In the beginning before the red cloud came in 1822 near the forks of the River Platte, Nebraska it was a peaceful place. It was forged by two local atmospheric conditions coming together to create it. The soil was composed of loess, which is finer than sand but coarser than dust or clay. It was the land of his birth, where the Ogala Lakota nation stood proud. Loess is prone to serious erosion by wind and water, and it was the strong wind from Brule Lakota territory that sped along to stir it up. Together the two elements mixed one hot Summer's day. A fusion of the right conditions, the soil, the wind and the water of the river blending in harmony. Red Cloud ascended above the Earth of his ancestors, born from the blood in the soil and the bravery in the bones buried there. Stirred by the whispers of voices on the wind telling of the White Man appearing where there had previously been none. And infused with the spirit of the water running wild and free, flowing where it wished beholden to no-one. Three strong elements that were there at the birth, the first time Red Cloud rose to the sky but a mere small drifting wisp of a storm cloud.
Red Cloud was embraced as he rose up high by old Chief Smoke who was already in the heavens. The two bonded instantly and drifted in harmony for many carly years. There was peace mostly below them and tranquility for the most part. This was the way of their world and of the many Nations below them. At times small messages would drift up to greet them from signal fires they lit. Like tiny prayers of encouragement Red Cloud listened well. He took to hovering low over the bonfires lit around the many camps of the people below. Took delight in the dancing and laughter and the tales they would tell each other around the crackling logs. All the time the smoke rose upwards making him stronger, larger and filling him with more energy. Old Chief Smoke guided Red Cloud in their ways, and taught him how to rise and drift. He was a wanderer and had a colour the hue of a human heart, deep and giving. As a cloud he was buoyed by the heat of the day and rising dust off the Great Plains. He would drift as far as the Wyoming and Montana territories. Always listening and growing in stature from the Earth and Sky which were so dear to him.
It was a cold foreign wind that brought a challenge to him. Dark grey clouds in many ranks drifted to meet him unwelcoming in their intentions. They were hasty and mischievous, with no love for the warm conditions of his birth. They were two different forms of the same thing, and while Red Cloud would quite happily blend with them peacefully, as was his way, the grey clouds wanted no part of it. They were the dominant they declared, they had rights and reasons to sweep him away and have done with Red Cloud, but old Chief Smoke
had taught him wisdom and patience. And the fires that spoke to him as they joined his own smoke told him he was not alone or wrong in how he felt. He was there long before they came, these wisps of nothing but greed and curiosity. So small tendrils of smoke lured the grey cloud ranks towards their imminent defeat. For as they thought to overtake and consume a fast cloud in the shape of a Crazy Horse, they were devoured themselves in ambush.
Red Cloud was waiting and angry at the audacity of the grey clouds. He came upon them from his place in hiding, a mighty wave of red. He was incensed and furious at the obvious intention of wiping him from the sky. He would not be cowed into submission, he would fight and meet them with the element of surprise. There was thunder and lightning as the two met, warm red and cold grey. The storm raged in the evening sky fuelled by the arid conditions. None of devoured with little hurt to Red Cloud. It "I will not be cowed or beat down, this is my land, below is my nation, and here is the grey clouds survived, they were was a great victory and Red Cloud spoke into the Eastern wind that brought them from Washington DC. where my heart roams free to enjoy the wonders we share." Then came news from the East that a great treaty would be brokered to stop future attacks. Many smaller clouds may come in their thousands he was warned, it was their way, the need to spread out and claim for themselves a small part of the whole. There was lots to be had, Red Cloud could avoid them, leave them, let them be. And Red Cloud decided he would then travel the winds whilst still strong and full of fire. He would traverse the great distance and see for himself. what evil intent these grey clouds were fuelled by. He had to know what damage he should prepare for if any. He was a peace loving shade ordinarily, but he senses their lies and deceit, he'd go see for himself.
As he drifted over the Black Hills and the Big Horn, Red Cloud could see the tiny glimmer of gold in the burning sunlight. This is what attracted the many darker grey clouds as if called to it by greed and single minded obsessiveness. Usually the breezes and local conditions would scatter them or scare them off, but he noticed they were getting less reticent. They were growing in number despite the treaty. As he met with the imposing might of the East, a huge thunderstorm of a cloud thousands of times bigger than he, Red Cloud was feeling daunted. This immense grey cloud was like a hive of angry bees, kick it and they would scatter angrily to attack all in sight. He was wary and he was patient, assessing the size and might, and the intentions behind their passive or accommodating words.
"You promised to leave us alone," said Red Cloud," you were to be true to your word like we were to ours." But the great grey cloud rumbled, and Red Cloud could not tell if it was in amusement or anger, but it did not sound hopeful at all. He represented not only himself, but that of other white clouds he'd encountered and that travelled with him, bothered by the grey interlopers. "We will give you other lands to wander and travel the skies peacefully in. Go there, leave that area to us we want it as that is where the gold is." Red Cloud was thoughtful and pensive. He was so small next to them, and he knew his anger alone would barely scratch the surface of their multitude. They were many and strong, he and his fellow clouds were weak, and it was clearly evident honesty and honour were not part of the ways of the grey clouds. He kept his own counsel for a while whilst he considered. Then a voice came from behind him, "When I was here before you told me I could keep my country, and I put my stake down in a good place, and there I want to stay. You speak of another country, but it is not my country; it does not concern me, and I want nothing to do with it. I was not born there. If it is such a good country, you ought to send the grey clouds now in our country there and let us alone." Red Cloud sighed at the impetuous response, but he knew in his heavy heart it was spoken with just honesty. The grey clouds in authority had made a promise to them all and continued to break it. He saw there was to be no mending of the situation, and his spirit grew heavier. This had no good resolution for them, they were too small to win this skirmish like last time. They won one battle and it had emboldened them, but they could not win this war.
And so it was the Red Cloud travelled the winds back again and his fellow clouds dispersed. Together they spoke with a stronger voice, but individual they were lesser clouds. They knew the lands they were formed in, and they were scattered over great swathes of land and sky. They wished to remain but Red Cloud knew as strong as he was he could never beat the storm that was to ensue. He tried to negotiate and lead them all to a compromise with these interlopers who cared nothing for them. What means sparkling dust on the ground when you have a whole vast ocean of sky above to travel? How can one cloud be so confined by ever shrinking boundaries? And as they came, a great tidal wave of grey smoke and thunderous energy all who stood in their way were dispelled or dispersed. They smashed their way in and swatted the paler clouds like flies. And the confines they were relegated to became smaller and smaller. The air got thin, the water sparse, the soil worse. All the conditions that gradually caused the clouds to fall away to nothing, and it was hopeless to outrun the vast might of the grey.
Red Cloud held on. He fought so hard and with such dignity many drew courage from his words and actions. But like others he was forced to surrender, even with his dignity his conditions worsened. He was tricked and disrespected and his colours faded gradually. Red Cloud was the last to disappear 87 years after he was formed. His spirit defiant to the last hovered over Pine Ridge and glowed in the evening light before finally dissolving to nothing. A wind blew on the horizon, soft and gentle like his way was. And if you listen there on the spot where he met his demise you can still here his last words echoed on the wind. "They made us many promises, more than I can remember. But they kept but one - They promised to take our land, and they took it."
We are all but temporary clouds, spirits born from the elements and sharing the same Earth. We emerge, we learn and we grow, making the best of all that we have or acquire. No one nation should rule it all, and no one voice should tell you how to live and what you must do with your life. But when faced with overwhelming odds, would you truly fight and die or try to live the best you can within the confines they dictate? Some of us may face that dilemma at some point in our lives, both in large or small ways. But like Red Cloud, how we handle ourselves during the adversity is a mark of who we are and how far our spirits have come. I hope you will glow with the red fire of your heart and not the darkness of the oppressive grey. Rise above and float on the endless sky, spreading love and remembering, not all promises in life will be kept.