The Silent "I"

Easter Island: Tapati Rapa Nui Festival Lake Competition

This post is part of a retrospective series on our trip to Easter Island in 2004 for the Tapati Rapa Nui Festival. Note: some of the photos in this post are rated PG for partial nudity.

February 5, 2004

In the afternoon of our second day on Easter Island, we caught a cab to take us to the big "Birdman" competition at the lake in the volcano.  By 'taxi" I mean beat-up, grimey blue Gremlin with no seatbelts and a driver who was about 8 months pregnant.  I think she may have been our tour guide China's cousin.  China wasn't with us on this day, but promised she'd send a taxi for us, and she did.  Anyway, the driver didn't speak much English,but she knew where we needed to go. She drove across the dustry roads and went off-road a bit to drop us  near an entrance to the festival that didn't require risking life and limb and a steep climb up the side of the volcano to see the race. 

We walked through a narrow canyon of red rock a with a stream of people all headed toward the same destination, the volcano crater lake, Rano Raraku.  In this event, young men representing one or the other of the Rapa Nui Queen contestants compete in a sort of native triathalon. 

South Dakota: Burying My Heart at Wounded Knee

After our stop at Badlands National Park, we drove through the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to Wounded Knee.  The Reservation sits in a vast plain, with few houses dotting the landscape.  We took a wrong turn down an unpaved road as we were looking for the Wounded Knee Memorial, and passed a lone trailer.  Outside, two Native American kids, a little older than Alex, were playing.  One of them looked up and flipped us off.

"Why did he do that, Mom?  He showed us his middle finger! That is sooo not nice!"  Alex was outraged by this gesture.

To be honest, I didn't know exactly why he did it, but we clearly didn't belong there.

We finally found the Wounded Knee Visitors Center and Memorial.  It was a round, dark building that looked like a giant chocolate cake.  Inside, it was dark and windowless.  Three women sat behind a desk, selling jewelry and mementos of Wounded Knee. The walls were decorated with photos and descriptions of what had happened there.  There was a sense of outrage about the place.  In big letters on the wall, someone had written:  "The Indian Wars Are Not Over."

The following words were written on the wall:

During the 1970's terror once again filled the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.  The traditional LAKOTA People were being terrorized and murdered.  The corrupt Chairman and his Goons along with the F.B.I. carried out the reign of terror.  The Chiefs and Headsmen had meetings and called A.I.M. to come and assist.  On February 27, 1973 the siege began and the War was on for 71 days.  Two LAKOTAS were killed in action, Buddy Lamont and Frank Clearwater who gave the ultimate sacrifice.  LAKOTA War leader Pedro Bissonette was gunned down by the B.I.A. Police 6 months after the Takeover.  The American Indian Movement was instrumental in alot of the postive changes that affect us today.  indian Pride was revived and the resurgence of our Spirituality Began.

All of the writing on the walls was neatly hand-lettered, and there were photos and collages in frames all around.  This was clearly something that had been done by the people themselves, to commemorate the sad plight of the Lakota people, of their betrayal by the US government, and bloody battles and sacrifice made by them.