What treaty that the whites have kept has the red man broken?
Not one. What treaty that the white man ever made with us have
they kept? Not one. When i was a boy the Sioux owned the world;
the sun rose and set on their land; they sent ten thousand men to
battle. Where are the warriors today? who slew them? where are our
lands? Who owns them? What white man can say i ever stole his land
or a penny of his money? Yet, they say i am a thief. What white woman,
however lonely, was ever captive or insulted by me? Yet they say i am
a bad Indian. What white man has ever seen me drunk? Who has ever come
to me hungry and unfed? Who has ever seen me beat my wives or abuse
my children? What law have I broken? Is it wrong for me to love my own?
Is it wicked for me because my skin is red? Because i am a Sioux;
because i was born where my father libecause i would die for my people
and my country?
Chief Sitting Bull, Oglala
Walking Buffalo, Stoney 1800s