Revitalizing the True American Spirit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbKIPSdjlh0 The American spirit cannot truly thrive until it reconciles with truth and justice. My commitment to this reconciliation began in college. Driven by outrage over how our government historically treated—and continues to treat—First Peoples, I set out to study social welfare. My journey reached a pivotal moment in 1978 during the Longest Walk, a five-month, 2,800-mile peaceful march from Alcatraz Island to Washington, D.C. Marchers walked across the continent to oppose federal bills that threatened Indian treaties, eliminate reservations, and strip away tribal sovereignty. When the marchers arrived in D.C., I went to the Lincoln Memorial to offer my support. I donated my teepee—which became the sacred medicine tent for the gathering—along with my first car, a VW Bug I handed over and never saw again. Years later, amid the heavy emotional aftermath of 9/11, I helped organize several sweat lodges with Richard Moves Camp, a Lakota med...