27th July
I was feeling so stressed out. This should have been an exciting day, but I had a week of trying t correct minor errors on the tickets I booked on line. The company were a nightmare and not very helpful. Even on the morning of travel the ticket issue was not resolved and I was near boiling over and committing murder! That said we were dropeed off at the Gatwick South terminal and the North Western staff were great and didn't seem to notice the small typos that had haunted me for over a week!The flight to Mineapolis wasn't too bad, although Izzak was stopped at security for taking into the US all sorts of liquids in his hand lugguage! Then the flight was delayed to Billings and it felt like an eternity before we boarded. We didn't arrive there til after midnight, but Emma and her family were waiting to pick us up and drive us to Lame Deer. Driving through Billings we witnessed a Police car chasing a motorbike...nice introduction to the USA. The kids thought it was cool, with lots of "Woe!" being uttered.
We arrived at the Rez to find we were crashing in a trailer. It was about 3am by the time we got to bed. The Venturers were too excited to sleep initially.
28th July
I thought no one would stir in the morning. WRONG! Everyone was up by 8.30am local time. Emma was asleep in the house next to us. We twiddled our thumbs for a bit and then decided to buy some breakfast at the store. As we walked down the street, the locals nodded hello. The day was already warm and we gratefully ducked inside the store and its air conditioning.The store is the only one in LD and sells food, drink, pots, pans, blankets, T-shirts etc. Many of the T-shirts had little labels in them urging buyers to support Leonard Peltier (an American Indian Movement member imprisoned wrongly for shooting two FBI agents in the 1970's). Soon we were loaded up with Mountain Dew, and various other crap. Although, Peter- Folk name "Sweet tooth" managed to buy enough sugary stuff to refloat the Titanic.
Izzak, Nicky and Eppie went off for "a walk" whilst some of the other Venturers climbed the steep hillocks behind the trailer that offer suprisingly beautiful vistas of LD and its surrounding countryside.
Eventually Emma got up and we piled into the vans and went to Morning Star View. Its a view I've sen four times on my visits, but I never tire of seeing it. High up you look down into the back country of the Northern Cheyenne reservation. There are no roads, no houses, no nothing. Just endless miles of rolling hills, streams and trees. Nicky's feet were itching to explore it! All the Venturers were awed by its vastness. We then went onto Crazy Head Springs where the water gusses out of a rather unromantic looking pipe...but the water was clear, cold and refreshing.
On returning to Emma's house, we were greeted by her girls cooking a meal for us all- Spag Bol. Latter that evening we were driven to Birney and watched a bit of a Sun Dance. It was so still, peaceful and spiritual. We all felt it. The drumming and singing took on a hypnotic intensity and we were soon falling to sleep. We didn't know you mustn't do this! Emma told me later and I had to go round prodding people awake!
Native America is not just a place, its a state of mind. This is especially true when you meet traditional people. They have their own values and world view- its not "American". Its older and more measured somehow. Things happen when its time. Sometimes its frustrating. A visit that should take an hour, for example a visit to drop off some food at a Sun Dance turned into a three hour "visit". I really liked that about the Cheyenne.
Other things just seem so out of place and remind you of the battle being waged for the souls of Native Americans. So, for example, the evening we went to the Sun Dance there was a huge Marquee thrown up behind Cheyenne Avenue- it was a rivivalist meeting. I was struck by the juxtaposition of the Sun Dance on one hand and the happy, clappy christrians on the other.
We were also sharing the trailer with two christrian young white people who were volunteering at the club. Trewit seemed ok. But the other bloke was a bit worrying. I had his room and he had graffitied bible quotes all over the walls. I felt like I was in a monks cell! I was tempted to write quotes by Crazy Horse, Chef Joseph and Sitting Bull underneath them... but I did resist!
