Post by Okwes on Jan 31, 2007 10:43:20 GMT -5
COLUMNIST DORREEN YELLOW BIRD : Tradition, ritual at a soldier's funeral
Dorreen Yellow Bird
<http://us.f279.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=dyellowbird@gfherald.com>
Grand Forks Herald Published Wednesday, December 06, 2006 Dorreen Yellow
Bird is a reporter and columnist. Her columns appear Wednesdays and
Saturdays on the opinion pages of the Herald.
www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=19425§ion=colu\
mnists&columnist=Dorreen%20Yellow%20Bird&freebie_check&CFID=9251047&CFTO\
KEN=57139748&jsessionid=88308b39165f505a6b5f
<http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=19425§ion=col\
umnists&columnist=Dorreen%20Yellow%20Bird&freebie_check&CFID=9251047&CFT\
OKEN=57139748&jsessionid=88308b39165f505a6b5f> The number of North
Dakotans dying in Iraq and Afghanistan is growing, and that number
includes American Indians, who are about 1 percent of the nation's
population. The funerals are distinct and are an indication of the
differences between the two cultures. As I traveled west Friday
morning for the funeral of Cpl. Nathan Joel Goodiron, sunshine and clear
roads turned into cloudy skies, fits of light snow and icy roads. By the
time I reached the Four Bears Lodge in New Town, N.D., I'd been gripping
the wheel so tightly that I had claw fingers. I assumed the road from
New Town to Mandaree, N.D., the site of the wake, would be icy, too. I
cringed as I stood outside the lodge; it was dark, and the wind was
kicking up snow. The thought of driving on these roads (where ditches at
times drop 50 feet straight down) was scary. Fortunately, the roads
weren't so bad
<http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=19425§ion=col\
umnists&columnist=Dorreen%20Yellow%20Bird&freebie_check&CFID=9251047&CFT\
OKEN=57139748&jsessionid=88308b39165f505a6b5f#> Dorreen Yellow Bird
Dorreen Yellow Bird Column Archive Fighting must go; change name
<http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=18694§ion=col\
umnists&columnist=Dorreen Yellow Bird> 11/29 Bald eagle epitomizes
clash of cultures
<http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=18245§ion=col\
umnists&columnist=Dorreen Yellow Bird> 11/25 Here's to hunting, for
all its faults
<http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=16954§ion=col\
umnists&columnist=Dorreen Yellow Bird> 11/15 Too few Native women
toss their beaded headgear into ring
<http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=16486§ion=col\
umnists&columnist=Dorreen Yellow Bird> 11/11 Red hat, yes; blue thong
. . . maybe
<http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=16102§ion=col\
umnists&columnist=Dorreen Yellow Bird> 11/08 Dorreen Yellow Bird
Complete Archive
<http://www.grandforksherald.com/columnists/index.cfm?page=archive&colum\
nist=Dorreen Yellow Bird> Goodiron, the soldier killed on Thanksgiving
Day, had a wife, Eileen, and three young children. The respect and
camaraderie of the community was apparent as his old high school
gymnasium filled with people. Goodiron's father, Paul - a tall, lanky
man who wore fatigues that he probably wore while serving in Vietnam -
was everywhere, giving instructions and comforting the grieving.
Maa-Ishu-Maa-Gash, Young Eagle, would want thing to go smoothly, he
indicated. As I watched elder Goodiron move about the gym, I knew his
confidence came from his role as a spiritual leader. He and his son
talked on the phone and e-mailed each other regularly while Nathan was
in Afghanistan. Nathan's tour would have ended in a few months, just a
little after this 24th birthday. Paul looked tired. He and his wife,
Harriet, who is a traditional dancer and takes part in the Sundance
ceremonies, had gotten little sleep. The phone rang constantly, he said,
and they answered each and every call. While he was on line, there'd be
more calls coming in. Why didn't they unplug the phone? Because they
wanted to comfort those who needed comforting. Goodiron talked with
those who cried, and he told Nathan's story. He didn't seem to worry
about what the media would say; he just looked reporters straight in the
eye and talked from his heart. He told me about the incident in
Afghanistan, and the details of it will stay with me for a long time to
come. For Indian funerals, it is customary to have an open casket. We
are taught that it's good to see the person; it's a closure, and the
time to weep is now. Then, you dry your tears and let the person go on
to the spirit world. Those who came by to view the body then would
turn to the family and shake their hands or cry with them - it is
comforting for both the family and the friends of the deceased. Star
quilts in red, white and blue and Pendleton blankets were hung some 8
feet above the casket. Donations from the family were piled high on two
tables. Adam "Tony" Mandan, 74, a spiritual leader, said the
donations were for the deceased to take with him to the spirit world so
that those who have gone on before will know how much we care for this
young man. The family and friends will bring food, too, and feed the
community. The donations and feast were done as the last act of the
deceased by his family. When the feast is finished, the piles and piles
of donations will be given out to the community. In many of the
funeral speeches, the theme of patriotism was a common thread. But
patriotic isn't the right word, said Mandan. Indians honor bravery. And
he told me this story: In the 1870s, a Hidatsa man called Scar Face
went up north with six warriors and ran into a larger group of enemy
Crees. The Crees were behind a wagon and shooting at them. The Hidatsa
man knew it was death for them all. So he ran low, zig zagging toward
the Crees. This gave the rest of the band a chance to find cover. He
was killed, but the Crees, who usually scalped their enemy, didn't scalp
him. Instead, they brought out a white Hudson Bay blanket - prized
during that time - and laid him on it. They honored him because he was
brave, Mandan said. That is true of all Indian people: "We honor
bravery." When the military dignitaries came to the casket and
pinned metals on Nathan, I could tell they were moved by the task. The
funeral was filled with military men and women. It was a sad day, but I
remembered what Paul Goodiron told me: It is a good day, too. His son
told him he is happy and in a good place. That gave Paul the strength
and peace to let his son go. We have all this ceremony for our
soldiers, and we can bury them with great honor, I thought when the
ceremony was finished. But I wondered about the Afghan people who have
so many deaths. Are they able to bury their dead with any ceremony?
Mitakuye Oyasin.
Dorreen Yellow Bird
<http://us.f279.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=dyellowbird@gfherald.com>
Grand Forks Herald Published Wednesday, December 06, 2006 Dorreen Yellow
Bird is a reporter and columnist. Her columns appear Wednesdays and
Saturdays on the opinion pages of the Herald.
www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=19425§ion=colu\
mnists&columnist=Dorreen%20Yellow%20Bird&freebie_check&CFID=9251047&CFTO\
KEN=57139748&jsessionid=88308b39165f505a6b5f
<http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=19425§ion=col\
umnists&columnist=Dorreen%20Yellow%20Bird&freebie_check&CFID=9251047&CFT\
OKEN=57139748&jsessionid=88308b39165f505a6b5f> The number of North
Dakotans dying in Iraq and Afghanistan is growing, and that number
includes American Indians, who are about 1 percent of the nation's
population. The funerals are distinct and are an indication of the
differences between the two cultures. As I traveled west Friday
morning for the funeral of Cpl. Nathan Joel Goodiron, sunshine and clear
roads turned into cloudy skies, fits of light snow and icy roads. By the
time I reached the Four Bears Lodge in New Town, N.D., I'd been gripping
the wheel so tightly that I had claw fingers. I assumed the road from
New Town to Mandaree, N.D., the site of the wake, would be icy, too. I
cringed as I stood outside the lodge; it was dark, and the wind was
kicking up snow. The thought of driving on these roads (where ditches at
times drop 50 feet straight down) was scary. Fortunately, the roads
weren't so bad
<http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=19425§ion=col\
umnists&columnist=Dorreen%20Yellow%20Bird&freebie_check&CFID=9251047&CFT\
OKEN=57139748&jsessionid=88308b39165f505a6b5f#> Dorreen Yellow Bird
Dorreen Yellow Bird Column Archive Fighting must go; change name
<http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=18694§ion=col\
umnists&columnist=Dorreen Yellow Bird> 11/29 Bald eagle epitomizes
clash of cultures
<http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=18245§ion=col\
umnists&columnist=Dorreen Yellow Bird> 11/25 Here's to hunting, for
all its faults
<http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=16954§ion=col\
umnists&columnist=Dorreen Yellow Bird> 11/15 Too few Native women
toss their beaded headgear into ring
<http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=16486§ion=col\
umnists&columnist=Dorreen Yellow Bird> 11/11 Red hat, yes; blue thong
. . . maybe
<http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=16102§ion=col\
umnists&columnist=Dorreen Yellow Bird> 11/08 Dorreen Yellow Bird
Complete Archive
<http://www.grandforksherald.com/columnists/index.cfm?page=archive&colum\
nist=Dorreen Yellow Bird> Goodiron, the soldier killed on Thanksgiving
Day, had a wife, Eileen, and three young children. The respect and
camaraderie of the community was apparent as his old high school
gymnasium filled with people. Goodiron's father, Paul - a tall, lanky
man who wore fatigues that he probably wore while serving in Vietnam -
was everywhere, giving instructions and comforting the grieving.
Maa-Ishu-Maa-Gash, Young Eagle, would want thing to go smoothly, he
indicated. As I watched elder Goodiron move about the gym, I knew his
confidence came from his role as a spiritual leader. He and his son
talked on the phone and e-mailed each other regularly while Nathan was
in Afghanistan. Nathan's tour would have ended in a few months, just a
little after this 24th birthday. Paul looked tired. He and his wife,
Harriet, who is a traditional dancer and takes part in the Sundance
ceremonies, had gotten little sleep. The phone rang constantly, he said,
and they answered each and every call. While he was on line, there'd be
more calls coming in. Why didn't they unplug the phone? Because they
wanted to comfort those who needed comforting. Goodiron talked with
those who cried, and he told Nathan's story. He didn't seem to worry
about what the media would say; he just looked reporters straight in the
eye and talked from his heart. He told me about the incident in
Afghanistan, and the details of it will stay with me for a long time to
come. For Indian funerals, it is customary to have an open casket. We
are taught that it's good to see the person; it's a closure, and the
time to weep is now. Then, you dry your tears and let the person go on
to the spirit world. Those who came by to view the body then would
turn to the family and shake their hands or cry with them - it is
comforting for both the family and the friends of the deceased. Star
quilts in red, white and blue and Pendleton blankets were hung some 8
feet above the casket. Donations from the family were piled high on two
tables. Adam "Tony" Mandan, 74, a spiritual leader, said the
donations were for the deceased to take with him to the spirit world so
that those who have gone on before will know how much we care for this
young man. The family and friends will bring food, too, and feed the
community. The donations and feast were done as the last act of the
deceased by his family. When the feast is finished, the piles and piles
of donations will be given out to the community. In many of the
funeral speeches, the theme of patriotism was a common thread. But
patriotic isn't the right word, said Mandan. Indians honor bravery. And
he told me this story: In the 1870s, a Hidatsa man called Scar Face
went up north with six warriors and ran into a larger group of enemy
Crees. The Crees were behind a wagon and shooting at them. The Hidatsa
man knew it was death for them all. So he ran low, zig zagging toward
the Crees. This gave the rest of the band a chance to find cover. He
was killed, but the Crees, who usually scalped their enemy, didn't scalp
him. Instead, they brought out a white Hudson Bay blanket - prized
during that time - and laid him on it. They honored him because he was
brave, Mandan said. That is true of all Indian people: "We honor
bravery." When the military dignitaries came to the casket and
pinned metals on Nathan, I could tell they were moved by the task. The
funeral was filled with military men and women. It was a sad day, but I
remembered what Paul Goodiron told me: It is a good day, too. His son
told him he is happy and in a good place. That gave Paul the strength
and peace to let his son go. We have all this ceremony for our
soldiers, and we can bury them with great honor, I thought when the
ceremony was finished. But I wondered about the Afghan people who have
so many deaths. Are they able to bury their dead with any ceremony?
Mitakuye Oyasin.