"RED HAWK’S PRAYER"

Red Hawk, Oglala, went on his first war party at the age of eleven. He eventually participated in twenty battles, including the battle against Custer at the Little Bighorn in 1876. He fasted twice. The second time, after two days and a night, he had a vision of four women mourning as they circled the camp, followed by a warrior singing the death song. His grandfather then appeared to him and told him to arise. With that, he awoke. He looked eastward and saw the sun peeping above the horizon so he took his pipe and held it to the rising sun as he offered a prayer, “Let my people with glad hearts behold a good day.” Unfortunately, a few days later, four men were killed in a raid, and their wifes circled the camp mourning, while the survivor of the battle followed them, singing the death song. This piece was inspired by accounts and photos taken by Edward Curtis, 1907.

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