{"id":39692,"date":"2026-01-09T15:38:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T20:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/my-land-is-where-my-dead-lie-buried\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T15:38:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T20:38:35","slug":"my-land-is-where-my-dead-lie-buried","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/my-land-is-where-my-dead-lie-buried\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018My land is where my dead lie buried\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/span><\/div>
\"Cheyenne<\/a><\/p>\n

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal President Ryman LeBeau, with South Dakota Congressional leaders Senator Mike Rounds, Representative Dusty Johnson, Senator John Thune and BIA Deputy Assistant Scott Davis. (Photo by Ernestine Anunkasan Hopa)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

WOUNDED KNEE \u2014 December 29, 2025. Under a cold winter sky on the very ground where hundreds of Mnicoujou and Hunkpapa Lakota were massacred 135 years ago, tribal leaders, descendants, and members of South Dakota\u2019s congressional delegation gathered to commemorate the anniversary and celebrate the passage of the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act. The new federal law permanently protects the 40 acre site under joint ownership of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.<\/p>\n

Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out opened the event by grounding the crowd in both history and the long legislative journey that led to this moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis started under President Kevin Killer\u2019s administration,\u201d he said, acknowledging Killer in the crowd. \u201cOur council, along with Cheyenne River, moved quickly to secure the land. That\u2019s how this all began.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained how the work continued across administrations and tribal councils.<\/p>\n

\"On<\/a><\/p>\n

On December 28, 2025 dozens of Omaka Tokatakiya- Future Generations Riders, who began their 300 mile trek from the location where Sitting Bull was killed in 1890, arrive at Cha.kp\u00e9 \u00d3pi Ow\u00e1yawa.ic\u2019iye, the place there hundreds of their ancestors were massacred on December 29. 1890. (Photo by Ernestine Anunkasan Hopa)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWhen Chairman LeBeau and I came into office, we carried it forward with the help of our congressional delegation,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s still much more work ahead, but today we honor how this came to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also invited attendees to follow the delegation later to the historic church where survivors were cared for in 1890.<\/p>\n

Chairman Ryman LeBeau spoke early in the ceremony, grounding the day in the shared Lakota memory carried by Cheyenne River families.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor generations, our families carried the memory of Wounded Knee with pain, dignity, and truth,\u201d he said. \u201cToday, by protecting this land, we honor our ancestors and ensure their stories will never again be pushed aside.\u201d<\/p>\n

He emphasized the unity between the tribes:<\/p>\n

\u201cCheyenne River stood with Oglala from the beginning because this history belongs to all of us. Protecting this place is an act of sovereignty, of healing, and of love for the generations yet to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crow Creek Sioux Tribal Chairman Peter Lengkeek followed, speaking to the shared Lakota identity of those who died and survived.<\/p>\n

\"US<\/a><\/p>\n

US Congressman Dusty Johnson visits the Holy Cross Episcopal Church where wounded were cared for by Dr. Charles Eastman. The Church was originally located in Pine Ridge and was relocated after threats that it was to be demolished. (Photo by Ernestine Anunkasan Hopa)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cOur relatives who fell here were Lakota from many bands and many homelands,\u201d he said. \u201cCrow Creek stands here today because their blood ties us together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we say this ground is sacred, we mean it. This law ensures that no one will ever again exploit or disrespect this place where our ancestors took their last breaths,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Congressman Dusty Johnson, who carried the bill through the U.S. House, spoke with a mix of solemnity and gratitude. He recalled his earlier visit to Wounded Knee, where descendants shared stories passed down through generations.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral years ago, descendants told me the stories their grandmothers and grandfathers shared with them,\u201d he said. \u201cI will never forget their willingness to share those sacred stories with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson emphasized that the new law is not symbolic but a concrete act of respect.<\/p>\n

\"Congressman<\/a><\/p>\n

Congressman Dusty Johnson presented framed copies of the Congressional Record and the legislation to President Star Comes Out and Chairman LeBeau. (Photo by Ernestine Anunkasan Hopa)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cFor 135 years, people have gathered here in grief,\u201d he said. \u201cToday, for the first time, we can also acknowledge a major accomplishment \u2014 working together to protect this sacred site forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

He credited tribal leadership for driving the bill forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis would not have passed without your persistence,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cYou brought light into a place long marked by darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n

He then presented framed copies of the Congressional Record and the legislation to President Star Comes Out and Chairman LeBeau.<\/p>\n

Senator Mike Rounds approached the podium with a historical lens, recalling how he first learned of Wounded Knee through Black Elk Speaks. He recounted Black Elk\u2019s eyewitness account of the massacre and the rescue of two infant girls found beside their mothers.<\/p>\n

Then he invoked the teaching Black Elk attributed to Crazy Horse \u2014 a line that resonated deeply with the crowd standing on the very ground where hundreds of Lakota were killed:<\/p>\n

\u201cMy land is where my dead lie buried.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis land holds the memory of your ancestors,\u201d Rounds said. \u201cAnd now, through this legislation, it will be protected in perpetuity.\u201d<\/p>\n

He thanked the tribal councils and descendants for their persistence.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour determination made this possible,\u201d he said. \u201cYou stayed committed to protecting this land, and today we honor that commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senate Majority Leader John Thune framed his remarks around the responsibility owed to future generations. He called the massacre \u201ca blight on our state and our nation,\u201d and emphasized that preserving the site is essential to ensuring such atrocities are never repeated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you hear the reading of the names, it becomes very real,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery one of those people had a family. They deserved the chance to see their children and grandchildren grow up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thune praised the persistence of tribal leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis law passed because you refused to let this history be forgotten,\u201d he said. \u201cYour leadership ensures that future generations will understand what happened here \u2014 and why it must never happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also speaking was BIA Deputy Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Scott Davis, who thanked President Star Comes Out and Chairman LeBeau for the invitation and reflected on the emotional weight of returning to Wounded Knee. Davis recalled first learning about reconciliation during South Dakota\u2019s 1990 \u201cYear of Reconciliation,\u201d noting that journalist Tim Giago challenged Governor George Mickelson to confront the state\u2019s history and helped spark that effort.<\/p>\n

Davis said the gathering at Wounded Knee felt like a continuation of that work. \u201cWhat we are doing here today is part of the same journey\u2014truth, healing, and reconciliation,\u201d he said. \u201cToday we create new memories together, good memories we can look back on as a beginning.\u201d He urged tribal, state, and federal leaders to continue walking that path together.<\/p>\n

Among those present were the descendants of those massacred at Wounded Knee, whose presence brought a living connection to the history being honored.<\/p>\n

Mike He Crow, a direct descendant, offered a brief but powerful history of the massacre, reminding the crowd that the stories passed down through families are not distant history but lived memory.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur grandparents and great grandparents carried these stories so we would never forget,\u201d he said. \u201cWe stand here today because they survived.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his remarks, descendants stepped forward to read aloud the names of those who were massacred. One by one, the names echoed across the site \u2014 a solemn reminder that each belonged to a family, a story, a future stolen.<\/p>\n

As the ceremony came to an end, the crowd gathered for one final moment of honor. In a gesture of deep cultural respect, Star Quilts were presented to President Frank Star Comes Out, Chairman Ryman LeBeau, Chairman Peter Lenkeek, Congressman Dusty Johnson, Senator Mike Rounds, and Senator John Thune and BIA Deputy Assistant Scott Davis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese quilts represent our respect for the work you have done,\u201d Star Comes Out said. \u201cThey are given from the heart of our people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gifting of the Star Quilts closed the ceremony with warmth, dignity, and unmistakable Lakota tradition \u2014 a final reminder that the protection of Wounded Knee is not just legislative work, but a sacred responsibility shared across nations.<\/p>\n

(Contact Ernestine Anunkasan Hopa at editor@nativesunnews.today)<\/span><\/p>\n

The post \u2018My land is where my dead lie buried\u2019<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal President Ryman LeBeau, with South Dakota Congressional leaders Senator Mike Rounds, Representative Dusty Johnson, Senator John Thune and BIA Deputy Assistant Scott Davis. (Photo by Ernestine Anunkasan Hopa) WOUNDED KNEE \u2014 December 29, 2025. Under a cold winter sky on the very ground where hundreds of <\/p>\n

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Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> January 9, 2026<\/p>\n

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