Lakota Gold

A few years ago we started a coffee house in Pine Ridge Village and I have to say I love coffee but I do not really like the super hot kind. I do like my ice coffees and like to drink a cup with at least three shots of espresso. I met an Italian man from the east coast and we were in Chadron, Nebraska and we went to the coffee house and he ordered a mocha chino and I thought it was the coolest thing. I ordered one too and it was really great and that was my drink for a long time. I also like the triple shot iced Americano with a shot of cinnamon dolce with room for cream. When someone orders a latte with Soy milk I call that a John Travolta because he seems like a guy who would drink Soy. But with all of my coffee that I drink and savor at times I love a dark brew. I wanted to develop a coffee that I would be honored to call Lakota Gold.
A few years ago we developed this label and now I have had this coffee label under wraps. Since that time I have come into contact with three coffees from Indian Country. We were selling Lakota Gold because it is bold and strong and today it is the #1 seller at the Higher Ground Coffee House. But the three Indian Coffees came years ago when the Activist turned Actor Russell Means came up with Means Beans and it never really got off the ground but it was a great idea. Then in the last year I heard of Hoka Coffee from Pine Ridge and one of our customers is selling the coffee and developing and has high hopes to develop the company on the Pine Ridge. And now Native Aemrican Coffee Company is growing by leaps and bounds it is run by Jayson Brave Heart and it is going to be a great company. But I have decided to bring out my own label once again for the Holiday Season. I am sure it will be fun to sell the coffee.
When we started the Higher Ground Coffee House it was clear lots of people never thought it would work. A Gourmet Coffee House in the Village of Pine Ridge, one of the poorest places in America and now almost ten years later the coffee house is still growing and developing. I have made coffees since day one and I have also developed my culinary skill and it has been fun learning to make different dishes. I have some favorites but I am excited to bring a steak dinner to the table on Friday. I thought I would drop a few lines and share what I am doing with my time. Who knows where the Lakota Gold will go and how far?

Best Frybread Pine Ridge Village

In the last few weeks I have seen flyers around Pine Ridge Village and I thought this is a great idea.  I have learned to make frybread and it is fun but it is truly a gift. I make yeast frybread but I have seen baking powder frybread done.  I have mostly had the yeast bread and it is my favorite.  I once went to a American Indian youth conference, I had the opportunity to help make frybread and I remember it was hard work because there were lots of us making it for a huge gathering at a Montana State University at Bozeman.  I remember the triangles of tasty bread just off the stove.  It was a great time but exhausting. 
Bread is such a great way to get to know people, I love the idea of breaking bread with people and have some great experiencing remembering what Jesus did and now we can have bread and wine to remember what Jesus did for the world.  I am going spiritual but it is ok because there are so many positive aspects of bread. 
I have learned to make different breads and have sold them at the Higher Ground Coffee House in Pine Ridge Village.  I want to have a chili and frybread contest or join one at some point because I believe I can make some great chili.  I want to see if people will get interested in doing a contest.  It will be fun and I hope we can get lots of people to come and enjoy the food. 
On another note it is great to see people take the effort and get out there and sell a product.  I believe people want to be successful and they want to share their passion.  I have believed for some time when you find someone with passion you should encourage the passion because that is a key in the life of a successful person.  So I hope to try this frybread and hopefully it will be as great as they say. 

Prison Camp and Stolen Indian Lands

The two photos above are tied together in history and a geographical reality.  I found the POW Camp photo on the border near White Clay, Nebraska and the second one Indian Land sale from Facebook but it dawned on me because I have been searching to understand what took place over the last 130 years in Lakota history.  The Dawes Act was the greatest rip off of land because it basically took just over half the lands Indian lands and then sold them off to White settlers.  They were on a mission to assimilate and/or kill the Indian people.  This is the genocide of our people and I am happy to know people are understanding history of what took place in Indian Country.  

I know a guy who actually screamed at me and told me Our people were a conquered people and I should have knocked him out but I took pity on him.  What the United States has done and continue to do today is shocking.  I have been writing in Lakota Country Times about my missionary experience since 1995 and it has been really bad.  I actually try not to tell people I am Christian because some of these people are rotten at the core.  Almost everyone of the Missionaries I have dealt with has tried to take over because of the paternalistic attitudes and their sin of coveting.  I had two corporate take overs and one failed and the other succeeded and these missionaries are still around.  The one that worked was because the land owners believed the White Guy but he eventually failed and has moved back across the border near White Clay.  The other White Missionary couple who tried to destroy me is out to the West of Pine Ridge Village.  It is interesting that they stole most of my support because they lied about me and then again the White donors actually believe the White Missionary.  I was told by some church leaders that they were evil and I should stay away from them. 

I believe our people were targeted for Cultural Genocide and I want to work on developing some paradigms to help our people out of the oppression and devastation.  We are in deep poverty and the onslaught of White Missionaries are still coming and I am not sure it is the answer because they usually end up together and become powerless to help our people.  We as a people need to rise up and begin to take control of our own lives and stop depending on the White Missionary because they do not have enough resources to help us out of our poverty.  I hope to continue to develop ideas to help us and hope people will pray for me and seek to help.   

The land was stolen and then resold and people have continued to take Indian land.  They placed on the Reservations and they were essentially concentration camps and we were not allowed to leave.  They said we were Off The Reservation and could be killed if were caught outside of the Prison Camp.  Today we live on the little left and still they try to take the Indian Land.  We have our history and we know where we have come from, which is from our ancestors.  The Lords of the Plains and we will come to a healing, I believe it will come from the Creator. 

Alcohol Hearing/Impeachment Process

Garfield Little Dog Steel is speaking on behalf of himself during his impeachment process against himself.  August 2013 there was the referendum alcohol hearing in Pine Ridge Village and there were about 20 people in the audience.  I asked the opponents of the referendum where there people were because I did not see many of their supporters.  I went as a witness because I wanted to be informed about what was going on.  I believe the final decision is set for December but there may be some changes because there is a dismissal challenge by the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council in the Oglala Sioux Tribal Court. 
Today September 23, 2013 the impeachment process is happening and there are about 80 people and you can feel the tension but it shows that there are some things the light a fire under people.  I thought I would just share just a little. 

The Black Jesus

“YOU NEED TO TAKE A HOLD OF THE BLACK JESUS”.  I have been sharing with people about this concept.  It is not about Jesus being black but the reality he was not White.  On a trip to Washington DC I was visiting an Inner-City church and I came across a post card of sorts and it was a picture of the Black Jesus.  I was a little stunned because I like most have only ever seen a blond haired, blue eyed Jesus.  Of course I like the picture of Jesus with long hair and brown skin but I am Indian, oh I meant American Indian.  In the first part of the 19^th Century there was a point in history that would change the way we as Lakota and other Indigenous Nations would exist.  It was around then the churches took federal funding to destroy the Indian and save the man tactics for the government.  It was a thought the Indigenous people were equal but had an inferior culture.  Now we can debate this for a long time but it does not matter, because we are in this situation now; it was disastrous to the American Indian Life.

                I have heard of stories when a white man came to the door the children would run and hide.  The preachers and priest use to visit homes seeking to share their faith and messages.  My own mother was made to go to school with a threat of having her father sent to jail.  I know some of you know the feeling of a white man coming to the door and then running and hiding.  We had fear of the welfare lady coming and we hid in our home back in the inner-city.  The churches and other federal agents sought to destroy the Lakota culture and take away the central facet of the culture, which is language.  No one really talks about the involvement of the “Church” being an agent of the government but it goes to show you, good intentions do not always bring good results.  We know there are instances wrong doings committed by the church and I am developing thought about these happenings.

                I have a difficult time talking about race because in my understanding we come from one creator and not many creations.  Thus, the human race is one but just like siblings fights break out and the further you go from your cousins the less they mean to you.  So we end up with different cultures around the world with different shades of brown.  I have not seen a red man or a black man or white man or yellow for that matter, maybe the closest I have to a red man was when I saw this white guy who got sunburned but he was more pink than red.  I am sorry but we need to realize we are but one race and different cultures is what divides us.  My message of the “Black Jesus” is to share with people who do not have a clue about the Savior or Wanikiya.  Lakota people sought for a savior and sang the songs to call the Wanikiya(Savior) to come and save them.  Now we have so much white guilt and white hatred people are fueled in these ways.  It is a trick to keep up from the Knowledge of the Savior. 

                I am not going to seek to expose the wrongdoings of people who came to Lakota country and did it with government monies, such as the churches.  It is just an interesting point in our history that they were giving money to churches to make the Indians “Christians”.  It did not work, and we have many confused individuals in Lakota Country.  We can see what the effects are when you look around the Reservations.  It is a sad state of affairs and you can see the destruction left behind by the policies of the Government and the Churches.  There is a constant feeling of not being good enough among our Lakota people.  I am not good enough and neither is any race among mankind.  We must begin to embrace truth and see what are past has done to our future and present.

                Now me being a Follower of Jesus I need to preface my idea about being human.  We as a race of people will never be good enough to stand before a Holy or Wanka Creator.  So the idea needs to be clear and concise because we have not found a Great White Savior because it does not exist.  We can argue religion or ways all day, but in the end we need to understand Jesus was more than dark skinned man, he is the Savior or Wanikiya.  The dignity of the Lakota Man has been stripped away by the Government and the Church because it took away his identity.  We need to begin to think differently in regards to our future.  Embracing a black Jesus will help you to know the lighter your skin does not make you better or worse. 

                I have written about some issues we need to address and they are banking and Casino.  We have many issues but these are important to get the ball rolling.  We can walk in two worlds, making money to support our future is imperative.  Look, Rapid City does not mind if we come to their city and spend our money but what if we took the land back and put up the casino, and started making money?  It would be a good responsible move in regards to being American.  If there are any Council members reading this I hope you think about it and begin the process of studying who owns the land where Sioux Park sits in West Rapid City?  Then begin the process of developing a plan and locating monies to build a convention center and make the government responsible for better health care at Sioux San.  We must humble ourselves as Lakota and begin to work together.  Each tribe can donate machines so we can have our set machines through the compact with the state.  I can imagine the State of South Dakota will not be happy but in the end, it will be a federal issue and the trust land will be our responsibility.  We could use our own people to police the facility.

                It is time we begin to change our future as the Lakota Nation.  The Great Sioux Nation was a great idea our forefathers gave us and now we need to use our brains take back our dignity. 

                We as humans are equal but until people take a hold the person of Jesus, we will continue to struggle with untruth.  We as the Lakota Nation can change our destiny and the United States Government will need to honor their word through the treaty.  I hope that we can now move forward and begin to set a path of healing in regards to what the “Church” and U.S. Government has done in the name of civility. 

                In closing this blog of old, I would like to share with you my latest understanding.  Many people actually are not sharing the person of Jesus; they are sharing a set of rules.  I like the idea of the Black Jesus because it shares with people an idea, this idea is to understand Jesus is not just for the White people but he is for all people I have seen many pictures since I first saw the Black Jesus and they were from many cultures and yes I did see a picture of Jesus in buckskin.  My question to you is, can you handle the Black Jesus?

The Death of White Clay

I have said it many times and I will not stop, the only way to close White Clay is to open up sales of Alcohol on the Pine Ridge.  The people in the northern part of Sheridan County do like the way their communities looks.  They want us to go back to where we came from, duh that would be the Great Sioux Nation.  This little area is suppose to be protected from this type of trade, or alcohol.  I am going to be blunt in this because I believe we are a great people.  I have met people actually believe we are less human than the white people because we lack genes.  I am sick of people believing we are less than human.  I have tried to be respectful but it is time to make changes in our lives. 

When I was young I studied prohibition of the early 20th century and it was not successful.  People seemed to actually drink more and crime rose in the 20s.  I do not like to see our people in White Clay begging for money and passing out on the streets.  It is a sad place and I hope the people will vote for the sales of alcohol on the Pine Ridge because it is time we deal with our own problems.  The beer store owners are not going to help us.  I know a couple of them but they are just out to make a living.  Let's shut down White Clay by voting for Alcohol Sales on the Pine Ridge. 

Remember Rez Ramblings on Amazon 

White Clay Readers

I have been working on selling my book Rez Ramblings available on Amazon.  I spent my last two years of high school working on the Oglala Light, Oglala Community High School’s newspaper.  I learned layouts and wrote many editorials.  I had a great teacher who taught me to be myself.  Just be your self-Leon, was the best lesson I learned.  It is easier to just be me.  Since I wrote my book I have been working to sell the book, marketing is difficult.  I have 1100 plus people who took the time to like my Rez Ramblings page and I would like to ask you to purchase a book.  If everyone on my list bought the book it would empower me to continue to write and share my stories.

                The Higher Ground Coffee House in Pine Ridge allowed me to serve our relatives in White Clay.  I would often bring extra breakfast to our relatives.  I believe it is the greatest gift when you can give.  Give of your time and your resources and you will be rewarded with respect and love.  I believe our people are amazing and wonderful, no one is perfect.  I have been thinking about my picture above and it is awesome, because the Relatives in White Clay would tell me they read my articles.  Seeking to bring hope to a strong and beautiful people please consider buying a book.  Rez Ramblings