Every year on December 15th people gather at Sitting Bull Camp, near Bullhead, South Dakota, to ride horseback nearly three hundred miles to the site of the Wounded Knee massacre. The ride is called the Oomaka Tokatakiya (Future Generations) Ride and the majority of the riders come from three Lakota (Sioux) reservations: Standing Rock, Cheyenne River, and Pine Ridge. Others come from as far as Germany and the Czech Republic. In two weeks they travel across rivers and farms, cross a major interstate, and arrive at Wounded Knee on the anniversary of the massacre that took more than 300 lives in 1890.
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 were chased by the 7th Calvary, from their camp near Bridger to where they were surrounded 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.
The sense of accomplishment and comradery that is nurtured by the ride goes a long way toward healing the pain of living in lands occupied for generations. With poverty rates of over fifty percent and unemployment rates over seventy, these are consistently the very poorest communities in the US. This is a place that gives people little reason for hope and the ride is a fight against that.
In contrast to the dominant, disheartening imagery coming from the reservation, this work concentrates on the Lakota's efforts toward self-empowerment. While the ride is in many ways in homage to Sitting Bull, Big Foot, and those who lost their lives at Wounded Knee, this ride is also meant to foster leadership qualities in the youth. 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 into puberty, ride as many as 35 miles in a day.
These photographs chronicle the 2004 ride from start to finish. The work focuses as much on the ride, its landscape and hardship, as it does the individuals involved. Taken from both horseback and support vehicles, the images offer a unique perspective and an intimate view. Included in the essay are images of the ride, in both cross-country and urban settings, lunch and dinner breaks, sleeping arrangements, portraits of riders with their horses, and a map showing the route.
--> Ken Marchionno
Es waere so toll da mitzureiten!!! 2 Schueler von unserer Schule werden ausgewaehlt, wir muessen uns dafuer mit einem Essay bewerben... es waere einfach nur awesome da mitzureiten und Fotos zu machen... Das Problem ist nur, dass ich von Anfang an keine Chance habe: Ich kann erstens nicht reiten und zweitens ist das ganze ueber Weihnachten, was ich eigentlich gerne mit Fran und David verbringen wuerde. Ausserdem ist der ganze Ritt verdammt hart... Du brauchst da schon Erfahrung mit Pferden und der Kaelte... 300 Meilen!!! Aber es ist einfach beeindruckend so nachzuempfinden, wie es den Lakota damals ergangen ist... Das ganze ist so eine traurige Geschichte.
Ich bin jedenfalls ganz schoen gespannt, wer da mitreiten wird...
Klickt mal hier und schaut euch die ganzen Bilder an, Ride 2004 and 2005... amazing!!! Da sind sooo tolle Photos dabei, ich finde das einfach nur herrlich...
Ich wuerde am liebsten alle Bilder hier draufstellen, die sind sooo toll :D Schaut sie euch bitte alle an! xDD
Und hier ist ein ganz schoener Bericht... http://www.indianer-reservation.de/Seiten/winterpferd.htm (geht bei Teil 2 weiter)
life is neongrün
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* I * S * A * B * E * L *
* 4 * E * V * E * R *
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- Robert Frost
~ ~ ~
"But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin."
"In fact," said Mustapha Mond, "your're claiming the right to be unhappy."
- Brave New World
~ ~ ~
In dem Blog hier werdet ihr wahrscheinlich bunt gemixt alles mögliche finden, Bücher, Filme, Lieder, Gedichte, Gedichte, Fotos, und was sich sonst noch so alles posten lässt... Photos normalerweise nur für VIPs.
Und über Kommis freu ich mich doch immer - also warum hinterlasst ihr mir nicht einfach mal gleich ein paar davon? ;-)
Liebe Grüße an alle die mich kennen und die ich kenne, ganz besonders an meinen Weicheierkumpel Nick (Möge die Macht mit uns eiern!) und den frisch-geweicheierten Weißen Merlin (und nen schönen Gruß an Fedie!) - BS4ever!!! =))
Joe
- das verlorene Ei
SOUTH DAKOTA ROCKS!
~ neongrün 4ever ~
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Handballfreak24, Posted on Thursday, 08 November 2007 at 3:27 PM
damn, this really sounds amazing!
schade, aber du sieht sicher so auch viele andre Sachen! Und ja, das klingt hart (wobei ich das engl nur überflogen hab... mein kopf brummt schon laut genug)
Aber ich drück dir die daumen, dass du trotzdem viele tausend schöne bilder machen kannst! :) und weihnachten wird auch sicher so schön! :)
Handballfreak24, Posted on Thursday, 08 November 2007 at 3:29 PM
PS: The fotos are great!