Free Republic

June 25th was the date of Custer’s Last Stand when Custer and all the men he commanded were wiped out in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Alongside the leadership of Crazy Horse, the older wisdom of Sitting Bull was a factor in the Indian victory. Here a few quotes from Sitting Bull: “If we must die, we die defending our rights.” “When I was a boy, the Sioux owned the world. The sun rose and set on their land; they sent ten thousand men to battle. Where are the warriors today?” “It is not necessary for eagles to be...

A sample of hair belonging to the legendary 19th century Native American leader Sitting Bull has allowed scientists to confirm that a South Dakota man is his great-grandson. Scientists took DNA from a tiny sample of Sitting Bull's hair that had been stored in Washington DC. It showed that Ernie LaPointe, 73, is his great-grandson. The new method allows analysis of family lineages with DNA fragments from long-dead people.

A photo of Legendary Native American leader Sitting Bull taken in 1885. (Image credit: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution) Science has confirmed a man in South Dakota is the great-grandson of the iconic Native American leader Sitting Bull. DNA from the famous chieftain's hair matched that of Ernie LaPointe, who has long claimed this famous relation. Sitting Bull, also known as Tatanka-Iyotanka, led the Lakota tribe of Sioux people in what is now South Dakota. He is most notable for being the military leader who famously defeated U.S. Lt. Col. George Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876....

LAME DEER — For 1,000 years or more, native peoples have etched their histories and prophecies on the sandstone faces of Deer Medicine Rocks near what is now Lame Deer. Barely visible bighorn sheep, warriors on horseback and a grizzly bear roam the soft, sheer faces of the rock outcrop just off the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. And on an early June day 136 years ago, a Sioux artist carved a vision that had come to Hunkpapa medicine man Sitting Bull after a torturous Sundance ceremony. In the dream, soldiers with “grasshopper” legs fell from the sky into the Indian camp....

The awful truth is dawning on many Democrats, possibly including Elizabeth Warren herself: her candidacy for "Teddy Kennedy's seat" has turned into a nightmare, raising all sorts of uncomfortable issues for public scrutiny. Even worse, Alinsky's favorite tool, ridicule, is being deployed to make points that inflict lasting damage on sacred cows of the left like affirmative action and the transcendent wisdom of Harvard Law School progressives. It is starting to damage the Democratic brand. You would have to search hard to find anyone who better embodies the liberals' you're-too-stupid-to-make-your-own-decisions mentality than Elizabeth Warren. She was the brains behind...

Was Chief Sitting Bull a Catholic convert? Did he convert William “Buffalo Bill” Cody? That was the scuttlebutt around Catholic circles this past week. From stories, to blogging, to Catholic radio shows, to postings from Facebook friends, I heard it multiple times. As a student of the Old West, having read numerous accounts of Sitting Bull and a resident of the once vast Dakota Territory, I thought it unlikely. But was it possible that Sitting Bull was a full member of the Catholic Church? ...

Sitting Bull (sitting) wearing his crucifix Not long ago, I was speaking with Father Phil Wolfe about the evangelization of the Flathead Indians in northwest America. He stood up up from his desk and went to one of his many bookshelves and pulled down a book. He opened it and set it in front of me with a page open to a photo. "Who's that?" I had seen the photo several times since my youth. It's in every student's US History book. "That's Sitting Bull," I said. "Have you ever seen this photo before?" he asked. "Yes, of course."...

A series of two-page spreads asks questions ("Have I told you that you are creative?") across from short tributes. He writes of Georgia O'Keeffe: "She helped us see big beauty in what is small: the hardness of stone and the softness of feather." His most controversial choice may be Sitting Bull, who defeated Custer at Little Bighorn: ("A Sioux medicine man who healed broken hearts and broken promises.")

President Obama's picture book for kids, Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters (Knopf, $17.99), pays tribute to 13 Americans whose traits he sees in his own children. The 31-page book, for kids ages 3 and up, is filled with lyrical questions for Malia, 12, and Sasha, 9, opening with, "Have I told you lately how wonderful you are?" The book, out Tuesday, is illustrated with Loren Long's paintings of the Obama girls and their dog, Bo, as well as the 13 famous Americans as kids and grown-ups.

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

What do we offer the world? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: May 19, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern "So, how do we advance the cause of female emancipation in the Muslim world?" asks Richard Perle in "An End to Evil." He replies, "We need to remind the women of Islam ceaselessly: Our enemies are the same as theirs; our victory will be theirs as well." Well, the neoconservative cause "of female emancipation in the Muslim world" was probably set back a bit by the photo shoot of Pfc. Lynndie England and the "Girls Gone Wild" of Abu Ghraib prison. Indeed, the filmed orgies among...

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez urged Latin Americans on Saturday not to celebrate Columbus Day, saying the 1492 discovery of the Americas triggered a 150-year "genocide" of native Indians by foreign conquerors who behaved "worse than Hitler." "Christopher Columbus was the spearhead of the biggest invasion and genocide ever seen in the history of humanity," the populist president told a meeting in Caracas of representatives of Indian peoples from across the continent. Columbus Day on Oct. 12 is celebrated as a holiday in the United States and several Latin American nations, but Chavez said it should be...

Ogalala Sioux healer George Amiotte came alone to pray as the sun rose on the new Indian Memorial at Little Bighorn Battlefield. He wanted to be there early, before the crowds arrived for the dedication of the memorial honoring the American Indians who fought and died there June 25, 1876. There he would offer prayers for the dead on behalf of the three warrior societies to which he belongs on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Dressed in buckskins and feathers, as his ancestors would have been 127 years ago, he offered his thanks for their sacrifice. Amiotte is...

CROW AGENCY - The descendants of Crazy Horse trotted across 360 miles of prairie for a chance to charge up Last Stand Hill early this morning. The 20 riders of the Great Sioux Nation Victory Ride set out June 9 from the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. They wanted to take a slow, contemplative path to the battlefield where their ancestors found victory 127 years ago. It was a chance to remind the tribe's young people of the one unmistakable outcome of the battle, rider Doug War Eagle said. "We're still here," he said. Tuesday night the riders...

Indians finally recognized at battlesite By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press writer Monday, June 23, 2003 LITTLE BIGHORN BATTLEFIELD NATIONAL MONUMENT, Mont. -- The words were angry, ugly. But to Tim Lame Woman, they were truth, and they nagged at him to be spoken whenever he passed the grassy battlefield where Lt. Col. George Custer became a legend. On a June day in 1988, Lame Woman marched with other members of the American Indian Movement to the monument to the 7th Cavalry atop Last Stand Hill. They placed at its base a crudely engraved plaque honoring the "Indian patriots who fought...

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. We hope to provide an ongoing source of information about issues and problems that are specific to Veterans and resources that are available to Veterans and their families. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood...

Now that the election season is over, some of those involved should look back at what they did and have some sense of shame. Lies, distortions, dirty tricks, cheating on fund-raising, and various other activities that are part of every election cycle were particularly obvious with some campaigns this year. However, amid all the well-run campaigns and the ethically challenged efforts, there was one public servant who stood out and stood apart from the politics: South Dakota Attorney General Mark Barnett. When problems were found with a couple of people working to increase voter participation and the issue came into...