“We did not give our country to you; you stole it. You come here to tell lies; w

“We did not give our country to you; you stole it. You come here to tell lies; when you go home, take them with you.” -Sitting Bull (ca. 1831-1890), leader of the Hunkpapa Lakota, 1877
“It is cold, and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people – some of them – have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are – perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find; maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever!” -Chief Joseph (1840-1904), leader of the Wallowa Nez Perce, statement of surrender to the U.S. army, 1877
“The white men were frightened and called for soldiers. We begged for life and the white men thought we wanted theirs; we heard the soldiers were coming. We did not fear. We hoped we could tell them our suffering and could get help. The white men told us the soldiers meant to kill us; we did not believe it but some were frightened and ran away to the Bad Lands. The soldiers came. They said: ‘don’t be afraid-we come to make peace, not war.’ It was true; they brought us food. But the hunger-crazed who had taken fright at the soldiers’ coming and went to the Bad Lands could not be induced to return to the horrors of reservation life. They were called Hostiles and the Government sent the army to force them back to their reservation prison.” -Chief Red Cloud (1822-1909), leader of the Oglala Lakota, statement after the massacre at Wounded Knee, 1890
Mass Grave of Lakota Sioux with U.S. Soliders, Wounded Knee, South Dakota, 29 Dec. 1890
Remains of Chief Spotted Elk (1826-1890), leader of Miniconjou Lakota Sioux, 29 Dec. 1890
During the 1920s, the federal government commissioned sculptor Guzton Borglum to design the Mount Rushmore National MemorialLinks to an external site. in South Dakota. Borglum launched the ambitious project in 1927, when hundreds of laborers began carving the likenesses of the heads of four U.S. Presidents out of granite in the Black Hills. This epic feat took nearly fifteen years to complete. The likenesses of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt measure ca. sixty feet per head. Located in a park that spans over 1000 acres, Mount Rushmore falls under the auspices of the U.S. National Park Service. Approximately 2 million people from across the globe annually visit the memorial.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota
STOP! Before you answer the Questions you must read the Discussion 2 ReadingLinks to an external site.. See also the Discussion Post Instructions.
Discussion Question Set:
1. After reading the article, “What Happened at the Wounded Knee Massacre?”Links to an external site., as well as the statements made by Chiefs Joseph, Red Cloud, and Sitting Bull listed at the top of the page, why do you think most indigenous peoples of North America stopped fighting the U.S. government after the massacre at Wounded Knee in South Dakota?
2. According to the U.S. National Park Service, “Over the decades, Mount Rushmore has grown in fame as a symbol of America―a symbol of freedom and hope for people from all cultures and backgrounds.” Do you think this statement is hypocritical? Why or why not?