On this day in 1868, the Fort Laramie Treaty was signed. Today, we acknowledge that this treaty (which recognized the Black Hills as part of the "Great Sioux Reservation" and intended for the exclusive use of the Lakota People) was later broken by the US Government.
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Forged in the wake of massacres conducted by the US Army against Indigenous peoples, increased movement of settlers along the Bozeman Trail, and successful Native resistance during Red Cloud's War, the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 defined land boundaries for the Oceti Sakowin (Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota) as well as the Crow, Northern Arapaho and Northern Cheyenne, protecting the tribes' sovereignty over much of their traditional lands. However, the treaty also instituted several assimilationist policies on behalf of the US government, policies which contributed to a loss of cultural lifeways that continues to impact Native communities up to the present day.

When gold was discovered in the Black Hills in the 1870s, the US government reneged on the treaty, overtaking tribal land that had been protected under the 1868 articles and confining tribes to small reservations. In response to this violation of treaty terms, the tribes of the Oceti Sakowin entered into legal proceedings against the federal government in the early 20th century. The case culminated in a 1980 decision by the Supreme Court declaring the US seizure of the Black Hills illegal and offering tribes $100 million for the land. The tribes of the Oceti Sakowin have continually rejected this offer and have asserted that the sacred lands were never for sale.
Activists today continue to push the federal government to honor the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 and all treaties between tribal nations and the United States.

This post is a part of our Reconciliation through Education series. To learn more about this and other issues related to the Tipi Raisers mission, please email mackenzie@thetipiraisers.org to sign up for our newsletter.

Last week, Pope Francis issued an apology for the role of members of the Catholic Church in perpetrating the abuse and forced assimilation of Indigenous children within Canada's residential school system.

​A delegation of tribal leaders and residential school survivors from First Nations and Métis communities across Canada had traveled to Rome earlier in the week to share the pain of their experiences at the 139 residential schools that existed in the country into the late 20th century.

The apology comes seven years after the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which had been tasked with investigating and reporting on the depth of abuse faced by Indigenous children within the residential school system, had called for the Pope to apologize on behalf of the Catholic Church for the role of Catholic organizations in overseeing many of the schools. In the words he shared with the visiting First Nations delegation, Pope Francis condemned the abuse inflicted upon Native children and the ideological colonization faced by Indigenous communities past and present. He also expressed shame for the way Catholic institutions had harmed generations of First Nations Peoples through the residential school system, and emphasized the traditional Indigenous wisdom of considering the impact of one’s actions seven generations onward.

While some Native leaders declared the apology an important first step in the healing process, Native activists across North America/Turtle Island are also calling for more concrete actions from the Church towards reconciliation and a public conversation around the truth of the boarding school era in the United States, a country with an even longer history of Native boarding schools than that of Canada.

Several federal initiatives that would begin bringing this history to light are underway in the US: a report is set to be released later this month by the Department of the Interior following efforts by Sec. Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) to investigate graves at boarding school sites around the nation, and activists on Capitol Hill continue to lobby for the passage of two congressional bills aimed at investigating and reconciling the history of this era.

This post is a part of our Reconciliation through Education series. To learn more about this and other issues related to the Tipi Raisers mission, email mackenzie@thetipiraisers.org to sign up for our newsletter.

Sources include: Resources on this topic from Indian Country Today, Native News Online, NPR, CBC, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.

As place names around the nation continue to be changed to reflect the original histories of the land, calls to return Pikes Peak to its Ute name, Tavá (pronounced Tuh-VAH in the Ute language), are echoing across the state. The Ute tribe, who are the original inhabitants of the area, named the mountain Tavá Kaa-vi - meaning “Sun Mountain” - due to the way sunlight first appears on its summit before making its way down to the surrounding land. The band of Utes who lived at the mountain’s base are the Tabeguache, the People of Sun Mountain. While the peak is sacred to the Ute, other tribes including the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Comanche often traveled through the area throughout history.

When US Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike entered what later became Colorado Territory in 1806, he and his men made an unsuccessful attempt to summit the peak. Decades later during the Colorado Gold Rush, settlers passing through the region began to refer to the mountain as Pikes Peak, a label which has persisted to the present-day. Pikes Peak has since loomed large in Colorado history and the image of the American West, with its summit views serving as the inspiration for "America the Beautiful" by Katharine Lee Bates. While some claim that changing the name would be a detriment to the economy that has been built around the mountain, as many businesses are branded with the Pike’s Peak name, others continue to push for the peak to be known by its Indigenous title.

Calls for Pikes Peak to be returned to its Ute name come amidst the renaming of other Colorado landmarks: A mountain in Clear Creek County whose previous moniker was a derogatory slur now bears the name of a 19th century Cheyenne woman, Mestaa’ėhehe (Owl Woman). The peak was renamed after Sec. of the Interior Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, announced efforts to remove derogatory place names around the country.

Join the Tipi Raisers family as we seek to reconcile this complicated history and alleviate the conditions of poverty that are a direct result of it! To learn more about this and other Indigenous issues, email mackenzie@thetipiraisers.org to sign up for our newsletter!

The 44th Annual Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI) is currently underway in Rapid City, South Dakota.

The basketball tournament was first held in 1976 amidst ongoing turmoil on the Pine Ridge Reservation and a tense atmosphere following the occupation of Wounded Knee by the American Indian Movement three years prior. Predominately-white schools in South Dakota refused to play Native teams from Pine Ridge, leading Lakota basketball coach Bryan Brewer to start a tournament for Native schools in the region. The event has since become a hub for athletic and cultural activity: volleyball matches, academic competitions, Lakota language and cultural presentations, traditional hand games, a poetry slam, and a wrestling tournament all take place simultaneously as basketball teams compete on the main court. This week, we spoke with Standing Rock tribal member, Lakota Language teacher, and former LNI competitor Reuben FastHorse about the LNI and the unique style of basketball played at the tournament.

Teams from reservations often play in a "run-and-gun" style, Reuben explained. According to him, the speedy runs and quick, agile movements which characterize run-and-gun basketball likely stem from battle tactics employed by Lakota warriors on the Plains. To Native communities, Reuben shared, “[Basketball] is not just a game, its more than that. We’ve changed it into our game. We are masters of adaptation: we have had to adapt, by necessity, to this world." He also highlighted the evolution of the dynamic between the Native and non-Native communities in Rapid City as a result of the tournament, noting that the police escort of this week's LNI grand entrance caravan demonstrates progress in the town's cross-cultural relations. "The LNI is that springboard for many people to know and see Native Americans all year round." Wopila, Reuben, for sharing your knowledge of this topic!

Join the Tipi Raisers family as we seek to reconcile this complicated history and alleviate the conditions of poverty that are a direct result of it! To learn more about this and other Indigenous issues, email mackenzie@thetipiraisers.org to sign up for our newsletter!

Additional sources include: Coverage of this topic from KNBN NewsCenter 1, Sports Illustrated, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, and the New Yorker.

Last Thursday, San Carlos Apache tribal members held a demonstration outside of Senator Mark Kelly’s Phoenix, Arizona office, urging him to support the Save Oak Flat Act. The bill would protect Oak Flat, a sacred site for the San Carlos Apache and several other Southwest tribes, from mining projects.

For the Apache, Oak Flat is the dwelling place of the Ga'an, messengers or guardians who protect the Apache people. Known as Chi’chil Bildagoteel in the Apache language, the area also continues to be the site of important ceremonies and is home to medicinal and ceremonial plants that are key to Apache culture and spirituality.

The Apache were forced off of the majority of their lands in the late 1800s, but Oak Flat had been federally protected until a 2014 bill authorized the turnover of the lands to mining company Resolution Copper. Although the land swap was formally approved by the Trump administration in January 2021, a lawsuit filed soon after by nonprofit organization Apache Stronghold now awaits a 2022 ruling. The lawsuit argues that the proposed copper mine will leave a 2-mile crater in the sacred area.

Join the Tipi Raisers family as we seek to reconcile this complicated history and alleviate the conditions of poverty that are a direct result of it! To learn more about this and other Indigenous Issues, email mackenzie@thetipiraisers.org to sign up for our newsletter!

Sources include: Resources on this topic from Native News Online, Indian Country Today, the Washington Post, AP News, and the Phoenix New Times.