THE CAROLINA INDIAN VOCE
A '**- -' *
?? VrWmKiy WwWpytf
?Published eueryThurectay by
The Carolina Indian Votoe, Inc.
P.O. Bgk 1075 - Highway 711E.,
Pembroke, N.C. 28372
BRUCE BARTON, Editor VJ
CONNEE BRAYBOY: Assist. Editori
ASSOCIATES: Garry L. Barton,
Angela Jacobs, Connie Gleave
POINT AND COUNTERPOINT
wrra A G1LAJN OF SALT
wmi hi Mm BOBESON1AN
the cwnty't dmBy iiwyfw.
ia the Febrwy 19, 1982
eatided "Han's Man Bad
Nawa Far fflriajr Batb."
It la nfriated ban, fattaw
ad by a rapaaas by aaaafar
sradMs readan, Darter
Breaks, a Panhnks attaraey
I
md history MY at bac|
Ths writer ittpwlri bat
to priat his rcbattal. We are
They're at it again, folks. More scientists
are tampering vrith the time-honored tradi
tions of history.
Just over a month ago, WAGOS reported tht
modern researchers were toying .with the
reputations of Thomas Jefferson", Eva Braun,
and Early Man. Now they're after none other
than Gen. George A. Custer!
Not that the poor man hasn't suffered
enough already. Few generals in American
history have been so immortalized, in defeat.
Being outnumbered 400 to 1 subjected to
historical reevaluation over 100 years later
borders on "cruel and unusual punishment."
But some people can't leave well enough
alone. Now the newspapers are telling us that
Custer and his 224 men may not have died at
the hands of the Sioux and Cheyenne. Forensic
research suggests that their deaths were the
result of a mass suicide.
This new theory, based on Indian accounts
of the battle, was presented at a recent con
ference on the American Academy of Forensic
Sciences in Orlando, Florida. Precisely why
this meeting of legal experts was held in the
vicinity of Disney World was not explained. No
doubt there are some good reason.
But I digress. What researchers need for
this new latest revision of history is proof ?
proof in the form of exhumed bodies. Ap
parently, no one is proposing to disinter the
general WfesiWUht.J
All the researchers want to do is dig up the
scene of the crime ? the historic battlefield
near Garry opren, Montana.
So far, the National Park Service has been
nonplussed. They're not eager to turn the
historic site into a giant pothole. Besides,
what's to be gained? Will the course of history
be changed. Certainly not.
History buffs might well wonder where all
this nit-picking research will end. Who knows?
At this moment, some forensic scientist might
be investigating the seeming innocent ac
tivities of Donald Duck andUtfickey Mouse.
Speaking of General Custer, this whole
ghoulish controversy reminds me of one of the
rare highlights of my otherwise undistinguish
ed teaching career. The episode concerns an
eighth-grade history project ? an
"eyewitness" report on the Battle of Little
Bighorn.
One boy, preferring not to assume the role of
one of the doomed soldiers, adopted the point
of view of a newscaster ? John Cameron
Swayxe. Interspersed with facts on the
historic confrontation between Custer, Sitting
Bull, and Qrasy Horse was an appropriate
amount of blood and gore. My students sat
spellbound while the inspired newscaster
described the battlefield complete with
American casualties, runaway horses and vic
torious Indians.
At the conclusion of the report, the Swayxe
impersonator solemnly announced: "And
after all this, ladles and gentlemen, my Times
watch is still ticking."
?
"Hittory ie, on every occasion, the record of that which one
ege find* worthy of note in anotherJacob Burckhardt
?e
k
I Pharmacist
Add |w? to Ufa ? Fnw book I
and kkinays It kills and crlppias mora paopta than afl
othar (feraaara combtnad.
Brought about primartiy by a sadantary bfaatyla I
atheaoedero* can ba "haadad off" by ptopar ccar- 1
01, a ttrvoN ani, ana mooervoon. wrvit t nwaea is 1
a apod plan and ?atf-modvoaaa I
? at In
Dear Sir:
In the February 19, 1982,
edition of the Robe soman, a
writer, Ms. Ann Little, pre
sented her position on and
objections to a "new theory"
concerning exactly how Gen.
George Armstrong Custer and
the soldiers under his com
mand met with their demise
at the Battle of the Little Big
Horn in 1876, The article
entitled "Here's Mote Bad
News For History Buffo," in
my opinion, contained histor
ical inaccuracies and repre
sented an obviously non
Indian or Anglo- American
partisan perspective of an
historical event and the rami
fications thereof; seemingly
the author also strenuously
objected to the critical evalu
ation for truth or accuracy of
any historical account that
heretofore has been accepted
as genuine by herself or the
segment of American society
to which she belongs.
As we understand it, the
term "history" means -'a
chronological record of signif
icant events usually including
an explanation of their caus
es" or "a branch of knowled
ge that records and explains
past events." Thar, accord ihg*
to Webstar'u Seienth Near
Colegfato Dictionary, a his
torical account of an event
should be a record of what
actually happened as opposed
to what the writer wishes or
believes had happened. It
would seem then that histori
cal accounts are always sub
ject to revision in order to
bring them more into confor
mity with the truth. We
submit such is the case bete
given your writer's under
standing of what actually
occurred on the Little Big
Horn River on June 25, 1876.
Contrary to the writer's
understanding, Ueneral Cus
ter was not outnumbered 400
to 1 by the Indian forces. A
simple arithmetic calculation
(224 x 400= 89,600) demon
strates the absurdity of such a
contention as the total popu
lation of the Sioux and
Cheyenne, counting men,
women, children and dogs,
and including all those al
ready confined to reserva
tions. probably was not great
er than 30,000 souls. Yet they
courageously refused to
meekly submit to the forcible
appropriation of their native
land by an industrial power of
some 50,000,000 people with
muucrn mimuy imvcb.
The few thousand Sioux
and Cheyenne encamped in
the Powder River Country in
1876, were there in spite of an
order from the United States
Army thst all Indians were to
go to an assigned agency or
be considered hostile. Al
though most of the Indians
obeyed the order under the
| threat of superior force of
arms, many Sioux and Chey
enne did not as they rightfoUjt
considered such an order
uqkwful under the 1860 Tre
aty of 'Fort Laramie. Under
the leadership of men such as
Craxy Horse (Tashunka Witko
to his Oglala Lakota people.
The word "Sioux" is a
gallidzed version of the Chip
pewa term for the Lakota), the
"hostiles" went to hunt and
pray In an sraa far removed
from Anglo encroachment. In
that tranquil natural setd^,
the people engaged in (heir
traditional Sun Dance ralgi
geve thanks to Wakan Ttaka.
the one God. The LahMRI were
a deeply spiritual p?Mte and
this auhual ritual was the
most sacred of their stligfoils
I of tomans for Paul',* view
"We cannot know where
we are going if we do not
know where we have been.'*
EDITOR'S NOTE
Om ef the i?In the
l? a*d? nn MM km ?
right k ht betwd, especially If
the cegdty [TM
lihnmMl la ael ae hdb>
ed.
la that apMt we are repria
Behmialaa writer aad eae ef
ear leader'* deadly aerieae
Haawr, I that waa the
lateat, la aet well received I*
he roe* l^TdaTaahject ef the
haam writer* [ale].
LETTERS
; I i i
TO THE
;*! , '
/ ? ?'
EDITOR
.
I
Re: Custer Had
It Coming
that God revealed himself
even to those people who had
not heard the message at
Christ.
Daring the ceremony, whi
ch lasted for several days,
Sitting Bull (Totanka Yotanka)
in a vision saw soldiers filling
into the encampment. The
prophecy was soon fulfilled as
several columns of troops
totalling several thousand
men under the command of
General George Crook (who
was known as "Three Stars"
to the Indians) were sighted
coming towards the Indians.
As a modem parallel, it was
as if the 82nd Airborne,
spoiling for a fight, suddenly
shewed up at an old time
Lumbee camp meeting. The
Indians were enraged and
under the leadership of Tas
hunka Witko defeated the
major column of the troops at
the Battle of the Rosebud on
June 17, 1876. Although
heavily outnumbered and
poorly armed, the Lakota and
Cheyenne, inspired by the
courage of the mystic warrior
Crazy Horse, defeated Gen
eral Crook and drove his
forces in headlong Sfrtre4?
from the battlefield. During!
the fighting, Crazy Horse was
everywhere as he led the
Indian forces armed largely
with bows and arrows against
the rifles of the troopers:
"Hoka Hey. This is a good
day to die. Cowards to the
rear; Lakotas follow me."
The Indians had very little
time to celebrate their victory,
however, as another column
of troops attacked the Hunk
papa (Sitting Bull's people)
sector of the encampment.
While the Indians massed to
meet this new threat, the.
troopers of the 7th Calvary
under the command of Gene
ral Custer came upon the
Cheyenne sector of the elon
gated encampment of the
Indians. Custer was elated at
his apparent good fortune as
he had stumbled upon the
seemingly unguarded main
encampment of the hostiles;
quickly the general sent mes
sengers for reinforcements as >
he prepared to lead his troops
into the unguarded Indian
camp. The, troopers were not
unseen, however, as a camp
guard of only four Cheyenne
warriors rushed to meet their
attack. The warriors recog
nized the troopers' intent and
realized the danger to their
women and children if Custer
and his men were to penetrate
into the camp. They doubtlrss
also remembered the atroci
ties committed by this same
unit led by this same man
against their people on the
Washita River in 1869, where
Cheyenne women and chil
dren were brutally killed and
their bodies mutilated. In
many instances, Custer's
troopers used parts of the
bodies of the dead women as
personal ornaments.
Ringing their death songs, ,
the four Cheyenne warriors ,
rode towards the ranks of the
heavily armed cavalrymen.
Four half-naked men or you
ths hurled themselves against
several hundred professional
killers in a desperate effort to
save their femilies. In the
face of these brave men. the
troopers stopped to save their
families. In the face of these ,
brave men. the troopers stop- ,
pad as if amazed or perhaps ,
the soldiers were wary of a
trap as the superior firepower ,
oc uw troopers roicni inc i
Indians to fight by stratagem ,
rather than flfegonftout the
soldier* fronts#. In lay case, ,
the hesitation of the troopers {
was long enough so that the
Lakota under the leadership
of Tashunta Witko arrived on
the soene to confront Custer.
According to eyewitness
accounts, the fight on the
afternoon of June 25, 1876,
was short and bloody.A cav
alryman of the 7th would have
expected little mercy from an
Indian warrior who had lost a
younger sister or a mother at
the hands of this same unit on
the Washita. As the charges
of the Indians split the
troopers into several groups,
many of the soldiers commit
ted mass suicide rather than
risk being subjected to the
vengeance of Indians.
After the engagement, La
kota and Cheyenne casualties
numbered only about thirty
dead while Custer's command
was completely wiped out.
The above account of the
battle is not of recent origin as
suggested by Ms. Little, but
rather it is based upon
interviews with the only vete
rans of the fight who lived to
tell the tale, the Ldkota and
Cheyenne warriors. For ex
ample, see Marquis, Wooden
Leg: A Warrior Who Faugh
Caster [1931]. Furthermore,
*many of the bodies of the
? cavalrymen as found by other
troopers at the scene were
mutilated and exhibited bullet
wounds to the head. As they
did not possess the means of
making cartridges for their
few firearms, it is incredible
to suggest that the pragmatic
Lakota would have expended
precious ammunition in ad
ministering the coup de grace
to a wounded trooper when
the warrior's trusty tomahawk
would easily have sufficed for
the purpose. Mutilation of
bodies was women's work
among the Lakota and intend
ed as a sign of disrespect,
however, an adversary who '
had fought and died bravely 1
was spared by the warriors
from such a fate.
As we understand the issue
presented by Ms. Little, the j|
question is whether or not II
many of the troopers commit- j|
ted mass suicide on the fateful [1
afternoon. If one choses not to ||
believe the Indian accounts of |j]
the battle, which seemingly ill
are dismissed out-of-hand by H
Ms. Little, then it appears
that the logical way to settle ||
the controversy would be to j|||
examine the skulls of thel
soldiers for close range bullet
impact. The bodies of numer
ous Indian people have, of
course, been disintered in the
pursuit of such historical
research even right here ir>
North Carolina.
On a more serious note, H
however, the evil that I see in H
the writing of Ms. little is an |
insensitivity to the Indian H
perspective of historical e-JL
vents and the perceived de- ?
site or necessity to perpetuate I
or protect myths held dear by I
many Anglo- Americans. In a I
pluralistic society such as I
Robeson County or modern- I
day America, one must or I
should be ever conscious of I
the perspective of die various I
component groups lest mis- I
understanding or conflict un- I
necessarily result.
As a Lumbee who served ?
with the First Cavalry Divisi- I
on (the modern-day successor I
to Caster's old outfit) during, I
the Vietnam conflict. I recall I
the irony that I perceived as I
the "proud tradition" of our I
unit was recounted since I
much of the trndWon consist-1
|tl of the unnecessary killi^ I
of Indian wontnn and child-1
BUUAs a student in the public I
schools. 1 mean the history?
texts stating that the Black I
blaves of the OM South were!
happy and content with thetrV
lot aad how the Civil War was
described as the War Be
tween the States. The point
that 1 am snaking is that much
oT recorded history reflects
the perspective of fhc writer,
thus, we mast be ever mladfal
of this fact when we interact -
with members of other racial
or cultural groups.
If Ms. Little were s teaches
In the local public schools
she would certainly offend her
Indian pupils if she described
Henry Berry Lowrie as an
outlaw and a murderer rather
than as an Indian patriot. Yet
if a teacher is to effectively
deal with local history she
would, of necessity, have to
deal with Henry Berry. Thus,
the issue is squarely present*
ed. Is not a critical exam ins
tion or re-examination of
.historical accounts from vari
ous perspectives necessary,
not only as a search for truth
or historical accuracy, but also
so that individuals may effec
tively deal with members of
other racial or cultural
groups? 1 submit that the
answer is a resounding "yes.'
Regardless as to individual
preferences in the matter, we
must interact almost daily
with members of other racial
or cultural groups, thus, in
order to be most effective in
such situations, we must
understand as much as possi
ble the perspective of the
other person with whom we
are dealing. As a minimum,
this means that we must know
something concerning the
history of the other person's
racial or cultural group. If we
deal with other people in such
a fashion, then greater under
standing results in more
beneficial relationships.' This
result is obtained because we
learn that each racial or
cultural groups has its heroes
and each has something to
contribute to a common pool
of understanding which shou
ld be shared by all people on
this earth.
l he Indian people have
their heros just as Blacks and
whites have theirs. Real un
derstanding between diffe
rent racial or cultural groups
comes when each is able to
appreciate and respect the
distinctive characteristics of
the other. The point was
stated thusly Sitting Bull:
s If the Gnat Spirit had
desired me to be a white man
he weald have made me aa la
the first place. He pat ka year
heart certain wkhea and
plans, in my heart he pat
other and difference dashes.
Each man is good in Us sight.
It is not necessary for eagles
to be crows.
We trust that this letter will
be received in the spirit that it
was written; that being to
promote a greater understan
ding among the various racial
groups within our county. One
cannot understand his neigh
bor until he has walked for a
mile in the other fellow's
moccasins. ,
Sincerely,
Dexter Brooks
Pembroke, NC
1 =aSS
THE CAROLINA
INDIAN VOICE
U.S.PS. #978380
(Published each Thursday)
Established 1973
The Carolina Indian Voice, Inc.
P.O. Box 1075
Pembroke, NC 28372
Phone: 521-2826
SECOND CLASS POSTAGE
PAID AT PEMBROKE, NC
28372
Subscription Rates:
In State
1 year S9.36
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?
As i
See It
j'j. .
LUMBEBTON VOTING
BIGHTS DEBACLE UPDATE
Now get this. Robeson
school officials were quoted in
the local press this week
saying they are going to ask
the courts to decide whether a
new election needs to be held
this year for . the Lumberton
City School Board as ordered
last fall in a federal court
ruling.
The motion will seek s
clarification of rulings by a
U.S. District Court three
judge panel and the U.S.
Supreme Court last fall over
voting rights in three areas
annexed by the city school
board.
The motion will be joined
by the county board of
elections, the Lumberton city
school board and by parents
who opposed the annexations,
according to Joseph Ward,
the county attorney. Ward
said an informal agreement
has been reached among the
groups to seek the ruling.
"We'll be asking them:
'TeU us what to do now, doc,'
" Ward said. "It will be filed
i^U.S. District Court with
copies sent to all the judges."
The motion will ask wheth
er a new election must be held
and, if so, which school board
members must again run for
office.
The confusion stems from
somewhat contradictory or
ders issued by the courts last
fall concerning school board
annexations in 1968 and 1970
of the Barker Ten MOe,
Lakewood Estates and Qy
burn Pines- Country Gub
areas into the Lumberton
school district.
Parents opposed to the
annexations claimed they vio
lated the federal Voting
Rights Act which requires
prior approval from the U.S.
Department of Justice for all
annexations in Robeson
.County. No approval w*r
given at that time.
On Jan. 26, the Justice
Department ruled the annex
ations were invalid, stating
there was evidence that
blacks and Indians had been
excluded from the Lumberton
annexations.
The Justice Department
ruling did not address the
issue of school board electi
ons.
Last October, however, the
parents filed for an injunction
in U.S. District Court .seeking
to halt the November school
board election until the Jus
tice Department had ruled on
the annexations. A three
judge panel refused to halt
the election, but ruled the
election would be invalid
unless the annexations were
I approved.
That ruling also stated that
all school board members
would be without power after
April 15, 1982, and new
elections would have to be
held if the annexations were
not allowed.
The parents appealed that
ruling to the Supreme Court,
which barred residents in the
annexed areas from voting in
the Nov. 3 elections.
Can you believe it? It would
be funny if it were not so
serious.
Now Lumberton wants to be
rewarded for breaking the
law, if you can believe that.
It takes an old country boy
like me, with an ample
helping of common sense, to
ted those educated folks what
to do.
Those board members Irv
ing in die affected area should
be taken off the board im
mediately, with the remaining
board members taking care of
Lumberton's school business
as the law dictates. That's
simple enough, isn't it?
And those folks living in.
Barker Ten Mile, Lakewood
Estates, Clyburn Pines and
Country Club areas should not
be allowed to vote until they
are assigned to the proper
school jurisdiction- the county
schools. There's nothing diff
icult about that. Really.
So, let the Lumberton
School System and the county
school system sit down and
assign folks where they ought
to be and let's get on with
educating our children, all of
them- the Indian, Black and
white children who are our
future.
Adults, especially educated
ones (sic) make such a mess of
things. They can't see beyond
the color of their skins. Maybe
we should let the children
straighten out the delimma,
before they get too educated.
PJEES. RONALD REAGAN
ISSUE AT INDIAN UNITY
CONFERENCE
The recently concluded
Indian Unity Conference
found itself embroiled "in a
little politics," according to a
Republican Indian partici
pant.
It seems President Reagan
wrote a letter to the conferen
ce organizers saying "I salute
your theme 'Building a Better
Future Through Indian
Unity." etc. etc.
Some participants thought
the letter should have been in
the conference program. The
Democratic State Department
of Administration (die state
agency that oversees the
operations of the Indian Com
mission) thought otherwise.
The greetings from President
Reagan was left out. >'
Some Indian participants
didn't like it at all and had
their own brochure with the
letter printed and distributed
at the conference privately
and at their own expense.
A note in the privately
printed brochure said, "It is
with deep regret that cir
cumstances beyond the con
trol of the Indian participants
of this Conference and the
Planning Committee prevent
ed the President's message
and picture from being print
ed in the regular Unity
Conference Program."
So, other than that. Unity
was the order of the day.
Rumblings over the inci
dent indicate that the Indians,
in the future, will put on the
annual Indian Unity Confer
ence without die help of the
Department of Administra
tion.
rtL L.. .....
v/'i, uy urc way, ricaiuciu
Ronald Reagan is a Repub
lican. Governor Jim Hunt, the
Department of Administra
tion, and most of the state
administration is Democratic
to the core.
Maybe the Indians ought to
encourage "Unity" among
Democrats and Republicans
too.
If you wish to study men
you must not neglect
to mix with the society
of children.
-Jesse Torrey.
ELECT
LARRY T. BROOKS!
Your I
County Commissioner I
?Expeiienccd In Government
'Certified In Educational
Administration
*A Capable Businessman
VOTE FOR AND ELECT I
IS LARRY T. BROOKS I
"A Man You Can TnHt"