by Rev. Deacon Twilla R. Two Bulls – Province VI
My name is Rev. Deacon Twilla R. Two Bulls, and I am an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe located on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. I also have Northern Cheyenne ancestry on my mother’s side. The Northern Cheyenne were allies with the Lakota peoples. I am daughter to Rev. Robert G Two Bulls and Delores Two Bulls Ten Fingers. In the Late 1800s our ancestor’s last names were translated wrong; originally our name was Tatanka Nunpa, meaning Two Buffalos. Ten Fingers meant that our ancestor was a well-known crafter and could do anything with his hands.
There are many stories I have heard during my lifetime, but I want to pay homage to my grandmother, Emma Gillespie. Her father was an Irish man via Missouri. After the Civil War, he went up north to make his way in the world. He stopped with his wagon at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, where a host of Northern Cheyenne were held prisoner by the soldiers and were to be eventually moved to present-day Oklahoma. It was love at first sight with a young Cheyenne woman. Through an interpreter, he asked for her to come with him. She would only go if she could bring her aunt. So, he made plans and told any who would listen that he was leaving very early before sunrise. He hid her and her aunt in his wagon for the great escape. They did escape and found refuge with their allies, the Lakota. Unfortunately, the Cheyenne who were left behind were brutally massacred at Fort Robinson and buried nearby. Some 100 years later the Northern Cheyenne brought their remains home to Montana. A sad chapter in our history that very few know about.
I remember my grandmother very well. She passed only 39 years ago. She had many stories of her young life. My own mother’s father passed when she was 13, and Grandmother had to raise her three children on her own. They lived way out in the sticks, nine miles from the present-day main highway. So, Grandmother had a one-shot .22 rifle and went hunting to feed her young children.
One day, she came upon a buck and beside him was a doe. She aimed her rifle, fired, and both deer fell to their death. Can you imagine? She became the talk in that area for quite a time. From the buckskins from those deer, she made herself a dress and I am now the proud caretaker of the same dress today.
I will close by saying my grandmother was always a religious person. She was always the one who said, “Here I am. Use me.” And I think that influence has made her grandchildren who they are today.
Submitted by Ms. Karen Patterson
President, NECW