How can summer be over already?

 There's so much to be said about current realities - and so many others saying it -

I'll leave it at this and move on.

I returned yesterday from a short trip to the reservation;

a place in South Dakota that holds a piece of my heart.

Prior to Covid, I had gone there every summer for almost 2 decades.

 

It's been 3 years since the reservation was 'shut down' 

to minimize the spread of infection 

and in that time

a lot has changed -

and nothing has changed.

What does 'isolation' look like 

in a part of the country 

that was already forgotten and ignored?

The Lakota people have lived in the midst of beauty and brokenness

all their lives.

 If anything,

the sense of community, 

as exhibited during the Wacipi and Fair, 

was stronger than ever;

among the honorees were: 

the White Buffalo Calf Woman Shelter, 

a resource on the reservation for victims of domestic violence for 50 years;

the 9 children whose bodies were returned 'home' to the reservation 

after being found in unmarked graves at Carlisle Indian School, 

one of a system of government sanctioned forced removal and alienation centers

aimed to extinguish indigenous traditions and people,

as well as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women,

an epidemic that is still not adequately addressed with appropriate allocation of resources.

As always,

even in the midst of all the tragedy, 

the regalia of the Lakota  -

the color, movement and artistry -

is breathtakingly beautiful.

It was wonderful to see so many children participating in traditional dancing this year!

 

It gives one hope for the future:

They tried to bury us;

they didn't know we were seeds.

It was much too short a visit,

but after a 3 year absence,

a balm for the soul.