Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Bill Means and Wounded Knee
Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Bill Means and Wounded Knee
[DRUMMING AND SINGING] TOM FUDGE: One of the honored guests at the opening night of the pow wow was Indian singer and actor Floyd Red Crow Westerman, who recently portrayed Chief Ten Bears in the movie Dances with Wolves. As he listened to the music and watched the dances at the Heart of the Earth Pow Wow, he recalled the story of his people.
FLOYD RED CROW WESTERMAN: We were the freest people in the world before we were forced to the reservations. We had everything that the creator gave us, and we lived by that in such a spiritual way. And then, when the white man came, he destroyed this culture and destroyed the way of life that it was. At the same time, we fought so hard to keep it.
TOM FUDGE: The Heart of the Earth Pow Wow is meant to honor those Indians who fought for their way of life and their culture. The pow wow is sponsored by the Heart of the Earth Survival School. And the executive director of the school is Bill Means. Himself a fighter, Means proudly remembers the time that he and other Indians occupied Wounded Knee in South Dakota for 71 days in 1973.
BILL MEANS: I was one of the first ones in and the last ones out. So it was something to remember. It was a time when we faced off not only the US Marshals, Bureau of Indian Affairs, FBI, but also the 82nd Airborne Division was on standby during that time. So we feel very proud of what happened in Wounded Knee.
TOM FUDGE: The highlight of the first night of the pow wow was the grand entry of the dancers.
[TRADITIONAL SINGING]
During the grand entry, a seemingly endless line of men, women, and children in beaded, brightly colored feathered garments danced into the center of the hall. Many of the men had painted their faces, and some spun like tops while they bobbed to the beat of the drum.
Bill Means called it one of the most beautiful things in all of North America. Westerman also said it was a beautiful thing, and he spoke of a time when Indians could not dance.
FLOYD RED CROW WESTERMAN: They would not let us dance. No one in the young age could dance. Only those over 55 could dance. They started prohibiting us from speaking our language, and they sent our medicine men to prison, those who would hold the ceremonies. So when I see our children dance and when I see our drums come together this way, in the traditional manner, it shows we are fulfilling our responsibility of this generation to pass on to our children the spiritual, traditional, and cultural way of life.
TOM FUDGE: Floyd Red Crow Westerman portrayed Chief Ten Bears in the movie Dances with Wolves. The Heart of the Earth Contest Pow Wow will continue through Sunday. This is Tom Fudge.
[DRUMMING AND SINGING]
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