Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Page #6

your Indian heritage

rather than provided

to you the benefits

of an entire civilization?

Senator, please sit.

Sir, if every individual were taken

personally under your care,

as was my good fortune,

I admit, the outcome

might be what you seek.

But I am not the example you held up

to The Friends of the Indian.

I am the example...

of nothing.

I simply do not see how

placing each Indian man

on a desolate,

160-acre parcel of land

is going to lead his children

to medical school.

It will, in time.

But first, this must pass.

Or I guarantee you,

destitution is all the Sioux

will ever know.

I have many opponents,

Charles-

in the press, in Congress-

You have an opponent

before you, sir.

Yes.

I see that clearly now.

This explains the tone

of your letters.

"Drought, disease, hunger-

year in and year out. "

You think you are the first one

to decry these things?

This looks all very grim to you,

of course,

having been spared

all this yourself.

Children have died in my arms.

I have not been spared!

I devoted the larger part

of my career

to the betterment

of your race,

with you as the principal

beneficiary.

Is this your gratitude?

I am acting in the interest

of my people,

following the example

you set for me.

Do you really think

you know better than I

what is in the interest

of these people?

Yes.

I am one of them,

Senator.

You're no more

a Sioux Indian

than I am.

Charles...?

Did you know

there was a moment

on the train to Illinois where I was

sent away to school...

when I might have returned home

to my old land?

I nearly jumped.

Jumped?

What do you mean?

From that train.

I nearly did, Elaine.

I very nearly jumped.

Charles! Charles,

you have to wake up.

Ah- what?

It's Royer. He's ordered

all the Sioux to the agency.

- He wants them all here.

- Why?

There's been trouble.

They heard about the ration cuts.

He says they have guns at the

dance camp. He's wired for troops.

Just read it for yourself.

"Uprising of the whole

Indian race is imminent. "

"Imminent. "

I've got people to protect.

You're damn right

I'm getting troops here.

It's a stupid prophecy.

It'll pass if you let it.

I've been to these camps.

It's harmless dancing.

Harmless? Preaching death

to all whites is harmless?

If soldiers come

to this reservation,

you'll have more dead Indians

than any disease has ever taken.

You'd better leave

like the others.

With the threat of troops,

maybe the holdouts in those camps

will be frightened enough

to see reason.

Why should they see reason? The land

deal was shoved down their throats,

and still they're punished

with ration cuts.

A million pounds of beef,

Elaine- a million.

It has to have been a mistake.

They were promised by the commission.

You've been here

longer than I.

You know these are

never mistakes.

To provoke the Sioux

further in this panic-

- does that make sense?

- Yes. Knowing the whites.

I think you should go.

We're still needed here.

As what, witnesses?

It won't come to that.

What are you doing here?

What do you want?

Why haven't you brought

these people in?

For what?

Another council?

More rotten meat?

This is nonsense.

You're a Christian.

You don't believe

in this.

Then tell me

what to believe.

Tell me what to believe in,

white medicine man.

I ordered you to shut down

these dance camps.

- I can't.

- Why not?

Sitting Bull permits

the dancing.

The people

listen to him again.

- Bring him in.

- What if there's trouble?

There is already trouble.

Soldiers are riding for Pine Ridge

and I'll be damned

if they'll ride in here.

The agent

has sent for you. Dress.

I said, dress.

Your eyes are getting worse.

Quick, somebody get

Dr. Eastman!

Hurry!

- Easy, easy. Careful.

- This way.

- Where do you want her?

- Right here!

Here.

Behind you.

Charles!

Charles, hurry!

- What happened?

- She's been shot.

Help!

Somebody help!

Where are my children?

Help me!

What happened?

Where are my children...?

Tell me what happened.

They came for my father-in-law.

They came to arrest

Sitting Bull.

They came

to take him away.

What is going on?

We tried to stop them.

Where are you taking him?

Father, don't let them take you

without a fight.

- Be quiet!

- I won't go, I won't go!

Stay back! Stay back,

or we will arrest you all.

Oh, I got it.

The horse...

The white horse...

it danced.

We all turned

to look at it.

And he fired!

No.

They killed him!

They killed Sitting Bull!

No!

His boy's over here!

They shot Crow Foot!

He was just a boy.

They killed him too.

We ran away,

but the soldiers found us.

They took us

to Wounded Knee Creek.

Oh no! No!

Where are my children?

Doctor! Doctor!

It was at Wounded Knee,

near where we were dancing.

Elaine, bag!

They tried

to take our weapons.

You had more than this.

You had Winchesters

and Henrys.

I know you had

Winchesters and Henrys.

- Where are your weapons?

- "Where are your weapons?" he shouted.

Search the tepees.

Have heart, men.

The messiah's promise

will come true.

The bullets

will not harm you.

Their bullets...

will not harm you.

Search all of them!

He tried to take a gun

from a deaf man!

- He could hear, they didn't care.

- Give me that gun.

- Leave him alone! He can't hear you!

- Let go of it.

Let go!

And then the cannons came.

Go after them!

Go! Fast!

I cannot mend the leg.

No.

You will not take it.

Please.

You have no choice.

There is a choice.

We didn't fire first.

I swear to Almighty God,

we did not fire first.

Blue coat...

you whites use

many weapons against us.

Do not have such

a bad heart about it.

We have always feared

your guns the least.

For two days,

the snow prevented

a search

for survivors...

and the burial

of the dead.

From that day on,

nothing would be

the same-

not for the Sioux

as a people,

and not for Charles.

Tell me what you see.

I'm the one who told

our people to stay.

Tell me straight.

I have the ears for it.

Witnesses.

It's not what

we set out to be.

But in the end,

it's what we were.

Charles would practice medicine

again only briefly.

A succession of positions

always seemed to end

in voluntary resignation

or dismissal

and eventually,

financial hardship.

Charles?

Soon he had

nowhere to turn.

Charles?

And we needed money.

Well, how are you?

I'm fine.

I'm sorry to hear about your

resignation- and your wife's.

Great loss

to the reservation.

You're awaiting

the commissioner?

Yes.

Well, we would be very grateful

to have your services again

for the renaming project.

- Renaming project?

- Yes.

I only know there's

a position available.

Yes, I put you up

for it myself,

knowing your...

circumstances.

It's the individual deeds

to the land.

They've been

impossible to assign

with each Indian going

by so many tribal names,

so much confusion.

So what we need

is a single name-

a Christian name-

for each Sioux,

assigned by you,

randomly or at your discretion,

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