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[Phillip E Cash Cash]

*“We Are All Indigenous to Mother Earth, But We Have Forgotten”
*
By Isabelle de Grave

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 10 2012 (IPS) - Among Tiokasin Ghosthorse’s childhood
memories is the “reign of terror” that engulfed the Lakota native
reservations from 1973 to 1976 following the 72-day indigenous occupation
at Wounded Knee.

The protest culminated in an armed standoff between the federal government
(the FBI, U.S. marshals, and Bureau of Indian Affairs police) and Native
American communities.

Following the incident, a period of intense local surveillance by the FBI
ensued.

At the time, “Many were afraid of the government and of white skin. You
were victimised if you had long hair and spoke indigenous language. You
were persecuted if you stood up to the government or the Bureau of Indian
Affairs,” Tiokasin, a Lakota Sioux who grew up on the South Dakota Cheyenne
River Reservation, told IPS.

“But the native people stood up, and the more you stood up the more the
government harassed you, turned you into a militant or a terrorist.

“It was a time when we were not allowed to sing our songs, speak our
language, or pray,” he said.

Tiokasin is now a presenter for the First Voices Indigenous Radio Programme
at the World Broadcasting Association Inc. (WBAI) in New York City. A
master of the cedar-wood flute, Tioakasin’s activism is rooted in the power
of radio and the language of music.

Access full article below:
http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/08/we-are-all-indigenous-to-mother-earth-but-we-have-forgotten/
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