Day 15...Happy Holidays

So tonight is Christmas Eve. Merry Xmas. But I also want to acknowledge all of the other celebrations and I know with my limited knowledge of world religions and ceremony I'll mention a few and then put an etc...Merry Xmas, Happy Chanukah, and Happy Kwanza...I thought I'd squeeze them all in to one email as our journey is nearing it's final destination and the journey part of the Dakota 38 blog as far as the ride is concerned will come to an end...Let's do some catch up. Yesterday Dec 23 was my first day back on the horse. Literally. I rode a beautiful and at first aggressive horse named Tatankawi...(possible mispelling don't want to offend his family) I rode for about 5 miles and then traded places with Silas on the horse. The great part was that for about a mile Silas carried the camera on the horse and got some really interesting shots. It wasn't really all that it was cracked up to be in the end but basically for the little time that a camera was on horseback, it was pretty wild. What a great feeling yesterday was. Riding through cold, snowy conditions, over beautiful terrain with 45 other riders on horseback. It's a day and an experience I'll always remember. I plan to ride again tomorrow as it is our final day of riding. 18 miles. I want to thank all of the riders, all of the supporters and to Jim Miller for having this dream, all of which made it possible for me to experience yesterday. I'm truly thankful. Ok, blah blah blah about me. On to today. So much is happening it's almost like I can't keep up. Here are some highlights. Pancho rode a horse today with a large flag of the Planet Earth on it signifying his committment to Global Oneness. It was pretty awesome to see this large flag jutting above all the heads of the riders and definitely sent the right message to the other riders as well as the communities that we are currently driving through. We are 18 miles away from Mankato. 18 miles away from the site of the largest mass hanging in US History. It's a lot of mixed feelings right now to be honest. I believe at the end of every journey there is a feeling of completion, joy, community and bonding. This journey although mirroring that pattern in a lot of ways somehow seems different. There's a different kind of energy as we near Mankato. One of hope and reconcilliation, but one also of pain, loss and hurt. Although the hangings in Mankato happened 146 years ago I'm amazed at how fresh these wounds feel to the Native American community. Over the course of American history the numbers go like this...60 million to 800,000...At it's lowest 800,000 was the number of Native Americans living in the United States. That number has gone up a small amount and factoring in Cananda in North America I believe the number of Native Americans living in North America is at 1.7 million. This is going to be strong. But that's genocide. I'm truly not trying to be too political here as I want to remain with the inspiration and how many amazing acts of kindness and generosity we've seen along the road but just read the history. Look on websites. Read articles that are outside of the 1 chapter that you may have read in a high school textbook. I promise you it will be worth your while and extremely informative and enlightening. With all of that being said I was thinking about the Jewish Community and the Holocaust. In linking these two attrocities together, (as there are many scholars who believe Hitler borrowed the US Governments form of concentration camps used on the Native Americans at Ft. Snelling and all along their death march from Lower Brule to Mankato.) I thought about all of the healing that has gone on within the Jewish community. From apologies, court hearings, and punishing of war criminals to museums, monuments, tolerance centers and various mainstream books and films, the Jewish community (at least in my experience) have begun to come together and heal the wounds that stemmed from their time in the concentration camps. To me it doesn't seem like the Native American community has had that healing. Now I don't claim to be a historian, so I don't know exactly who's apologized for what and when, as well as the history of specific treaties, land aggreements, trusts, tribal gov't etc, but it does seem to me in my limited amount of time here that their story has not been told. I mean why had I not heard of the largest mass hanging in US History? Did you know about that? Is there a memorial day to commemorate such a horrific and spectacular loss of life? I've seen this ride and the showing of some of our footage to the communities that we travel through have that healing effect. It brings people together. We talk, we share, we laugh, we cry. This in my opinion needs to happen all over. My hope is that this film and our experience here will spread like wildfire. There is so much wisdom in the land, the culture, the spirituality and the people within the Native American community. What first needs to happen is that the Native American community needs to get in touch with the Native American community. The fact that only 10 people under 30 on the Sisseton/Wopton Reservation speak Dakota is a real crisis. The language is in danger of dying out. The elders are passing away and with them will go the oral traditions of this great culture. This needs to be preserved and these brave warriors need to continue to live and thrive on their original land. From new green jobs, cultural and language education to returning to an organic diet the future truly is bright and this ride has shown me hope. Now I don't want to get all utopian on you. I have seen some of the darker sides of the community (as with any community) and I'll leave it at that. There is work to be done and I encourage the Tribal Governments and will continue to help my new friends in any way possible. I've made new friends. Within the Native American community and outside as well. I'll start small. Smooth Feather will continue to focus on the small. Small acts of kindness and finding out how we can make a difference in one persons life, a family, a community, a nation, an earth, a universe, a solar system, a milky way:)...The last little bit I give thanks to Pancho for his truly inspiring Global view.

I know I know..."Adam, this feels like the final scene, the final chapter of this journey, it's a little bit much and pushy for me. I liked it better when you're funny and getting bucked off horses in Canada"...True that is always funny, but I'm not trying to prove a point, make a speech, prove that I can craft an argument. I'm simply being direct. These men and women I've met are direct. They ride horses all day and will always tell you how they feel. Even if they're quiet, my new friends are as Sarah would say "Telling without telling"...The above statements are direct and I hope you the reader can appreciate that. I''m completely humbled by my experience here and look foward to tomorrrow when I'm back on the horse. I leave you with that tonight. It's ok after you get bucked off a horse to take your time in getting back on. That's natural, it's healing, it's real. But when you get knocked down, bucked off, broken up with, rejected, whatever, breathe, heal, take your time, but then get up and start running again. You and all the beings on this earth are truly made of magic. You were born to run. Run, feel the wind on your skin...Dance feel the air under your feet, sit still...feel the breath in your lungs...Whatever it may be...Get up again, and be direct, honest and you'll never go wrong...