On December 15, 1890, Chief Sitting Bull, known as Tatanka Iyotake was killed near Grand River in South Dakota. Sitting Bull was a spiritual leader for the Lakota and called Standing Rock his home.
During the #NoDAPL resistance movement Sitting Bull’s wisdom was called upon as he was a leader who promoted peace and prayer in response to colonialism and brutality by the U.S. Government.
In honor of Sitting Bull’s leadership and his legacy, Indigenous Rising Media, interviewed, Brenda White Bull, Sitting Bull’s great great granddaughter.
Brenda is a courageous and humble leader just like her ancestor. On December 2nd Brenda, who has served 20 years in the military, walked across the Back Water Bridge near the Oceti Sakowin camp, and explained to North Dakota law enforcement and National Guard, that Water Protectors are just like those who served in the military: people who are protecting their families, human rights, and the land.
The following is a quote from the interview with Brenda:
“Everyone has that fight in them, no matter what tribe, native, non-native. We never knew that this was going happen in Hunkpapa Lakota Territory, and it happened for a reason because I believe that this was a place that our ancestors, Sitting Bull, Black Elk, spoke about. All the generations, all the people, all of humankind, would come together one day. Those were our leaders, our ancestors, who predicted those things. They predicted the black snake that would come. It was called upon us to be here, to lead this, to lead this fight, of protecting Unci Maka, our Grandmother Earth, and to protect our Mni Wiconi, our water of life”
