Hats off to Go Native America!

Having spent the last few weeks organising and re-organising our independent trip to the mid-West next week, I feel I must take my hat off to Sarah Chapman of Go Native America. Sarah organises, with precision, multiple and varied trips each year during which their tour participants travel thousands of miles across the country visiting sacred sites and learning the history of the Native American people from award-winning writer, photographer and historian Serle Chapman. The first time I took a tour with Go Native America, (www.gonativeamerica.com) we travelled 3,500 miles in two weeks through the scenery of North and South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. It was another four years before I could return for another ten days to South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska and Montana. The scenery is awesome and Serle's narration of Native American history is exciting, respectful, tender and at times heart-breaking. I had no idea, however, how time-consuming it is to organise such a tour, even on a small scale.

I will be returning next week to the mid-West with my husband and dearest friends - the trip is a birthday present for my husband's 60th and I have just discovered he is telling people that this trip is an "hors d'oeuvre" - a taste of things to come once he has retired! I have booked us into a different hotel each night and we will be travelling through the Badlands and up into the Big Horn mountains, where I am told that the snow is half-way up the lodge windows!! Packing is a nightmare but layers are the answer - lots of them!

On Wednesday next week we travel to the Land of the Morning Star People to meet the little girl who I have sponsored on the Northern Cheyenne reservation through the Cheyenne Children's Services at Lame Deer who assist children from infant to age 18. We are all really excited about our visit and already we have a queue of children here who would like to be her penfriend. "Many children on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation face the daily reality of poverty. Unlike previous generations, today's poverty is not just economic; complications by broken families, alcohol, drug abuse and limited opportunities contribute to the vicious cycle of child poverty." (Florence Running Wolf - Founder/Director CCS) The unemployment rate for the area is 80% and the best chance of finding a job is off the reservation in Billings, Montana - over 100 miles away. The child I have sponsored has four siblings and family income is the equivalent of £6,000 per year! The rugged terrain in the area severely limits its agricultural use and the most productive land was given to non-Indians by the US Government long ago.

Due to the work of the CCS, the Cheyenne children now have a library in the largest district - something they have never had before and they are slowly developing a stock of books. With future donations, they hope it will be possible to train and employ a full-time librarian. If you would like more information about the CCS or are interested in sponsoring a child and/or making a one-off donation, please log on to http://www.cheyennechildrenservices.com/ . As Florence would say "HaHo" Thank you!

Having organised this independent one-week trip down to the finest detail, if you are interested in travelling to the area, I have one thing to say........."Go Native America" - it's much easier and much less of a worry!

The photo above was taken in October in Tongue River Canyon - click on it for a full-size version - did you ever see such a beautiful blue sky?

The Badlands

Saturday 13th October

Hello all, we've been out of touch with everyone for a few days with no phones and no internet. Even the American cell phones don't work in the beautiful wilderness of the Badlands. We got up especially early yesterday at 5.50 a.m. to walk up to a ridge and watch the sun rise. It was spectacular - silent except for the song of the meadlowlarks and SO peaceful. I saw my first rattle snake but didn't hang around to take a photo. After leaving the peace of the Badlands we made a really emotional journey to Wounded Knee. I can't describe the emotions we all felt there, but we each left an offering on the mass grave and on the grave of Zintkala Nuni (Lost Bird). I have been there before and knew what to expect but it doesn't make it any easier. The native people here live desperate lives, ignored by the US government, but their strength of spirit and connection to each other and to the Planet is something most of us have disconnected from and is to be envied. We spent an evening on Pine Ridge with Wilmer (Stampede) Mesteth, the highly respected Lakota Spiritual Leader and Historian. He told us all about the problems they are experiencing today and I hope when I come home, I can remember everything he told us. It is hard to take it all in. He told us the true story of the Ghost Dance and drummed and sang the Ghost Dance songs for us - it was a huge privilege. He also played his flute and sang a Love Song to Paul and Debra, the married couple in our group, who were celebrating their wedding anniversary that day.

Last night we returned to stay in Rapid City but we are leaving shortly to go to the sacred sites of Bear Butte and Deer Medicine Rock, where Sitting Bull carved his vision in the rock. We will also be going to Spearfish Canyon (scene of the Dances with Wolves winter camp) and then to Pryor Mountains to see the wild stallions.

Feeling really emotional writing this - I miss my family and wish I could share all of this with them but I will be home soon with lots of video and photographs.