Copyright © 2000 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

On this Veterans Day I want to sent out my heartfelt thank you and continuing respect to all those Indian, Viet Nam Veterans who rallied to the defense of the Independent Oglala Nation at Wounded Knee in 1973. As one of the chosen leaders of our Nation I was honored to fight alongside proven warriors who had been to one war and came home determined to use their skills to help their people survive. Because it was the only honorable thing to do, you dug into positions from which there was no retreat. You said 'the enemy shall not pass by' and he could not. Because of the ring of steel you provided, for 73 days our people had a taste of freedom, and that strong taste still lives in the hearts of the People.

Strong Heart, Little California, Eagle, Crows Nest, Oklahoma, Oglala, Pine Ridge, Strawberry Hill, Manderson, Big Church, Little Church and Star. Roving Patrol. Places you can be proud of my brothers, all planned and led by a Vet and manned by our People.

You used to laugh when Stan and I issued you 30-30 bullets to fire in your 303cal. rifles, but they chambered and you fired them in deadly earnest. Not one of you complained when I announced warriors rations were cut to a meal a day, but all of you cussed when I said we were out of cigarettes too! You were a disciplined fighting force in a proud, Indian way. You did your duty, fought the enemy, stood guard in the cold, worked hard and did not want to hear stuff or take crap from anybody. We truly were the Akicita of Wounded Knee and the Independent Oglala Nation, (I.O.N.).

In the end we lost two warriors whose memory we must honor. Frank Clearwater was a newly arrived recruit, a volunteer from the Cherokee Nation. He was killed on his first duty cycle. To we of the I.O.N. he symbolized the gathering of the Nations to fulfill our dreams of unity and common struggle. On behalf of all of us Wounded Knee warriors I still visit his lonely grave, my brothers and I offer tobacco and prayers for his sacrifice, his family, and his Cherokee people.

The other warrior we lost was my "Ka-gay'-Ho" Buddy Lamont. Buddy was an Oglala Viet Nam Veteran. The perfect example of a Lakota warrior, returned home to protect the people and to stop the reign of terror. He did both. Buddy was the only son of my adopted Mother, Agnes Lamont, who was herself a powerful A.I.M. supporter and Lakota patriot. Together they symbolized what our fight was and is all about...Generations of Indian people in a five hundred year struggle for survival.

Today Buddy Lamont is buried in Wounded Knee alongside the victims of the 1890 massacre. Many visit his grave, tourist and Indian, but few know his story. We do, my veteran brothers, and one day that story may be told. But for now Buddy lies in his grave as a symbol of what each of you risked and what your families and Tribes risk to survive in America.

Today , so many years later, technology has provided a way for me to tell the warrior veterans of VietNam/Wounded Knee...Thank You, my Brothers and Sisters, for a job well done. Ah-Ho, Weebla-Ho.

Carter Camp, Ponca Nation,
Oklahoma A.I.M.,
Independent Oglala Nation Akicita
E-mail: acamp@kskc.net