Post by ten on Apr 30, 2009 13:58:06 GMT -6
Hi everyone,
.... stumbled on this site during a quiet moment at work and have been reading all day!
I was over at the battlefield during August 07. I'd always wanted to take in the sights so bought a bike down in Florida and spent 6 weeks & 14,000 miles squeezing in as many National Parks and sites of historical interest as I could.
The full, unedited road trip can be found on a Flickr slideshow here:
www.flickr.com/photos/16820297@N05/sets/72157616249421849/show/
... but be forewarned, there are a lot of pics!
Dunno where it comes from but from a very early age I've always had a fascination for the indigenous North American peoples... their beliefs, philosophies and general outlook on life have always had a compelling hold over me. The more I read on the subject the more I'm sickened by how they were treated... from Cortez all the way through to the late 1800s it was a systematic war of genocide, something which I believe America has still to come to terms with. I also find it quite shocking most Americans are ignorant to their own natural history so it's with some relief I've found this site with all its historically accurate info/links/debate etc.
When I rode into the Dakotas I met this guy near Eagle Butte... I think his name was Eugene [?]
... he'd been to France where he taught archery and horsemanship, but was beaten up by some drunks [ ] and is still receiving treatment. We got chatting and he directed me to a Lakota [teepee] B&B down on the Cheyenne River. It was quite late that day and dark when I got there. The only lights on came from one of the out buildings so I ventured in only to interrupt a tribal meeting [ ]. Lucky for me 'chief' wasn't upset but more surprised I'd come all the way from England..., unfortunately they'd packed up the B&B for the season but offered me camping on the Cheyenne... but as it was so late [and dark] I felt I didn't want to put them out & decided to ride the hundred or so miles back to Sturgis. I showed them a beaded leather buffalo fetish I'd brought along for good luck which was authenticated by 'chief'... [some of the girls had never seen one] and he invited me to attend the annual PowWow. I couldn't attend as I had to fly back but am trying to get out there for this years event... only I'm not sure when the dates are and I can't find a definitive answer via Google.
I'd love to return.... Perhaps someone can help out here?
Well... here are a few pics as they're pretty relevant to your fab site, thanks for having me!