The Real Rosebud: The Triumph of a Lakota Woman

Epilogue: Keeping the Promise

[63], (2) Lines: 12 to ——— 6.5pt Pg ——— Normal Pag PgEnds: TE [63], (2) Epilogue Keeping the Promise From the very first time that Rosebud mentioned her research files and her wish to fill in the history of her family, I was absorbed in the project with her. I still am. Even after her death, as I continued the work that she herself had begun so many years before, new leads constantly came to light, as though she were guiding me along. Here, in sequence, are some of the places and events to which I was led. return to south dakota In May 1993 I attended the graduation exercises at Sinte Gleska University, located on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.1 It was my first visit to the place for which Rosebud had been named and offered a good opportunity to spend time with the Yellow Robe family and continue my research. I flew to Rapid City, where the Yellow Robes met me, and we started out for the Rosebud Reservation. Deborah (Deb), her mother Mary, and sister Cookie were enthusiastic about the trip. The weather was perfect, and after several hours I noticed two eagles off to the side of the road, seemingly leading our car. Deb commented, “That is a very good sign.” The graduation activities were unique in their combination of academic and Lakota traditions. After a traditional feast we made our way to a rodeo and powwow. Deb initiated the ceremonies by singing “The Star Spangled Banner.” I was introduced to several of the participants in the rodeo, and it was great fun to follow their progress in the competitions. This first of many powwows I have now attended was electrifying. I 64 epilogue [64], (3 Lines: 45 ——— 6.5pt ——— Normal PgEnds: [64], (3 had not been prepared for the serious religious dimension of the occasion. The energy released by the dancers in their colorful dress was contagious to the entire audience. I felt comfortable and welcome, although a trifle self-conscious as one of the very few non-Indian visitors. The next morning we attended Sunday services at the Episcopal Church and were invited to the home of the pastor and his wife for brunch. On the way back to Rapid City, Deb offered to drive me by way of Pierre for another visit to the archives. This trip to South Dakota became another memorable part of the ongoing treasure hunt.2 rosebud’s song One day Ann McCoy, the painter, called me in Santa Fe to ask if her friend, Jacques d’Amboise, founder of the National Dance Institute, might come to my home to see her portrait of Rosebud. I did not know then that she had spoken to Jacques about using Rosebud’s life as a theme for his 1994 international children’s dance event. Jacques came to see the portrait, and after several hours spent talking about Rosebud and looking at other pictures of her, he invited us to visit a school in Santa Fe where he was rehearsing a dance program. We spent the next morning watching how wonderfully the children responded to their dance instructors, and how pleased they seemed to be with the chance to perform for an audience. When Jacques asked me to help with a National Dance Institute production to be called Rosebud’s Song, I agreed enthusiastically and wrote a biographical sketch of Rosebud for the program. Some one thousand schoolchildren participated in the performance, many from the New York area but others from countries around the world, including Nepal, Siberia, Chile, and Ethiopia. Taking inspiration from Native traditions that express the unity of humankind with the natural world, the pageant sought “to represent through dance the earth and its peoples in all its discordant harmony .”3 Choreographers had worked with children in their home countries to prepare them, and the international students came to New York a month in advance for rehearsals and to meet local students and participate in events at local schools.4 The students themselves created the scenic backdrop for the program: a muslin screen as long as a city block, made up of two-foot squares, each a self-portrait. On May 22, 1994, Madison Square Garden was filled to capacity. Rosebud ’s family and friends had come from South Dakota, and her many epilogue 65 [65], (4) Lines: 62 to ——— 0.0pt Pg ——— Normal Pag PgEnds...