The Spirit is moving

Our group had attended a wake for an elderly Lakota woman. I have to tell you, to have twenty non Indians (Us) just show up at the wake, seemed very strange. I was uneasy about “barging” in on a grieving communities’ wake. Sure enough, when we got there, I know I felt everyone’s staring at us. Later I was able to see it was because we were a large group and our lead failed to follow the pastor who led us into the church and do as she did. However, we got over that first hump and greeted all the Elders on the way to view the body.

When we sat down, the service began and it was explained to those in attendance, why we were there. We were welcomed at every step of the process, made to feel as if we had as much need to be there as the others. The Lakota people want outsiders to just respect their culture and way of life. Although this was a Christian wake, there aspects of traditional Lakota ways incorporated into the service. Nothing different than how some groups of people do things at funerals and wakes that are special for the grieving family.

The traditional Elder speaker explained some of their customs to the entire group. He said he was speaking English and Lakota, not for our group that had visited but for the Lakota grandchildren who no longer understood the Lakota language. There was an opportunity for education of the young and he old. The speaker spoke of keeping the language, the need to learn and teach. Without their language, there is no Lakota. Although at times the speaker looked towards our group and spoke of the non Lakota and the past hardships caused by the “White man”, it was never directed at us but at his people to help educate the Lakota in their lost ways.

Food, boy was there food there. At the wake there were many and I do mean many sheet cakes there. People kept bringing in cake after cake. I later found out that the cakes are like eatable sympathy cards. For the Lakota, giving is a way of life and for those that were grieving, it is their way in death also. We stayed for drumming, singing (in Lakota) and food, lots of it. During the eating, the casket was closed since the deceased was unable to partake in the food being served. This was done out of respect until the food was all done. Then the casket was opened and followed by more singing and drumming. We did not stay much longer. Had we stayed, our group may have been presented with one of the 19 star quilts hanging on the walls. The family of the deceased always practice a giving at the end of the wake.

The following day we visited Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills. These hills are the most sacred land of the Lakota. The land was promised to them in a treaty signed by the U.S.

government. When gold was found in the hills, the government stole the land from the Lakota. Crazy Horse had refused to leave the land. Eventually he was caught. While in military custody, he was stabbed in the back by a soldier. It was nice to see Mt. Rushmore, for the work that had gone into the sculpture. It was awful to see the U.S. presidents, all of which were part of the abuses to the Lakota Indians. Here you have the Presidents, carved into the mountain of the stolen sacred land of the Lakota.

Next we visited the Crazy Horse monument being constructed. The Mt. Rushmore sculpture dwarfs in comparison to Crazy Horse when it will be fully completed. The work on Crazy Horse started 50 years ago. The head is completed at this point. The entire project is done as a private enterprise. The government has twice attempted to fund the project but has been turned down. Past experience shows that this was a good decision. Letting the government get involved would only lead to poor management and a waste of money. I would rather see it go slow than not completed at all and used by the U.S. government to take more land away from the Indians. See Crazy Horse to learn more and to donate.

Last night we attended a church service at Woyatan Lutheran Church in Rapid City. This service was a mix of traditional ELCA Lutheran service combined with Lakota language and Lakota traditions. The service started off with Lakota singing and drums. I loved the entire service. The Spirit was so alive and jumping about with dance as the people worshiped God. The lay leader, John WhiteHorse gave a witness that night. WhiteHorse is a recent convert to Christianity. The Spirit has taken hold and is both shaking and healing WhiteHorse. In February he will start Seminary at Wartburg Theological Seminay. We were invited to sing for the congregation. We sang the same song that we had sung for the wake. With the Spirit moving about, we were ALL energized to sing, move and clap. For those that know me, I am not a singer but I was last night. I was smiling from ear to ear, clapping to the beat and singing loudly. Praise God for moving me to sing! I really felt invited, at home, comfortable AND a whole lot more.

Today we will be heading out to three church services, a feeding of buffalo and a potluck dinner at another church. For my fellow seminary students, for my church congregations, for my friends…..come out to Pine Ridge and be part of God in the work of the people here.