Amy Fox

Touch The Clouds (Lakota: Maȟpíya Ičáȟtagya or Maȟpíya Íyapat'o) (c. 1838 – September 5, 1905) was a chief of the Minneconjou Teton Lakota (also known as Sioux) known for his bravery and skill in battle, physical strength and diplomacy in counsel. The youngest son of Lone Horn, he was brother to Spotted Elk, Frog, and Roman Nose. There is evidence suggesting that he was a cousin to Crazy Horse.
When Touch The Clouds's Wakpokinyan band split in the mid-1870s, the band traveled to the Cheyenne River Agency. He assumed the leadership of the band in 1875 after the death of his father and retained leadership during the initial period of the Great Sioux War of 1876-77. After the Battle of the Little Bighorn, he took the band north, eventually surrendering at the Spotted Tail Agency, where he enlisted in the Indian Scouts. However, not long after being present at the death of Crazy Horse, Touch the Clouds transferred with his band back to the Cheyenne River Agency.
Touch The Clouds became one of the new leaders of the Minneconjou at the Cheyenne River Agency in 1881, keeping his position until his death on September 5, 1905. Upon his death his son, Amos Charging First, took over as the new chief.
Touch The Clouds. Mniconjou. 1877

A Hidatsa woman named Waheenee, born around 1839, made it her mission to ensure her tribe''s ancient gardening techniques were never forgotten. Between 1907 and 1918, she shared her people''s deep knowledge of agriculture, cooking, and daily life with an ethnographer.
Her incredible wisdom was published in 1917 in a book called "Buffalo Bird Woman''s Garden," creating a permanent record of a fading way of life.
She wasn''t alone in this vital work of preservation.
Around the same time, an ethnologist named Frances Densmore traveled the United States with a wax cylinder phonograph.
Over several decades, she recorded over 2,000 songs from various tribes, preserving their musical heritage for all time.
Meanwhile, in Connecticut, a Mohegan woman named Gladys Tantaquidgeon dedicated her life to documenting traditional medicine and ancient healing practices.
Her detailed work not only preserved Mohegan culture but was instrumental in helping her tribe achieve federal recognition in 1994.
These women understood the importance of their heritage and worked tirelessly to create a bridge for future generations to connect with their past.

Crowfoot stood and watched as the white man spread many one dollar bills on the ground.
This is what the white man trades with; this is his buffalo robe. Just as you trade skins, we trade with these pieces of paper.
When the white chief had laid all his money on the ground and shown how much he would give if the Indians would sign a treaty, Crowfoot took a handful of clay, made a ball out of it and put it on the fire.
It did not crack.
Then he said to the white man, Now put your money on the fire and see if it will last as long as the clay.
The white man said, No….my money will burn because it is made of paper.
With an amused gleam in his eyes the old chief said, Oh, your money is not as good as our land, is it?
The wind will blow it away; the fire will burn it; water will rot it. But nothing will destroy our land.
You don’t make a very good trade.
Then with a smile, Crowfoot picked up a handful of sand from the river bank, handed it to the white man and said, You count the grains of sand in that while I count the money you give for the land.
The white man said, I would not live long enough to count this, but you can count the money in a few minutes.
Very well, said the wise Crowfoot, our land is more valuable than your money. It will last forever.
It will not perish as long as the sun shines and the water flows, and through all the years it will give life to men and animals, and therefore we cannot sell the land.
It was put there by the Great Spirit and we cannot sell it because it does not really belong to us.
You can count your money and burn it with a nod of a buffalo’s head, but only the Great Spirit can count the grains of sand and the blades of grass on these plains.
As a present we will give you anything you can take with you, but we cannot give you the land.
Chief Crowfoot
Blackfoot Confederacy