Jenny Seminole Parker is the last direct descendant of a survivor of the Fort Robinson, Nebraska, outbreak in January 1879. Her father, Miles Nelson Seminole, known by the Cheyennes as Big Whiteman, was among the Cheyennes who escaped the fort and lived to tell about it. At the time, about 150 Cheyenne were imprisoned at the fort. Cavalry troops at Fort Robinson would not release the people, instead they starved them because they refused to be sent to Oklahoma Indian Territory. Today, youths from the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana make the run from Fort Robinson back to their reservation to honor some 70 Cheyenne who were killed trying to go home.
Parker spoke with Northern Cheyenne youths in Crawford, Neb. on Saturday. The young people are running from Fort Robinson back to their reservation in southeast Montana, a 400-mile journey.
“I hope my message to the runners came across in a good way,” she said. “I wanted to encourage them to have a strong heart, to be true to themselves and to be honest with themselves.” She said she believed the Cheyennes who survived did so because of their strong spiritual energy.
Jodi Rave
Vicki Graham
The act of genocide of American Indians 125-years-ago and even before that in USA just saddens and sickens me. And the fact that itis ongoing makes my sickness and sadness worse. I am just thankful for the internet and tech. so we may learn the real TRUTH and history out there!
Sandy Spang
Jodi: thank you so much for highlighting this critical time in our history. I was glad to see my cousin, Jenny Parker with you. Her father;s story still brings tears to my eyes. I love our homeland. If you get a chance stop in Ashland and come see me my part of this paradise. 784-6150. If you talk to Kyle Spang – one of the runners- tell her Grandma loves her. Thanks again, Sandy Spang
Jodi Rave
Hi Sandy! I am doing a story for Indian Country Today, so, there’s more to come. I will keep your number for my next trip to Northern Cheyenne. Thanks for your support of me and the kids! Jodi
Carolyn Jean Spang
Hello Jodi: I agree that the stories of the ancestors must be supported and told because if you forget the past it could, Yah forbid, be repeated. I am a storyteller for my ‘Spang’ family and do understand the spiritual pull by the ancestors. My Grandmother, Emma Mae [Keller] Spang gave me her bible before she passed [in1985] and for some reason, this need to find my ‘family’ will not let up. Emma knew that I would not give up unitl I found the truth. Thanks, Grandma Spang. I was adopted in 1949. Somehow, the fact of being Indian was overlooked, but when I was in 1995, the pull to find my connection will not cease.
My oldest daughter asks why I cannot just ‘close the chapter’ and move on and just when I think I am on my way to this new life, a reminder who who I am will be left in my path…a reminder that I cannot just walk by. So, I pick up that reminder and see what new information it has for me. I know my ancestors will show me and the Creator will give me the strength to complete my journey.
So Jodi, keep telling the stories of your father so the younger generation will not forget.
I am going to post on facebook some of my family photos, earlier pictures of me (many were lost) but as my grandmother used to say, “you have to make do with what you have”. Oh, how true Grandma! My adoptive name is Carol Jean Shoemaker, birth name: Carolyn Jean Spang
Jodi Rave
Hi Carolyn: Well said. I am glad to hear of other people who do something not because it is right or wrong, but rather because it’s what they feel they need to do.
Jodi