Cross-country trek brings attention to the harsh conditions on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

“This is my way home,” says Matt Bad Wound. He is one of several people making a 350-mile journey from Boulder, Colorado, to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation on horseback as part of a fundraiser for the South Dakota based nonprofit, The Tipi Raisers.

It’s day seven of the roughly three-week ride and we start the day with a traditional prayer and smudging ceremony, as The Tipi Raisers Executive Director Dave Ventimiglia carries burning sage to each of us, circling our horses in the rising smoke as we take in its earthy smell.

Bryan Deans, a Lakota member and staff carrier, offers a horse song, honoring the connection the animal provides between man and the universe. The horse points in all seven directions — north, west, east and south, plus the ears point towards heaven and the hooves ground us to the earth below. As the rider sits in the middle of the horse’s back, they become centered as the animal’s heartbeat points towards the seventh direction, the inner self.

Deans then hands over his traditional hooked staff to Ventimiglia who will carry it for the day. “Dave’s a non-member but I think the thing is we have to pass this knowledge on to others,” says Deans. “We can’t do it alone. We have to cultivate relationships like this because allies are very important.”

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