Welcoming back the Thunders

“Welcome Back the Thunders” ceremony acknowledges the rains that nurture the growth of life. We started our journey at the bottom of Black Elk Peak. Several members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe had a table set up for signing. We make this journey every year up the hill to the stone castle to lay our prayers and welcome back the rain. We say a prayer at the bottom of the hill with those who can’t make the journey. Ben Rod had a Table set up with hot coffee, hot tea and hot coco. The lady handing out the hot drinks gave my friend Gina Malory her gloves to make the journey. I grabbed a cup of hot cocoa to warm my hands before the journey up the hill. As we journey forward we come across several people already coming down the hill. Some people walk to the halfway point and turn around leaving their prayers. The path this year was narrow with a lot of slippery slopes. Every step we took was a tense footfall while trying to keep balanced.

We passed by elders and youth, all walks of life came to Welcome Back the Thunders. The first person I recognized on the walk was Jade Red Bear, a motivational speaker and advocate for sobriety, with three years of sobriety under his belt. The next person I ran into was a relative, Avis Red Bear who works with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. I passed several students, one class was the Eagle Butte Braves. I am proud to see all of the youth who made the journey. Three school buses full of kids as well as the many elders all joined along in the journey. I watched as kids helped other kids when they slipped or fell they would help pick each other up. One girl fell in the snow and her hands were cold so I gave her a pair of my gloves since I brought two pairs. We helped the elders who had a difficult time, so we strolled slowly making sure they didn’t slip. I myself fell three times, but each time I just laughed because I would tell the person in front of me to be careful, then I would go into the snow. As we come to the halfway point we see people sitting down to rest and we offer them oranges and bananas, water and peanuts that have been provided by the Oglala Sioux Tribe at the beginning of the hike. 

The hike up is not a race, so we go with the crowd and we help others along the way as needed. As we near the top of the hike the view completely changes, from winter to spring. The view of the Hills is spectacular and makes the journey all worth it. The sun started melting the snow and being able to witness the transition is magical. When we walk up the hill it seems like we are in winter, as we walk down the hill it’s almost like everything has melted and become spring-like. As I reached the top we asked everybody how far to the top and we always got encouraging messages of hope, such as “Keep going’ or “You’re almost there”. We ask people if they made it to the top and congratulate everyone whether they went the full hike or not. The purpose of this ceremony is to show up and pray together. I carried prayers up to the top for my mom, I forgot red cloth to wrap my tobacco in so I gave up my red gloves I got in Canada. I placed tobacco in each glove and tied my prayers to the prayer tree at the top of the hill. On the way down a little girl had gotten too far ahead of her grandma so my friend Gina took care of her and made sure we waited for her grandma to come down the hill. The park rangers came up looking for the girl, her family was happy to find her and glad she hadn’t slipped or fell anywhere on the hill. I had also met an American soldier from Virginia who was on furlough. He is currently fighting in Ukraine. As I reached the halfway point I noticed some red willow growing close to the path so I said some prayers and gathered some. 

The whole experience is something I believe all Lakota people should experience, even if it’s to just go pray at the bottom, the younger ones are always willing to carry prayers to the top. The funniest part was a group of students who had found a shortcut coming down the hill. A slide made of snow on the side of the path they chose to simultaneously slide down like chutes and ladders. Even the drummer slid down with his drum raised in the air. A few students slid into each other and started laughing. Even a few elders decided to take the slide. I myself slid down against my better judgment and was covered in snow but I laughed. We helped each other back down the hill as a community, as a family. This journey gives me more understanding of the term “We are all related” because even though we may not know each other, we help each other when needed. This was my third time coming to this hike and I will definitely be back next year to help pray. Thank you to all the students who participated as well as the Oglala Sioux tribal members who came to hand out snacks and water. Thank you to Ben Rod for encouraging me to tell my story. 

(Contact Christopher A. Piña at pinachris369@gmial.com)

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