by Phil Walker
“There’s almost 2 million people and God will not honor us for having this opportunity to change history for the better, if we did not include these people. I’m going to tell you that if we do nothing, all but about 100,000 of them are going to be killed, driven from their ancestral lands, and reduced to poverty and misery in the future.”
“That’s tragic,” said Robby.
“It’s something we’re going to keep from happening. You know that we recruited several hundred Native Americans into the Rangers. We attempted to get representatives from as many different tribes as possible. On their holiday furlough, we sent these men home and had them assume personalities that were inspired by the deities they worship and told their people the truth of their fates if they do not alter their lifestyles. We sent some pretty convincing technology with them. When they reported back, we found they were successful in changing the key elements of their societies to allow them to co-exist with the white majority that is headed their way, or who has already clashed disastrously with the white settlers who have moved in. Right now, our Cherokee Rangers are talking to the big Cherokee nation in the south to attempt to do the same. Which brings me to our mission, there are about a million people living out in the plains. The largest and most influential groups of these are the great Sioux nation, principally the Lakota Sioux. I’m going out there and make contact with them in an effort to ease their society onto a new path. In addition to being a little dangerous, I’m going to need some men who have already proved to be cool under fire, and possess skills that I may need. So the question is, would you and Willis like to come with me to visit these people?”
Robby’s head was spinning. Over the years, he’d become accustomed to absorbing new and strange concepts and equipment, but this expedition was simply beyond anything he had ever imagined. He was excited by the prospect and honored Arcadia had chosen him. “I would be very happy to help you in any way I can,” he said.
“Wonderful,” said Arcadia. “Get with Willis and brief him on what we’ve discussed. We’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow. I’ve made arrangements for the special equipment you need to bring along. You already have your rifle, Report to the quartermaster, and pick up 200 more rounds of ammunition. He’s working on your packs.”
Robby ran to find Willis and tell him the exciting news. Then they both went to the big supply building and reported to the quartermaster. He seemed ready for them.
“Heading out with Arcadia, I see. Well, here are your packs. We tried to keep them manageable but they’re still a load.”
Robby estimated that the pack weighed at least 40 pounds. He shouldered it with little effort.
They spent the rest of the day studying the geography of the plains and the customs of the Lakota Sioux.
The next morning they reported to the airstrip and found a big Chinook helicopter waiting for them. When they looked inside, they found a Humvee, and one of the four-wheel ATV’s that the brigade used for scouting the terrain in rough country. There was also two other men, in the Chinook, obviously Indians, but Robby and Willis knew them both since they were trained medics. They slapped hands with Magua and Chistauk and were glad to see them along on the trip. They were good men, reliable and smart.
The trip across half the continent took three days. Robby learned from the crew the helicopter would cruise at about 150 miles per hour and had a range of about 300 miles. This meant the helicopter had to stop for refueling about every two hours. He asked Arcadia how the fuel had gotten there.
“You have our friend Ben Franklin to thank for that. He’s been working on a number of big projects since we arrived. One of them was to take a crew out to western Pennsylvania and drill an oil well. Using our design he built a refinery and started turning out the right fuel to run all of our vehicles.”
“In advance of this mission, and others like it, he’s constructed a number of steel fuel tanks and placed them at strategic locations along our flight route. They are filled with fuel for us to use. It was a very big job. It took years to finish. That’s why our mission could not start until now. Don’t worry, we have a healthy reserve.”
Arcadia was looking at some very detailed pictures of the land. They were obviously taken from the air. “Did you take these pictures on a previous scouting mission,” asked Robby.
“No, we’ve never been here before,” said Arcadia.
“Then where did these pictures come from,” asked Robby?
Arcadia looked squarely at Robby, “In the time you have been training as a Ranger, you have come into contact with many new, wondrous things. You know what a computer is, you know what a picture is, you know that we can fly in great machines, and make war with weapons beyond anything you could have even imagined. Where do suppose all of that came from?”
“A gift of God,” ventured Robby?
“That’s really a good answer. It’s true that none of what we’re doing could be anything except by authority of our God. I knew I’d chosen the right man to lead this mission, Sergeant,” laughed Arcadia.
He paused for a moment and then said, “Did you say Sergeant?”
“We promote our best as soon as we can. Your many skills and your good sense means that you deserve promotion as well.”
“Thank you, very much Arcadia,” said Robby, “I’ll try to deserve the honor you have shown me.” He paused and then said, “All right, what are we looking at, pointing to the pictures?”
“These are the Great Plains west of the Missouri river. The most holy spot for the Sioux are in the Black Hills. We’ll be there tomorrow.”
“We are going close to the Sioux encampment. In the early summer, many of the tribes come together to celebrate and to join together for their big buffalo hunt. I’m going to drop in on their evening rituals tonight.”
The plan was for the Chinook to touch down a few miles from the big camp, unload the Humvee and the ATV, and leave Robby, Willis and the two medics to work their way to the big camp. Robby and Willis would go first and the medics would follow at some distance in the Humvee. Arcadia would direct the operations by radio using pre-arranged code words.
Then the Chinook would fly directly over the camp, masking the engine noise with thunder from speakers and simulate lightning with static discharges along the fuselage. Arcadia, dressed in her shimmering white dress would be lowered to the ground in a harness and step into the midst of the several thousand Indians.
Arcadia had spent weeks learning the Lakota language and hoped her arrival would signal to the Lakota they were being paid a visit by the Spirit Mother. Robby’s job was to get close enough to kill anyone who threatened Arcadia. He set up about 500 hundred yards away on a bluff overlooking the camp and downwind from the horses and dogs. In his Ghillie suit, he was invisible, but the night scopes he was wearing gave him a clear view of the camp.
The Sioux were dancing ceremoniously and the drums were beating as the huge crowd sat in a wide circle around the blazing fire. Suddenly there was the sound of thunder and all looked up to see lightning flashing in the sky. A figure was slowly descending. The drums stopped and all gasped to see that a tall woman with golden hair and wearing a pure white and shimmering dress with a silver belt was coming toward the ground.
Arcadia landed between the fire and the crowd. The dancers had scattered. Arcadia was happy to see fear on most of their faces and not anger. She quickly stepped out of the harness and it ascended rapidly back to the Chinook that flew quickly away.
She raised her arms and spoke, “I bring the love of the Sprit world of which I am supreme to the great people of the Sioux nation,” she said in flawless Sioux. “I welcome the Lakota, the Brule, the Ogallala, the Arapahoe, the Cheyenne and all the clans of the Sioux at this celebration to give thanks to your Spirit Mother and prayers for a successful hunt this season. I will bless you with the greatest hunt you have ever known.”
One of the fiery warriors jumped to his feet and screamed, “You are not the Sprit Mother, but a demon from under the earth!”
He raised his tomahawk and moved toward Arcadia. “Take him,” said Arcadia into the nearly invisible wire microphone across her cheek.
Robby was watching the scene and had a round in the chamber. As the painted warrior came toward her, he aimed and fired. Just before the warrior reached a calm and quiet Arcadia, the warrior’s head blew into a hundred bloody pieces.
“Are there others who doubt, asked Arcadia? “Do you not know that I have come to offer great counsel to the chiefs of the Sioux? Your entire people are in mortal danger. I have come to save you from death. Why else would I have come at this time when you are all together to hear my words?”
One of the older men, with a full headdress of eagle feathers, held up his arms and cried, “The Spirit Mother has come! We shall take her counsel with gratitude and learn what we must know to spare the lives of all.”
“Wisely spoken,” said Arcadia. “Pick me up in the ATV just outside the camp,” she said into her mike to Robby and Willis. Then she looked at her dress that was stained with blood. “I shall not speak to you with the blood of ignorance upon me. I shall return after the sun has risen. I ask that the two principal leaders of each tribe be present. I have much to tell you.” Without another word, she walked away from the fire and out of the camp. Robby and Willis scooped her up and drove her back to the Humvee. “Nice shot,” she said to Robby, “Very effective. I did not know if I might be challenged. I’m glad there was just one. It was so bloody and graphic, I’m sure it prevented anyone else from objecting to my identity.”
Arcadia slept in a cot inside the Humvee. The men pitched a tent and rolled into sleeping bags. They kept a watch through the night, but nobody came close.
The next morning, Arcadia was up and moving at sun up. She pulled a clean dress out of her bag and put it on. Then she came out and had breakfast with the men.
“Today, I am going in on the ATV. Willis, you drive. You will seem like a giant to these people. Robby you take your place again in case things get ugly, and they might. I am about to scuttle the entire lifestyle of these people and it won’t be easy.”
“Have the Humvee ready to come in when I call. We need to get these people vaccinated as soon as possible.”
Willis dropped Robby off at his spot and he and Arcadia went driving boldly into the camp. The sight and noise of the vehicle caused a lot of people to scatter. To their credit, none of the leaders sitting in a large circle did more than rise to their feet. They remained standing as Arcadia, wearing a fresh gown stepped into the circle. Willis took a canvas-folding chair out of the ATV and placed it in the center of the circle. Then he stepped back several steps and stood quietly. He had armed himself with long knives and a combat ax. They stuck out of his wide belt, along with a big pistol. His camouflage fatigues seemed to make him blend in against the distant trees.
Arcadia spoke, “Your great grandfathers walked the wide grasses on foot, until I gave you the gift of the horse and set you free to follow the Buffalo, is that not so?”
The chiefs nodded in agreement.
“It was a time of great change, and you changed to make a better life for yourselves. Now a new change is coming, and unless you prepare for it, your entire way of life, indeed your lives themselves, and those of your wives and children will be gone as water poured on a fire.
“Far to the east, a new people have come to live in this land. Already they have built large cities, and their numbers are many times greater than the entire Sioux nation combined. Arcadia took a large picture out of the portfolio and held it up. It showed Philadelphia, the largest city in the colonies at that time, with thousands of people, wagons, and buildings. They look like this man behind me. All the chiefs had already noted the size of Willis and his commanding presence. They will come in vehicles such as I have arrived today.
Arcadia, whispered into the mike to Robby, “Get ready to shoot this when I signal.” Then she took a large balloon out her pocket and blew it up. It had the face of an Indian in full headdress on it. She tied it off and walked over and picked up the long spear of one of the chiefs. She stuck it in the ground, and tied the balloon to the top of the spear. Then she raised her hand and dropped it. Almost instantly, the balloon exploded and the confetti that was inside it flew all over the men in the counsel.
“These people possess weapons such as these, said Arcadia. “Did you hear the noise? Can you see where it came from? She pointed directly at Robby and said, “Look, can you not see your attacker?”
All the chiefs got up and looked in the direction Arcadia was pointing and one finally said, “We cannot see him.”
“Stand up Robby,” said Arcadia. Almost 600 yards away a figure stood up, much farther away than any chief had looked. They spoke to each other urgently for several minutes. Arcadia let them babble.
When they had quieted down again, she said, “What do you believe?”
The same older chief that had spoken the night before said, “We believe that we live under the sky of you, Spirit Mother and if we are kind, true and have honor you will allow us to live in peace, and to be free people in the land.”
“So we can say that under the Great Spirit who guides even me,” said Arcadia, “this creator has spoken and said that all men are created equally, and have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
“We have not heard the words spoken in such a way before, but they are true and we believe them.”
“I have good news,” said Arcadia, “the white men who are coming to your land believe exactly the same thing.”
“Then why are we in such danger from them,” asked the chief.
“There are three principle reasons,” said Arcadia. “First, the white men are a completely different race and they carry diseases with them that do not kill them, but will certainly kill you. I can prevent that. Second, the white men drink a substance that comes in many forms, but which contains a poison deadly for the people. You are forbidden to drink it. Third, the white men come from a heritage that is very, very old. In this heritage, they have developed a group of laws that govern their behavior. You must assume the mantle of some of these laws before they come into your country.”
“What are these laws,” asked the chief?
“For you and your many tribes, the most important laws are about land. You have always believed you do not own the land, but are a part of it. The whites do claim land as their own. In order to protect your people, you must do the same.”
“How can we do this when we must travel great distances to hunt the buffalo, which is the way we exist?”
“The whites live inside great expanses of land called States. Each state is free to make its own laws as long as they do not interfere with the great laws that govern all the states. This greatest government rules only by the consent of the governed. It holds elections and sends representatives to the capital, where the good of the people is decided by a grand council, such as the one we have here today.”
“In order to have your rights protected, the Indian nation must create its own state. Inside the boundaries of your state, you can hold millions of buffalo. You need not travel great distances to find them, they will be as your horses and kept for your use within the boundaries of your state.”
“And if we defy this principal,” asked the old man?
“Then the white man will come, see you have no government, claim your land and take it from you. They will kill all the buffalo, kill you and your lives as a free people will be over.”
“And if we do as you command,” asked the chief?
“Then you will be saved, free to live your own lives. The white man will respect your boundaries, trade with you, and help you have better lives. You will be citizens of the Republic and have all the rights and privileges of citizenship.”
“Your words are hard,” said the chief.
“Let me show you the world as it exists today,” said Arcadia. She pulled a laptop out of her portfolio and displayed the earth. She showed the huge population
centers in Europe, China, Asia and Africa and along the East coast of America. Then she zoomed in on North America and showed how, in terms of total population, how empty the western plains were. “Unless this land is claimed by someone, it will be an open land grab by immigrants who are coming to America with the sole goal of owning their own land. If you do nothing, this is what you will get.” She punched a button, which displayed the actual reservation system in the modern United States. There were pitiful little pockets of land sprinkled around the country.
Arcadia drew a line on the computer from the Red River in North Dakota in the north to the Platte River on the south, and from the Missouri River on the east to the Big Cat hills on the west, along the existing boundary of Colorado and Nebraska. “Or you can claim all this land, enclose millions of buffalo inside this space, built permanent homes and cease your lives of endless wandering. Surely this is better than the nomadic lives you are forced to live now.”
Arcadia paused, and then said, “You must meet in council now and decide what you will do. I should say this is the biggest decision, and it will require all the tribes of Sioux to move into this land. There are other decisions that must be made in the future, that will also be important, but until you make this one, nothing can happen.”
“I need to tell you the Great Spirit, whose name is God, will honor you in this difficult time and will bless you.”
Arcadia bowed, and said, “I will be nearby and will return when you have searched your hearts and come to a decision.” She turned and walked out of the camp with Willis following, and out to the where the ATV was hidden behind a bluff. She picked Robby up as she went by and the three of them drove back to the Humvee.
It took four days for the council to come to an agreement. Robby kept a watch in his place on the hill overlooking the big camp. It was not a peaceful council. Several times, there was violence and several men were killed. Finally, the old chief came forth from a Teepee and held his arms up to signal that the Spirit Mother should return.