Invasion at Wounded Knee
Today I read an article in USA Today that made me furious. Last Saturday, May 1st, The Colorado Army National Guard decided to participate in what tribal leaders called a healing event. For background, Wounded Knee was the sight of the slaughter of more than 300 Lakota Indian men, women, and children by the infamous Seventh Calvary in 1890. The Guard decided it would be a good idea to land three Black Hawk helicopters at the site to attend the ceremonies. Needless to say, the Native Americans that were descended from those who died at Wounded Knee were upset and launched a protest that resulted in one helicopter only being on the ground a minute or two and the other two never landing. In the Guards defense, they did believe it had been approved by the president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. However, it had not been approved by those living on the site. It was chalked up to being a case of miscommunication. However, considering the Guard’s purpose was “to better understand our shared histories” and “to learn from our mistakes in the past”..it appears they have done neither. Flying into a sacred area on combat helicopters wouldn’t exactly convince me that you are there to “heal” anything. It was a bad move on the military’s behalf no matter what. Out of respect, they should have landed at a different location and arranged transportation to the event. I hope the Colorado Army National Guard learns from this mistake and never makes it again. While I respect and admire anyone serving this country, I respect those who were here first as well.
