"When Anna Mae came, what was suppose to happen with the evolution of the Indian Movement in this country was that, the women, we were suppose to hand the staff to them.
All of our societies, all our tribal governments, all of our councils were governed by women.
We are a matriarchal society by nature. It was the wasciu that came and created the patriarchal mentality.
We were blessed with the golden opportunity in the 1970's to recognize that and surrender power to who it belongs to, which is the women.
Incredibly enough, because of the insanity of the times, the women turned on themselves and each other, and the men tried to destroy that one opportunity we had as Indian people to go forward."
John Fire Lame Deer, Lakota Medicine Man carrying the Sacred Pipe
walking with a woman in Ceremony. Men and women side-by side.
Following the lead of others who took pictures of the WBCP Ceremony and Sun Dance in 1892, 1910 and 1923, Franks Fools Crow requested that pictures be taken of the WBCP Ceremony and Sun Dances in Green Grass South Dakota, in 1970 and 1971. He wanted them so that future generations could see the way that the ceremonies should be performed.
My father, Calvin Dupree, Keeper of the C'anupa Wakan ( the oldest pipe used for ceremony was passed to him by Frank Fools Crow during the Sun Dance at Green Grass in 1971) and five season Sun Dancer, passed these pictures and the Sacred Pipe on to me before his death.
In 2004 before he passed, my uncle, Phil Lane Sr. Lakota heyoka, saw the way the ceremonies had been changed, so he came to me and told me that now was the time for me to come forward and make the information I had public.---LBW
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