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Reflecting on Rosebud

  

Me (left) and my sister (right) outside the reservation border

 During the first question of the midterm, I was asked to reflect on ways the topics we have covered in class connect to my life and personal background. My response to the question led me to write about Native American boarding schools and reservations, and my own experience having visited one. Since the midterm, I have thought about my time at the reservation a lot and what it means to me personally, as well as in the context of history.

    Growing up I always heard my Grandma talk about her time at a place called Rosebud, but I didn’t know much about it or think to ask more. When my sister was older, most likely around 11 or 12, she attended Rosebud with my Grandma for the first time, and a few years later, it was my turn. It was the summer of 2017, when I was 11 years old, and I learned that I would be going to a Native American Reservation in South Dakota. My sister, Grandmother, and I crammed into a church van with about 8 other people, along with another car following behind, and headed west. I don’t remember much about arriving in South Dakota, but my first memory on the reservation was from a Pow Wow we attended. There were horses, traditional outfits and dances, and a palpable sense of community. Throughout the week at Rosebud, we participated in a number of service projects, along with volunteering at a retirement home and holding Sunday School-like activities for children on the reservation. We also visited local artists and learned how to make traditional beaded earrings — my favorite part of the trip! 

    That summer was the only time I visited Rosebud, and while my Grandma continued to go, it soon became something of the past and not a trip I frequently thought about. It truly was not until the midterm that I started to think through that week again. Since the question prompted me to connect a personal experience with a historical event we had talked about, my time at Rosebud popped into my mind and has been lingering there since. I had been thinking through the church group's presence on the reservation, specifically its relationship to those who tried to assimilate Native Americans, whether it was to Christianity or to make them “more American”. The realization of this comparison created some discomfort and feelings of guilt, but to work through those feelings I decided it would be best to learn more about the reservation and its history. I cannot change the past, but I can continue to educate myself.

    The Rosebud Indian Reservation is home to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, but traditionally called Sicangu Lakota Oyate or Burnt Thigh People. In the past, members of the tribe were hunters and warriors, and just as all tribes in the United States, they have a long history of issues with the U.S. government. The tribe originated around modern day Minnesota, and moved around a lot due to conflict with other tribes as well as where hunting and buffalo herds would take them. When white colonists moved westward, greater conflicts broke out. One notable war lasted from 1866 to 1867, now known as Red Cloud’s War. As a result of this dispute, the United States allowed the Sioux tribe full land ownership over the Black Hills, but much like many of the treaties made between the U.S. and Native American tribes, the government broke their agreement. Soon, miners came to the land looking for gold, and a new conflict arose. The battle at Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876 led to the defeat of General Cluster and 300 U.S. troops by Sioux warriors and Chief Sitting Bull. Many other clashes occurred, but the end of Sioux resistance is marked by the killing of up to 370 Sioux people in December of 1890. There are many other instances of Sioux tribes being forced or tricked into giving up their land, and eventually many Native Americans were forced onto reservations, leading to areas like Rosebud today.

    This is only a small part of their history, and what is highlighted on the tribes website. After spending the past few weeks reflecting on my visit to the reservation, I am very grateful that I can say I had that experience and opportunity. I want to continue to learn about the impact of reservations on Native American tribes, as well as talk to my Grandma about her time and experiences there, as she visited much more than I did. While it may be covered in a layer of dark history, I gained valuable exposure to a culture that is very different, and otherwise cut off, from my own.

Sources:

Rosebud Sioux Tribe. (2023). HISTORY & CULTURE. RosebudSiouxTribe. https://www.rosebudsiouxtribe-nsn.gov/history-culture

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