Little Bull

LITTLE BULL                                                       Christine Cameron

     08/23                                                             infotochris@gmail.com

September 1, 1961

Dear Dutch –

           I went to see the doctor today so got to go outside. He said I have to stay in bed. I am so tired of being in bed and just watching TV. I want to play outdoors.

           My birthday is coming this month on the eighteenth and I will be ten years old. I hope the doctor will let me have a party. I will invite you and your wife to our house if he says it is OK.

Very truly yours,

Chrissy

P.S. My friends played outside my bedroom window today and waved at me.

P.S.S. I wish I could go outside and play with them.

September 17, 1961

Dear Chrissy -

           For your tenth birthday gift, I have decided to give you a new name.  Since you always add P.S.S. to your letters,  it is decided that your new name is Princess Snow Flower. From now on that is what I will call you.

           It is a good name for an Indian Princess. You have now been officially adopted into my tribe of Oglala Lakota Sioux.

           I know it is hard for you to stay inside while your friends play outside. I’m sad that the doctor will not allow you to go outside and play with your friends. I am sorry you cannot have a birthday party but I’m sure he just wants to make sure you are truly good and well this time.

           Be brave and be a good girl so that you can go outside soon.

Sincerely,

Dutch

(Mato Cikala)

 Little Bull

September 23, 1961

Dear Dutch  -

           Thank you for the beautiful birthday gift of an Indian Princess name. I told my mom and she smiled. It has been hot outside this week. All of my friends have gone back to school, so no one is coming to play outside my window this week.

           I do not go back to the doctor for a while so have to stay in my bed for now. Mom is trying to find a teacher that will come to our house, so I do not fall far behind in my schoolwork.

           When you come to visit me again, will you tell me some stories about when you were a kid like me.

           Our cat Pizza had six kittens this week. They were born under the covers in my brother’s bed. He was scared and he cried since there was a lot of blood in his bed, but the kittens were all OK and very cute.

           Will you be able to visit me again soon?

Very truly yours,

Chrissy

Princess Snow Flower

P.S. I asked mom if we can keep one of the kittens. She said she would think about it.

P.S.S. Do you want a kitten?

October 3, 1961

Dear Princess Snow Flower –

           Although I would like a kitten my dog would not like it so I cannot take one home.

           I think I might be able to visit you again next month. My wife has a doctor’s appointment in Glendale so I will try to come up to La Crescenta and visit you too. In the meantime, I will tell you about my childhood.

           When I was a child like you, my family lived at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (Wazi Ahanjhar Ayanjke) in South Dakota. My father’s family was forced to move there in 1890 when he was 11 years old.

           In 1889, the US government confiscated 7.7 million acres of Sioux sacred Black Hills. Our reservation occupied more than 11,000 square miles. In the 1800’s when my father was a child, there were only about 10,000 members of our tribe. We were small but mighty and a very proud people.

           Our tribe was one of the last to be settled onto a reservation. It was a great loss of dignity to my father and his family.

            On December 29, 1890, my grandparents were murdered in the Wounded Knee Massacre.

           On that day, hundreds of U.S. troops surrounded a Lakota camp and opened fire, killing more than 300 Lakota women, men, and children in a violent massacre.

           My father was adopted by his uncle, Wableeska (White Eagle) and he grew up to be a great hunter and warrior like those before him. His uncle named him Sunka – the dog spirit of companionship and faithfulness.

           He and his uncle always made sure our family did not starve on the reservation because food was very scarce.

           Be good and get well soon. I will try to see you next month.

Sincerely,

Dutch

(Mato Cikala)

 Little Bull

October 18, 1961

Dear Dutch –

           I am very excited today. My doctor told my mom the blood test came back good this time. He said he is being careful not to let me leave my room yet but said he is hopeful my health has turned the corner. I’m not sure exactly what that means but Mom hugged me and smiled. She is very happy and so am I.  

           Mom said if I get another good report next month, I may be able to eat at the dinner table with the family soon. It has been five months since I have been able to leave my bedroom. Being able to have dinner with my family would make me very happy.

           I am so sorry to hear about your family story. It is very sad. I cried.

 Very truly yours,

Princess Snow Flower

P.S.  Were you ever sick like me when you were a kid?

P.S.S.

November 2, 1961

Dear Princess Snow Flower –

           I am very happy to hear that your blood test went well. My wife did not feel well enough after she saw her doctor for us to come up and visit you this time. So, for now, we shall have to continue to be pen pals.

         Yes, I was sick like you as a child. Although your lung disease is called Valley Fever, I had Tuberculosis as a child. It was very similar to what you are suffering with now. I was very sick and almost died. Medicine was not available on the reservation. My grandmother used herbs and sweat lodges to cure me. It was very hard for me to gain my strength back.

           Like you, I wanted to play and be with my friends but had to stay inside for many months. You are strong, Chrissy. I know it is hard for you, but I have faith that you will get well soon and play outside again with your friends.

Sincerely,

Dutch

(Mato Cikala)

 Little Bull

November 20, 1961

Dear Dutch –

           Mom is getting the house fixed up for the holidays. She bought me a big red candle and some things I got to decorate it with. There are tiny little pins and I stick the thing called a sequin onto the pin and push it into the candle. It is very beautiful.

           Mom let me sit in the living room today for an hour. I am still very weak, but it was nice to sit on the couch and not be in my bed all day.

Very truly yours,

Princess Snow Flower

P.S. Did you celebrate Thanksgiving when you were a kid?

December 1, 1961

Dear Princess Snow Flower:

           We did not have a traditional Thanksgiving when I was growing up.

           My mother died during childbirth when my little sister was born in 1913. I was 9 years old. My father grew very sad and never married again. He died in 1931, just seven years after Native Americans became U.S. citizens under the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924.

           Our revered ancestor, Red Cloud (Mahpiua Luta), was the leader of our tribe when my father was born in the Nebraska territory before it became a state in 1867. He was the first American Indian in the West to win a war against the United States. He was also the last.

           Red Cloud continued his work to preserve Indian lands and to maintain the authority of traditional Native American leaders. Several years before his death, he converted to Christianity and changed his name to John. He died on the Pine Ridge reservation in 1909.

           I was only 5 years old when he died but my memories of him are strong because our family kept his spirit alive within us for many generations.

           Because I had no mother at home, I was forced to attend a Native American boarding school in 1915 when I was 11 years old.  Just a bit older than you are now.

            They took away my given name and called me Dutch. We were not allowed to speak our own language and were forced to learn proper English. It was a very harsh existence for a young boy. We were whipped and starved and punished if we spoke our language or practiced our own traditions. I hated it there but had to learn to tolerate it, knowing that one day I would leave and never look back.

           More than once, I tried to run away but they told my father that he would be punished and even imprisoned if I did not return. I stayed there for three years. I learned your language they forced me to learn. But I never forgot who I was in my heart.  

           In October of 1918 the influenza epidemic reached South Dakota. A student with no sick family at Standing Rock reservation fell ill, quickly followed by the teacher. It infected hundreds and all of us were sent back to the reservations we had been taken from.

           My family was very happy to have me back home. There was very little food, and it was deep into winter, but we did celebrate my return as a happy Thanksgiving.

           I am very happy that you are getting stronger. Be a good girl and do what the doctor tells you to do so you can go back to school soon.

Sincerely,

Dutch

(Mato Cikala)

 Little Bull

January 12, 1962

Dear Dutch –

           We all had a very happy Christmas. I hope you did too.

           Santa brought me a Barbie doll with a shiny black case to carry her in. She is so beautiful. She has blonde hair like me.

           I went back to the doctor last week and he told Mom I may be able to go back to school in a month or two. I am holding my fingers crossed for good luck. Please cross yours for me too.

           Please come and visit when you can.

Very truly yours,

P.S. Flower

P.S. Did you and Jennie have a Merry Christmas?

February 1, 1962

Dear Princess Snow Flower –

           Dutch is not able to write to you this month, but he asked me to send a letter telling you that he is thinking about you and sending his good wishes your way.

           He has been very sick, and the doctor says he must rest in bed for a month or more to recover. His lungs are weak as a result of the old TB and malnutrition he had as a child.

           Please remember him in your nightly prayers. He is hoping to feel better soon and be able to write to you again.

Sincerely,

Jennie

March 8, 1962

Dear Dutch –

           I have been saying my prayers that you get well soon and come to visit me. The doctor told Mom that I can go back to school next month, so I am working on getting stronger.

           Mom has let me walk down the hallway in our house twice a day. It is only a few steps, but she says it will help me get ready for school. I’m very excited.

           I hope that you are feeling much better too. It would be so nice to see you again once I am stronger and can sit in the living room and not be in bed when you visit.

Very truly yours,

P.S. Flower

P.S. Does the doctor say you are getting better yet?

P.S.S. Please write soon

March 12, 1962

Dearest Chrissy –

           I am so very sad to have to tell you that Dutch passed away in his sleep last week.

           He wanted so much to come to visit with you again, but his energy never returned. His heart was just not strong enough to keep beating.

           Up until the very last day he would talk to me about you and tell me how much he hoped you were getting stronger and would be able to return to school and play with your friends.

           Please know that he cared for you deeply and wanted only the best for you. He truly loved reading your letters and telling you about his life. He had me read them to him over and over again before he died.

           You will always be a special memory to me because you brought so much joy to the only man I ever loved.

Thankfully,

Jennie White Horse

Wife of  Little Bull