Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Page #4

Without holes.

Thank you.

Father.

We are lucky. Here the agent

lets us hunt for our meat.

Watch.

One bull.

Whoo! Whoo!

"My dear Charles...

the great Sioux reservation

is no longer great in size alone.

It is now home

to a great celebrity.

Sitting Bull has arrived.

But the sorrow in his eyes-

it is the image

of all I have seen,

and not only

at Standing Rock,

but at all the agencies.

At Pine Ridge,

a drought destroyed

the late summer crops

and made

for underweight cattle.

And then there are

the epidemics-

measles, influenza,

whooping cough.

Have you seen a dying child

with whooping cough?

There is little

that can be done

except to prepare the families

for the inevitable.

This has become

my avocation.

Sincerely, Elaine. "

There's a fine line

between incentive and coercion.

And if we have to cross

that line

in pursuit of

the Indians' betterment,

- then so be it.

- Hear, hear.

Charles?

May I speak with you

a moment, sir?

Yes- I want to introduce you

to a few new people.

- Come on.

- Yes, wait.

I received this letter

from Miss Goodale.

Yes, that can wait.

Charles, with this resolution,

the Senate will authorize a new

offering for the Sioux. One-

Do you know about

this measles epidemic?

And whooping cough

and influenza?

The agent's official reports are...

somewhat different.

I haven't known Elaine

to exaggerate.

She's an inspector of schools,

Charles. She's not a physician.

She's an advocate for their cause,

as you are.

And now you speak of coercion.

I don't understand.

If we don't put that land

into the hands of individual Indians

in five years- less-

homesteaders and ranchers

will demand it all...

for nothing.

The Indian must own

his own piece of earth, Charles.

Did you know

that there is no word

in the Sioux language

for that, sir?

- For what?

- To "own the earth. "

Not in any native language.

Well, then perhaps

you should invent one.

Come on.

I am sorry.

The road is not good for wheels.

It's all right.

I'll get some help.

Oh, I'm your assistant,

Doctor.

- I'll take your things.

- No no, please.

Take care of your son.

And watch over our things.

Little Hawk,

keep an eye on your father.

There.

Good morning.

He wants to mend the wagon.

You must be Dr. Eastman.

I'm Agent Royer.

- Welcome to Pine Ridge.

- A pleasure.

- Right this way.

- All right.

Here it is.

Where's the examination table?

Last fellow

managed with a chair.

What is that, Mr. Royer?

That's how you dispense

your medicines, of course.

Without examination?

- Well, I-

- I'm sick.

I need a brown bottle.

A brown bottle, please.

Me too,

a brown bottle.

Cod liver oil.

Shipment's late.

When you're ready,

I'll show you around.

I'm sorry,

but there's none left.

If you men are sick,

please, come in.

Elaine.

Elaine.

You wrote you'd be inspecting

the schools at Rosebud.

I doubt I'll be missed.

Not by the teachers,

in any event.

- I'm so happy you're here.

- Me too.

What do you think?

Needs a lot of work.

It's going to be great.

All right, sir, we're just going to

shift the shoulders just a little bit.

And chin up, please.

Okay.

Wonderful,

Chief Sitting Bull.

Very still now, please.

Very still.

Thank you. $2.50.

It would also be an honor for me

to have your autograph.

Turn around.

It would be an honor for me

to take more of your money.

Thank you.

Morning.

Nice hat.

- Wild West Show?

- Mm.

And the horse...

you must be looking forward

to joining Bill Cody again.

What is that

you're making?

When I am finished,

I will know.

If we get enough rain,

you could still raise corn.

Grasshoppers eat corn.

Let them plant it.

I will live as I please.

No, you will not.

Do you understand?

I'm told you squandered Cody's pay

on friends and fancy dinners.

And you come back

with tall tales.

You did not meet President Cleveland,

yet you go around boasting

that he called you

"the greatest living Indian. "

These things do not advance

your people's cause.

Nor does posing for portraits,

autographs for money.

Now I have had very good compliance

here at Standing Rock...

the best

of all the agencies-

farming,

school enrollment, church.

And I will not see that

jeopardized

by the poor example

of a respected man like yourself.

You will farm,

and you will enroll

your son here in school

and see that he

attends church.

Now I am finished.

- And what is that?

- To my ears,

your words seem to come

out of your rear end.

This is to silence you.

This is what is left of the great tree

that was my people.

Take it

and you would have it all.

I'm allowing 12 Standing Rock Sioux

to go with Cody again this fall.

You will not be

among them.

"My dear Senator Dawes,

as I believed you sincere

in asking me

to keep you informed,

I write you again in an appeal

for your assistance.

With no medical equipment

here worthy of the name

and understocked

in medicines,

there has been little reason

for the sick to risk the journey

to the agency for treatment.

I bought a horse and a wagon

with my own salary

and have just now returned from

the several weeks in the villages. "

Take a seat.

"It is a mistake

to trust the official reports.

Measles, influenza

and whooping cough

have ascended from hell

all at once.

My own assistant's child

has been taken. "

"The agent here, Royer,

has no experience

and even less inclination

to help these people.

Of equal concern

is the epidemic of hopelessness

that has overtaken

the reservation... "

I'm sick, Doctor.

Brown bottle, please.

"That the Sioux would bear

the wretched taste of cod-liver oil

for the ounce of spirits

contained in the bottle

is, to me, the whole

of their experience in a nutshell. "

Thank you, Doctor.

"I no longer deny them.

Many here fear

a return to the old ways.

The prophesy of a Paiute shaman

called Wovoka

has spread from tribe to tribe

faster than

a telegraph signal.

Rekindling old superstitions

among the Sioux

and old apprehensions

among the whites

who are sure to mistake

desperation for hostility.

As conditions worsen,

the church can provide little solace

beyond a Christian burial.

Sincerely yours,

Charles Eastman. "

A vision came to me

when the sun...

went into shadow,

and I lay dying.

And in my death,

I saw the Heavens

of the white robes.

And yes,

it is as they describe it.

But also there, my children,

all the Indians

that ever roamed

this earth...

all your beloved ancestors,

and mine...

and those young ones

who were taken

by the white man's diseases.

Do not grieve for them.

They want you to know

that they are happy.

Yes.

And you should not grieve

for yourselves,

because here

is what the white robes

did not tell you-

the white man,

my children,

will soon... be no more.

Now you must not hate

the white man.

This will only

delay his end.

But if you

will do the dance

that I will teach you...

all the ancestors

will return.

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