There is another tragic irony in the demands made by S.p.i.r.i.t.
They have demanded the dissolution of the LKS. The P&R is suspended. They want even to disappear our name from MKP. Where else can you think of that even names have been taken away?
What does that remind you of? It reminds me of the taking of names from the children in the Boarding Schools. The scale of taking the LKS name away is nothing compared to those horrors, of course. But the impulse, an impulse from Shadow, feels similar to me. It is an effort to dehumanize. It is an effort to erase. It is an effort to “cancel”.
And I must remember, an effort perhaps by those who have themselves may have been treated in a dehumanizing manner. I must remember the genocide, the forced assimilation, the impact of terrible oppression on the souls of the people across multiple generations. Given that my face looks like the face of the oppressor, I must remember how blessed I am to have friends among the people at all.
I have been blessed to spend a lot of time on Pine Ridge over these past decades. The people I have been blessed to spend time with are Traditional people who believe in the way Fools Crow did—that the Traditions are to be shared, and, with humility, are to be kept according to agreements made and Protocols. And I am aware that there are Traditional people who believe the opposite—that the Traditions should not be shared. And I have never seen behavior from either side like what happened to MKP. In my experience both sides of the issue are free to believe as they choose. In my experience they agree to disagree and practice live and let live.
To me the behavior of S.p.i.r.i.t is not Traditional behavior.
It is not the way Traditional people I know behave. They don’t make bullying threats, demands, and accusations. They seek and take Council.
The behavior of those who attacked MKP reminds me of the kind of behavior I’d expect of the colonizer. It is reminds me of white people behavior. It is not the kind of behavior I have ever seen from either side of the issue.
All of that may be true, and I cannot fix or change that except by my own behavior.
The main questions I have are to the Board and the Leader Body of MKPUS, who would not talk to the LKS, who would not even talk to us, shunning the LKSI, as if it had committed some immoral act, I can only ask why—Why wouldn’t you talk to us?
Email the Author
truthbetold@spiritprotect.org
Hey, S.P.I.R.I.T.org have you ever considered the fact that there are generations of individuals whom, aside from, your projected racism, bigotry, and intended harm, have followed, continue to follow, and have died in tradtional repect for and honoring of, a relationship with the traditional ways? Generations!
Continuing to attack this non-political organization (the LKS) is an exercise in frivolity. You will, and should, find only people here; with a heart toward understanding and support for doing things in a good way.
In a good way doesn’t exist without action. It doesn’t exist with out moving beyond impact, intention, or attachment to outcome. Pray you pay heed, to that last statement.
You cannot take back a gift, but you can give it away.
You cannot take back a word spoken out of rumor, malice, false pretence, or ignorance. I do not fear that you have done these things.
Waĵnbli Sung’manitu
Cúngmanitu Naĵin, wanĵbli ĝlaíchƙa!