I Am America BRAVE BIRD AT WOUNDED KNEE A Story of Protest on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation By Rachel Bithell Illustrated by Eric Freeberg Consultant Royal Lost His Blanket Stone Jr. Director of Lakota Studies at Sinte Gleska University JOLLY FISH PRESS Mendota Heights Minnesota
A Note on Names The people who lived in North America before Europeans came have been called by many names These include Indians American Indians Native Americans First Americans Indigenous Peoples First Peoples and First Nations This book uses the terms Native Native American and Indian as these terms were used in 1973 by the people who were part of the events described in this book These terms are still used by many members of Indigenous communities today However some Indigenous people object to the terms Indian or American Indian Indian is rooted in a historical mistake When Christopher Columbus reached North America he thought he had landed in India And the term American was coined by European colonizers They referred to the continent as America after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci This book also uses the names of some nations or tribes Lakota refers to a nation that lived on the plains in
the middle of North America The Oglala are one band within the Lakota Nation Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota is home to the Oglala Pine Ridge is also the name of the reservation's largest town In 1973 almost three thousand people lived in the town Early French trappers and settlers used the name Sioux for the Lakota Dakota and Nakota peoples The word probably comes from an insult used by a neighboring tribe This book uses Sioux only when needed to be historically correct Lakota is more specific and comes from the nation's own language Most Indigenous people all over the world prefer to use their own names instead of names given by others The Apache and Ojibwe nations are also mentioned Apache comes from a word that means enemy in the language of the Zuni a neighboring people The Apache nation's words for its own people are Inde or Diné Anishinaabe is the name preferred by the people of the Ojibwe nation If you ever have a question about what name is best for an individual or group you should ask them what they prefer
Chapter 1 February 28 1973 Patsy wanted to go back to sleep but the pesky buzzer on her clock radio wouldn't let her She kept the clock on her dresser out of reach That way she had to get out of bed to turn it off Most mornings that was enough to get her day going But this morning after crossing the room to push the off button Patsy collapsed back on her bed Pit a pat Mom called opening Patsy's door I've got to go It's tuna sandwiches in the cafeteria today If you don't want that you can take peanut butter and jelly Patsy groaned as her mom kissed the top of her head Don't call me Pit a pat Patsy protested I'm almost twelve I'm not a baby 7
