrings of Bullhead; Paige Bailey of Fort Yates; Martin Taken Alive of Bullhead; Nicole Silk of Green Grass; Joseph Looking Horse of Green Grass; Lisa Lone Eagle of Cherry Creek; and Kelly Romero of Cherry Creek.

In addition, the ride’s youth leadership includes the Spirit Riders of Wakpala: TC Hill; Ramey Hill; Melania Fast Horse; Kim Cameron; Wiyaka His Horse is Thunder; Kody NaDeau; and Teddy Iron Cloud.

Part of the planning session included an update on organizational work already in place as well as a review of projects awaiting attention from youth leaders.

Additional ride organizers at the meeting included: Phyllis Wilcox; Denver Wounded; Vina White Hawk; Chance White Plume; Percy White Plume; Cyndi Red Star; Justin Bradford; Ramona White Plume; Sina Kasna Maniwin Tall; LaVonne Mesteth; and Kyle White Hawk.

In addition to expressed appeals for everything from stock water tanks to donations of warm clothing, meeting attendees discussed ground rules and regulations for this year’s ride, some of which involved better supervision to eliminate alcohol and drugs, as well as personal conduct issues, such as a ban on cursing and disrespect – particularly that shown toward elders.

Elder White Hawk reminded the planning group that youngster’s riding around reservation communities and showing disrespect for elders as they do “also have ridden with Big Foot Memorial Ride” participants in previous years. She urged younger generation leaders to eliminate that – along with fighting — this year “because the ride is sacred.”

Young Bull Bear said that when it came to rider discipline he felt the young leaders had “to come at it really hard. That will get passed along.”

Urging better treatment of elders, Thunder Hawk said: “As we are going to go blind, they (the youth) will begin to see for us; As we are going to lose our hearing, they will hear for us; As we are going to begin to forget; they will remember.”

Thunder Hawk also advised the younger-generation leaders to follow the traditions and cultural instructions on such things as “feather drops.”

“Stop to do the ceremonies, the smudging,” he said. “Do the prayers. Sing the songs.”

Meanwhile, New Holy said that one of the reasons for the transition is that the Big Foot Memorial Ride – after nearly a quarter-century – “already has done the Wiping of the Tears Ceremony – but hasn’t had the chance to organize the younger generation, though in most cases has handed over the leadership roles from previous riders.”

He said that the ride remains a “memorial for the Chief (Big Foot) and the people who are buried there (Wounded Knee).” Referring to it as an “open ride … and international ride,” New Holy reminded the group that “some of our young people have grown up on the ride. Our grandchildren are now coming along on the ride. We have hope for them. It is our hope they have better lives for themselves than we did.”

He also said the local youth leaders were selected in each area for their skills, talent, commitment and resourcefulness.

“It’s starting to become a society,” New Holy said. “The next step is to become a society. Youth leaders need to come to these meetings. They will witness a vision for the celebration of life. Our families survived the massacre. We survived and we are here. We are always going to be here. We encourage them to be here.”

New Holy talked about “life beyond the reservation,” telling those at the meeting that the younger generation “can step over that (reservation) line and make something of themselves while still keeping the culture and traditions … until one day they can look back and know that we made a difference.”

New Holy, who built the staff for the Younger Generation Ride and explained the symbolic meaning of the design and its colors, noted that each of the 19 leaders selected last December “needs to tie an eagle feather to it.” He said that, for groups such as the Spirit Riders, were allowed only one from the group. New Holy also reminded the planners that, during the ride, “all other staffs must remain behind” the Younger Generation Riders’ staff. “

A lot of people are willing to help us, but they are waiting for us to get organized and provide a donations list (of needs),” said New Holy, who has ridden each year since the start of the ride.

Thunder Hawk told the group that the Younger Generation Riders “become role models,” not only for the ride itself, but also in their communities across Indian country. He also urged the younger-generation ride leaders to “respect the horses.”

“They are the second family,” he said. “Pray for them. Doctor them. When they make the ride, honor them. Sing for your horses.”

Discussions also ranged from cooking and food distribution for the riders and support teams, such as medical and veterinarian resources, to feed and water for the horses.

Many of those categories involve “works in progress,” according to Young Bull Bear, who reported to the group that he was connecting the dots for the trail on a county-by-county basis.

Before adjourning, the group set a tentative schedule for upcoming meeting schedule. Similar planning meetings have been set for Oct. 30, Nov. 13, Nov. 27, Dec. 11 and Dec. 18 – basically, every two weeks until the ride begins.

For more information on this year’s ride, contact: Charley New Holy at (605) 454-0481; or Anopowin White Plume at (605) 441-4710. (Contact Randall Howell at: arcticman47@yahoo.com)

http://64.38.12.138/News/2010/022278.asp

by NAMAPAHH Radio

12-18-10_O’maka Tokatakiya Ride-Ogalala SD_spokesperson Charley NewHoly will be my guest on NAMAPAHH First People’s Radio speaking about the Annual Spiritual Horseback Ride by Native American Youth!(one group is already riding NOW!) Date & Time of Ride: Wednesday, December 15 at 6:00am – December 29 at 11:30pm Location: from Little Eagle South Dakota to Wounded Knee South Dakota Please tune in & Support the Omaka Tokatakiya / Future Generations Ride. More information is on our facebook page O’maka tokatakiya/ Future Genreations Ride Charley NewHoly “Word from our Northern O’maka Tokatakiya Group of riders from Standing Rock, “we are running out of food and need some hay” would anybody be willing to help them out up that way!” What is needed: Gas money, food, hay & grain for horses needed ASAP! Let’s show some support you all! In the Spirit of the Ancestors & Christmas! You can donate via paypal or by Western Union: Sharps Corner-South Dakota…c/o Charles New Holy PO box 105 Ogalala SD 57764 605-454-0481 We will share some great music as well throughout the show & take some phone calls… On Eagles wings & NDN pony’s hooves…let’s help these Native riders honor their ancestors! They are not turning back! let’s help them do this!

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About this project

In 2004 I was invited by members of the Lakota Indian nation to photograph the O’maka Tokatakiya, Future Generations Ride. It is an annual event, over two weeks in December, following the trail that lead to the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. It runs nearly three hundred miles on horseback across the South Dakota winter and was originally a memorial to Chief Big Foot and those who were slain. In 1990, the hundredth anniversary of the massacre, a Wiping of the Tears Ceremony signaled the end of mourning and was a nod toward the future.

The Big Foot Memorial ride ended that year, replaced in 1992 by the current, more youth focused ride. While it is still in many ways in homage to those who lost their lives at Wounded Knee, the ride is also meant to foster cultural pride and leadership qualities in future generations. Along the way, the riders experience some of what their ancestors endured by embodying an intellectual, spiritual, and physical remembrance. Braving the cold (down to –20°F) these kids, some of them barely glimpsing puberty, ride as many as 35 miles in a day.

In contrast to the dominant media imagery, focused mainly on the disheartening aspects of reservation life, this work concentrates on the Lakota’s efforts toward self-empowerment. To that end, in 2006 I started supplying cameras, computers, and wireless internet connection to teens on the ride, and from that date on, teens have worked with me to record what has become a modern tradition.

One of the images from the ride is currently on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian Heye Center in New York. Another has been published in the latest edition of Robert Hirsch’s Exploring Color Photography (Focal Press 2011). And last year, I was approached by a gallery in the Czech Republic to show this work.

The Czech people have a long-standing affinity with the Lakota people. Dating back more than one hundred years, the Czech fight against assimilation and cultural erasure compares to the American Indian experience.

Each year, thousands of Czech “tribal members” don traditional Native American garb and spend time living in traditional American Indian style. And for the past six years, Otokar Homola has organized a parallel to the Future Generations ride in the Czech Republic to honor the Lakota riders.

While I wanted to take teens from the ride to the opening, I knew I would never be able to afford to take them to the Czech Republic. But when we received an invitation to speak at the US Embassy in Prague, I knew I had to try to raise the funds.

The biggest expense is travel. It will cost nearly $8,000 for the flights, and about $2,000 for hotels. A total of $10,000 will cover the basics; anything extra would help to defray other expenses, like food.

The Future Generations Teen Photojournalism Project started in 2006.

Jessica Peters and TaTanka Canté Hokshila (TC) Hill, both from Wakpala, Standing Rock Reservation, were the first students. They were given cameras and photographed the 2006 Oomaka Tokatakiya, Future Generations Ride–each night downloading images and making prints for the riders along the way. You can see their work here.

The Future Generations Ride is an offshoot of the Big Foot Memorial Ride that ran from 1986 to 1990. The original ride started on the 22nd of December and traced the route taken by Big Foot (leader of the Miniconjou Lakota from the Cheyenne River Reservation) and his people, as they made their way from their camp near Bridger to where they were surrounded by the Seventh Calvary and killed near Wounded Knee Creek. Today the ride starts at Sitting Bull Camp, near Bull Head, to mark the anniversary of Sitting Bull’s death, and follows the route taken by some of his followers to join Big Foot. The ride then continues the rest of the way along Big Foot’s trail.

Over the years, numerous photographers and film crews have visited the Ride at various points along the trail. They come and take pictures, then go away. Since before Edward S. Curtis, tribes in the US have had a suspect relationship with photography. And two years ago a youth organizer from Standing Rock Reservation, Manaja Hill, expressed interest in the photographers giving back.

This is our third year. Under the direction of Los Angeles based photographer, Ken Marchionno, the students are provided cameras, a computer, a printer, transportation, and food. They are instructed in photographic and computer techniques, and each night make selections and prints from the day’s pictures.

In 2007 two students from Cheyenne River, Sandy Frank and Joshua Hale produced daily essays that were uploaded from the field each evening. In 2008 we will continue our daily postings.

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WOUNDED KNEE, SD – They gave up their warm beds and spent Christmas away from their families. For the last two weeks many Lakota young people have been committed to prayer as they rode their horses along the same frozen trail Chief Big Foot and his band followed 120 years ago after the murder of Sitting Bull on Standing Rock.

Once known as the Big Foot Memorial Ride, the Omaka Tokatakiya/Future Generation Ride has a Facebook group page informing visitors theirs is a way to “Celebrate Life and a New Generation, with a Vision that our Children and Great Grandchildren will continue to live in good health and happiness.” The group is proud they have “survived and will continue to carry the prayers that elders of the Bigfoot Ride have made for” them.

Several Youth Leaders were named for the Omaka Tokatakiya on Dec. 28th, 2009. The appointment of these leaders officially transitioned the group from the Bigfoot Memorial Riders to the Omaka Tokatakiya / Future Generations Riders.

: Charley New Holy (Oglala area); Joe Sierra, Anpowin White Plume, Tyson White Plume, and Rosie Lip (Manderson area); Tre Goings (Pine Ridge area); Jeremiah Young Bull Bear (Kyle area).

: Edgar Yellow Earring and Martin Taken Alive (Bull Head area); Paige Bailey (Ft. Yates area); TC Hill, Ramey Hill, Melania Fast Horse, Kim Cameron, Wiyaka His Horse is Thunder, Kody Nadeau and Teddy Iron Cloud (Wakpala area-Spirit Riders).

Nicole Silk and Joseph Looking Horse (Green Grass area); Lisa Lone Eagle (Dupree area); and Kelly Romero (Cherry Creek area).

: this morning the Standing Rock group left the banks of the Grand River, as the day goes by I ask all of you to say a little prayer for them because today our prayers have started for the Future Generations “Omaka Tokatakiya.”

: tonight a lot of us are spending our last nights in warm beds and thinking about what’s to come tomorrow and we’ll be suffering and praying for our Future Generations. What little we have we will continue our journey bringing hope, peace and strength to our nations. Great Creator of all beings grant us a safe journey as we travel our grandfather’s and grandmother’s road guide us well, give our horses strength and may we walk and ride in good health. As for our young people, let their path be clear and no harm to come to them bless them and watch over them and show us leaders how to guide.

a meal at Bridger Community Center in Bridger, SD. The riders from Standing Rock totaled 40. We have about 75 youth and 15 adults leaving from Bridger.

: we are saddling up this morning and making our way to the north fork of the Bad River. 10:22 am: we are on our way in the 25th Big Foot/Omaka Tokatakiya Ride.

: At 1:44pm after 26 hours we are finally out of the dead zone. We made our first camp last night at 7pm with 98 riders. Today, we left our camp with 120 riders. And at 6:46 pm we are now at Big Foot Pass.

Today 92 riders crossed the White River. We lost 18 riders to lame horses and the cold air. We made our camp around 4pm. We are resting at the Little Wound School in Kyle, SD.

Today belongs to the horse! All the horses will take a day of rest. And starting off our first activity of the day is a 3-on-3 youth basketball tournament with Cheyenne Rock, Pine Ridge, Little Eagle, Cherry Creek, Standing Rockies and Takojas; we have our own LNI here on the ride.

– the ride pulled out from Red Owl Springs at 8am, making their way to Wounded Knee. I estimate they will ride into Wounded Knee around 3 or 4pm today. Tonight there is a gathering at the Wounded Knee School Gym.

Photos by Olowan Thunder Hawk