White Buffalo Girl

For travelers, there doesn’t seem to be much of a reason to stop in the small town of Neligh, Nebraska, in the northeast part of the state on U.S. Highway 275. With a population of around 1,500 people, Neligh has a couple of small museums, some mom and pop businesses, and that’s about it. But you’d have to look long and hard to find people as nice as the good folks of Neligh. That’s nothing new. They’ve been that way ever since the town was founded back in 1873.

And while some small towns have a reputation as being rather closed and not always welcoming to outsiders, you won’t find that attitude in Neligh. Even if those outsiders came from a completely different culture. A culture that was looked down on by many.

The Ponca Tribe of Native Americans lived in the area as far back as the 1700s. The semi-nomadic Ponca lived in villages with earth lodges during the spring and summer, when they weren’t traveling from their homes to hunt buffalo. But the coming of the white man changed their lives forever. Smallpox epidemics decimated their numbers, and while the Ponca never fought the encroaching whites, in 1877, they were forcibly evicted from their homeland. Forced to march south over 600 miles to the Indian territory of Oklahoma, many members of the tribe perished along the route that became known as the Ponca Trail of Tears. It was one of the darkest chapters in the treatment of the native populations. Once they finally reached Oklahoma, malaria and starvation killed a third of the tribe in the first two years

One of those who did not survive the terrible trip was an 18-month-old child named White Buffalo Girl, who was the daughter of Black Elk and Moon Hawk. Forced to leave their baby behind, Black Elk spoke to the people of Neligh, saying “I want the whites to respect the grave of my child just as they do the graves of their own dead. The Indians don’t like to leave the graves of their ancestors but we had to move and hope it will be for the best. I leave the grave in your care. I may never see it again. Care for it for me.”

And ever since then, the good people of Neligh have honored his request, caring for the grave of White Buffalo Girl as they would if she had been one of their own children. They erected a headstone over her grave in Laurel Hill Cemetery, which eventually deteriorated as the years went by. In 1960, a new monument was placed on her grave.

Nobody knows if Black Elk or Moon Hawk were ever able to return to Nebraska to visit their child’s resting place, but I’d like to think that their spirits are at peace knowing that even now, she is not forgotten.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an autographed copy of the recently released Sweet and Bittersweet Memories of the 20^th Century, by Darlene Miller, who was profiled in this week’s Author Spotlight. The book is the result of research Darlene did after into the lives of three grandparents who emigrated from the Netherlands to America in the early 1900s, after receiving six boxes of memorabilia from a cousin. To gain a fuller picture of 20th-century life, she invited friends and relatives to share their personal stories, some of which are humorous, historical, poignant, and sometimes sad. I’m proud to say that I contributed two stories to Darlene’s book, which includes the true memories of 30 people as it travels from 1900 to 1999. It is both historical and a memoir I’m sure you will enjoy.

To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed. After 30 days, unclaimed prizes revert back to the drawing pool for a future contest.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Thought For The Day – A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots. – Marcus Garvey