Lost Birdís story begins as the story of her people. She was
born in the spring or summer of 1890 to a Lakota woman, part of
a tribe that faced bleak times as the winter approached. Many
had turned to the Spirit Dance, or Ghost Dance, for comfort,
seeking solace from their ancestors. But the nearby white
populations feared the dance was a precursor to rebellion and
tensions mounted. The buffalo were almost gone, the cattle herds
were decimated by anthrax, and the government cut rations for
reservation populations. By the bitter winter of 1890, the
Lakota were hungry, cold and afraid. A state-sanctioned citizen
"Home Guard" began attacking Sioux encampments and hunting
parties. Then Sitting Bull was murdered during a bungled arrest
and a number of his followers fled the Standing Rock Reservation
south to Cheyenne River Reservation. There, they joined with the
people of Chief Big Foot, whose band set off toward yet another
reservation: Pine Ridge. There, on Dec. 28, near Wounded Knee
Creek, the group encountere