National Woman Road Warrior Day 2024 is on Sunday, September 22, 2024: Who can tell the tale of the spirits at Sand Creek?

Sunday, September 22, 2024 is National Woman Road Warrior Day 2024. wrwd2011pic_sm.jpg Woman Road Warrior Day

SAND CREEK, Colo. – The word "massacre" is too mild for what happened here to the Cheyenne and Arapahoe babies, children, women and men murdered here by the Colorado Militia.

Over the weekend, the Longest Walk came here with respect to offer prayers for the victims of US genocide.

Marty Chase Alone, Oglala, representing the Red Cloud people and a Tiospaye of the Big Road Band, led ceremonies at the Sand Creek Massacre site to release the spirits and wipe the tears.

Chase Alone's relatives were descendants of White Antelope and Yellow Wolf, murdered at Sand Creek. Chase Alone said the ceremonies were held to let the ancestors know that they could go on now.

Before first light on Saturday, April 5, the Longest Walk arrived. Some of the walkers had seen the spirit women dancing and clapping during the women’s walk toward Sand Creek. For the Cheyenne Arapahoe on this journey, like Calvin Magpie, Jr., from Oklahoma, it was a time of profound sorrow, remembering the innumerable babies, children, women, men and elderly who were shot in cold blood and mutilated.

For others on the Longest Walk, like Jimbo Simmons, coordinator of the northern route, the assault at Sand Creek was one that has never ended, because now the National Park Service officials have positioned themselves in control and with authority at the site. It is now designated an historic site, with implications for tourism and exploitation.

In these killing fields, the Long Walkers walked up the hill overlooking the trees where Chief Black Kettle’s people camped. The trees are now bare and looked much like they would have on November 29, 1864, when the Colorado Militia carried out the murders of the innocents as the warriors were away from camp.

Soldiers' accounts describe the shooting of young children, with repeated gunshots, and how the women were raped and butchered.

Looking out across the massacre site, beyond Black Kettle’s camp site in the trees, is a flat plain where the people ran, where the bodies of the babies, women, children, men and elderly fell as the bullets pierced their bodies.

On the hilltop this weekend, the Long Walkers formed a circle, with the staff carriers facing east. Each Long Walker offered a prayer.

Then, returning to the base of the hill, Long Walkers ate breakfast and shared their food with the spirits. The walkers reflected on this journey of mourning, sorrow and healing.

Rebecca Duncan, Wylacki from Round Valley, Calif., remembered the Cheyenne and Arapahoe massacred. “It was real hard because the spirits are alive.”

Duncan said two days earlier, she had an idea, to gather the women for a women’s walk toward Sand Creek. The women all joined her.

“We didn’t even get ten feet, it was like the women were clapping their hands and jumping around in a circle. The little kids seemed happy,” Duncan said of the massacred women and children.

The night before the memorial, a delegation from the Long Walk, including Cheyenne Arapahoe Calvin Magpie, spent the night at the massacre site. They prayed and introduced themselves to the spirits, before the other Long Walkers arrived.

Magpie said the healing begins this way, with respect, remembrance and prayers.

Gail Ridgely, Northern Arapahoe from Wyoming and Sand Creek descendant, visited the Long Walkers here. Ridgely said it was an honor to be among the Long Walkers and the staffs they carry.

Before the memorial at the place of massacre, the Long Walkers watched the documentary, “The Sand Creek Massacre,” produced by Don Vasicek. Long Walkers viewed the film while camped by a reservoir earlier this week, and learned of the history of the massacre. Long Walkers said the film reveals facts that were not in their history books, including the shooting of young children.

Then, on Saturday, April 5, Long Walkers rose at 3 a.m. and traveled to the massacre site. They walked at first light the final half mile up the hill, overlooking the massacre site at Sand Creek.

Although the walkers first felt the agony of the spirits here, after the ceremmonies led by Chase Alone, a feeling of peace and calm prevailed.

During presentations in nearby Eads, Colorado, Chase Alone presented the Longest Walk with a staff representing Native American prisoners to carry to Washington in their struggle to ensure the ceremonial rights for inmates. Among those Native American religious rights is the right to wear long hair, considered sacred, the right to obtain enough firewood to carry out sweatlodges and the right to maintain sacred items for ceremonies.

Is KL getting more dangerous?

Not only being female...

I'm a guy and personally I feel that the streets of Bangkok/Pattaya are even safer than that of Kuala Lumpur's. Of course, self-righteous citizens with inflated ego and ultra patriotic spirits will deny this and claim the otherwise.

Dave has a good example of being mugged. What saddens me most is how racist police officers would (as with the above mentioned over-zealous patriotic Malaysians) claim that all those street crime is being condone by 'foreigners'...

There are cases even in the busiest roads where road bullies killed people for some small mishaps over driving... Then you have cases where 'rich' and 'high-profiled' suspects getting away with cases such as the poor China boy (murdered by his uncle?). One of the latest is the Mongolian girl Altantuya Shariibuu's case (a sad and horrific one), which involves some high-profile individuals and reputable 'influential' political figure of Malaysian government.

If it was a foreigner who committed these crimes, I bet that the Malaysian press and authorities will be more than happy to sentence them to immediate prison/death and never being able to get away with any of their crimes.

All these incidences had taken place in KL... Even high-profiled s.o.b are being involved in such cases, what do you think about commoners?

One of the main reason why I advice tourists/foreigners willing to travel to Malaysia to go to Malaysian Borneo or 'out' of KL (or 7 days max) is due to some of this issues. Its just not worth going through the hassle of the Malaysian law enforcement or worse, a first hand encounter in street crime. Malaysian police are known to be racist not because of them being polices. It is the Malaysian-way of racism that is being brought up along with them throughout their lives. As another user, AQ had put it,.. being hassled by the KKK is even better than being hassled by racist RMPs.

You hardly hear from a Thai police officer that the crime suspect was a Cambodian or a Cambodian police officer claiming that the suspect was Laotian... every one admits to the truth. Malaysians don't.

On the nude squat case (a crime committed by the Royal Malaysian Police)... according to the case, the victim was a Malay woman. Now, I re-question this to Malaysians and all those with basic common sense... why in the world would the Malaysian Foreign Minister traveled all the way to China to apologize for that nude squat incident in the first place if the victim wasn't a Chinese national??? Obviously they were afraid of revealing the truth to their fellow Malaysian on this issue as there were high speculations by opposition parties and worse, the Chinese majority were highly strung over this issue! It was an obvious controversy and a DUMB cover up.

Anyway, as with all high density cities, the high crime rate inevitable regardless of where we come from/are... I guess all of us have to live with it or avoid it in some way or another. Best option is NOT to be there in the first place if prospects of facing such circumstances in reality is probable.

As a safety measure, knowledge in self-defense and personal security is another plus to face these situations and in today's modern world, it is no excuse especially for WOMEN.

Women MUST realize that many of today's male-dominated Martial arts originated from the female warriors of the bygone days. Never let this incidences let you down or build fear in your hearts and mind. It is like a kind of challenge everybody has to take in order to survive in this ever-changing urbanizing world.

Hope this helps :-)