The little boy in the picture is my Grandfather. His name is Fast Eagle. The bigger boy is Grandfather's Brother. His name is Swift Elk. The girl is Grandfather's Sister. Her name is Running Brook. Many say I am very much like her. My smile is, the way one side of my mouth curls upward when I smile.There were a total of 13 Brothers and Sisters, that also included a set of twins. Unfortunately the government stole them and placed them in various places. This still makes my Heart very sick. These things were common in those days among our People. They did what ever they wanted to do to Indian People and still do. Rarely was it a thing of goodness.



I remember one day when my Grandfather and my Mother and I were at a County Fair and a Man came up to us to say hello. The Man and my Grandfather seemed to hit it off right away. They got to talking quite a bit and before I knew it they were both in tears and embracing. They through their talking discovered they were blood Brothers. It is still fresh in my mind and in my Heart. It was 30 years since they had been separated and many states away, since that day that the government tore my Grandfather's Family apart. What a miracle for them to find one another like this. Our Creator blessed us so much that day. My Grandfather went home to be with Creator just a few years later and then his Brother a few years after Grandfather. Those few years after they had been reunited were some of the very best for both of them.
Thank You once again Creator.



This page will have many things on it. There will be things that my Grandfather told me both good and bad. Things he saw and people he met when he was a boy. Things he taught me. This is my tribute to him and the rest of my Family. I never met my Grandmother as she died before I was born. My Grandfather had been told by one of The Medicine Men that she would not live to see her first Grandchild. I was the first Grandchild. I will be doing a page for my Mother in the future but this one will mostly be about Tunkasila and me.



My Grandfather was born on December 22nd 1907. December is The Moon of The Popping Trees. He was born in South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. As I said earlier his whole Family had been torn apart. They were sent to the white mans schools and they became separated. My Grandfather hated that he was being told to be a certain way that he wasn't so he would fit into the white mans way so he finally ran away to California at a very young age. Before that happened my Grandfather was very happy. He was with his Family which is very important to Indian People. He was on his land. He talked with Chief Luther Standing Bear and Black Elk many times and so many other Great Men of those times who influenced him to become the Man he was. He overcame allot of adversity growing up.



"But why Grandfather?" I said to him. Grandfather looked at me and the tears were in his eyes and he said "I will never know why my little one as it is something that is so terrible that I can not understand how another human being can do such things." My Grandfather had just told me that his Grandmother my Great Great Grandmother was one of hundreds of Indian People which were mostly Women and Children who had been slaughtered at Wounded Knee. He then told me the whole story. He told me of our Sacred Ghost Dance and why so many of our People were murdered. I cried so hard that I do not think I have ever stopped or will. Sometimes I see the the scene of the terrible way my Great Great Grandmother and all the other's died and it is very hard for me as I know it is for all of my People. I wanted to learn everything about The Ghost Dance and I did. I was in my way defying the ones who were afraid of it. I was defying the government. I was a tough little girl in that regard.



Then there was the time when I first heard "the only good Indian is a dead Indian" story from my Tunkasila. I looked at him and could not believe such things could be said to my Grandfather. How could this be? I was angry, a little girl of 7, young yes but old enough to understand that it hurt and that it was wrong for someone to say this to my Tunkasila. He was a kind and loving Man and would never hurt anyone or any living thing. He then told me that it was not just him who was told this but all of the other Indians as well by some who were ignorant and that they were white people. My Grandfather also told me that it wasn't all white people who were mean like that. He had many good Friends who were white but the times were very bad then. Indians didn't get much respect from most of the white people. Grandfather was never prejudiced against any person of a different color as he always told me that we were all related. Mitakuye Oyasin. He would say that people who were prejudiced had just not found their way yet, that they were lost and that we must Pray for them to find their way.



Things like these that Grandfather told me always stayed with me and I began to fight at a very young age. I decided I would have to do something to help. So these experiences that my Oglala Relations went through made me the fighter I am for the rights of our People and all Indigenous Peoples. I became a strong person even through all the adversity I have also encountered. I learned it from Grandfather. I am like him. Strong but have a Heart that breaks very easy but I still must keep fighting. It is in my blood.



Please continue the journey to the next page on my Tunkasila or if you must leave the Home link is also below.