Experience of Ride through a Graduated Wikoska
The Dakota 38 Plus 2 Memorial Ride is a ride that honors the 38 Dakota men who were hung in Mankato in December of 1862. The ride began from the vision of a Dakota elder and warrior. In this vision riders would ride from Crow Creek, SD to Mankato, MN. Ever since then the ride has continued to happen annually from the beginning year December 2005 to present collecting supporters and new riders along the way.
My name is Winona Goodthunder. My Dakota name is Wambde Ho Waste Win, Eagle Woman with a Good Voice. I have ridden in this ride since 2006, the second year. I was in eighth grade when I started. As the years have gone by the riders that we’ve met every year have become a part of a new kind of family. We are all different even though we are all somehow related. Those of us who are from the Lower Sioux region are used to different types of living than those who come from Canada, Nebraska, South Dakota, and other parts of the world. The differences that we have are forgotten when we come to this ride. We get up early in the morning to get our horses ready together. We ride all day together, and we eat together at night. It is then that our differences merge and we teach each other. The thing that seems to bind us the most is the fact that we can laugh. Humor may not be what is expected on a memorial ride, but it is encouraged for it is stressed that this ride is for forgiveness. Although our group goes only for the last four days it is enough to establish that sense of family amongst each other. It is from these riders that I’ve learned most about my culture. I have read books, but they cannot foster
the feeling that one gets when they are living in an experience such as the ride.
The biggest impact the ride has had on me is that it has helped me to decide what I want to do. The Sunktanka Horse Program began as a type of horse
therapy/Dakota culture program. I started to go when I was in fourth grade. I have always had anxiety and this helped. I was never one to be the center of
attention, but in the fall of 2010, I decided that I was going to start the ride earlier than my friends. Being alone with just the riders and without my friends
made me terrified at first, but the older riders made me feel nothing but comfortable. We had started out in Flandreau, South Dakota and by the time we
had made it back to the Lower Sioux Community I was the social butterfly of the group. My anxiety was gone as was my distrust of people. I went back to school and ended my senior year on the honor roll with a college acceptance letter to the University of Minnesota Duluth. In the fall of 2011, I had had an incident that caused me to develop PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and Panic Disorder. I was so far from being reached that I had developed a minor addiction to alcohol. Although, I felt all of this I still came back to the horses every weekend and trained. Every time I trained I had to give up everything I felt to remain in control of my feelings so that my body wouldn’t tense up and spook my horse. The ride is an intense ride for even the most experienced of riders. One always has to remain aware that it is a ride with multiple horses from different
herds that you don’t know. You have to be in control. You have to be physically and mentally ready for the distance. Even though I didn’t ride the whole four days I still stayed and helped. Being there with the riders, riders’ families, and supporters was exactly what I needed. They are always so welcoming to everyone that it was hard not to feel safe in that environment. After the ride, I took that feeling with me. I overcame my obstacles and continued to work with the horses. I now am a college student with a psychology major aspiring to take on a pre-med major this year. I continue to work with the horses and kids teaching them the things that I’ve learned. I hope to someday graduate and become a Pediatrician with a psychology background. I hope to continue on and work with horse therapy.
As a psychology major I do not expect everyone who hears about the ride to just believe in faith. I didn’t. I am a realist. I do believe in the hard work, discipline, and love that go into this ride. Anyone who does this ride has to want it, but also understand that when they come they cannot get away with just being in the background. Once you go you will always be a part of a family that grows every year with new supporters and riders. It is truly a ride about
forgiveness, love, and the richness of a culture that many thought to be almost lost, but is now being embraced
The Dakota 38 Plus 2 Memorial Ride is a ride that honors the 38 Dakota men who were hung in Mankato in December of 1862. The ride began from the vision of a Dakota elder and warrior. In this vision riders would ride from Crow Creek, SD to Mankato, MN. Ever since then the ride has continued to happen annually from the beginning year December 2005 to present collecting supporters and new riders along the way.
My name is Winona Goodthunder. My Dakota name is Wambde Ho Waste Win, Eagle Woman with a Good Voice. I have ridden in this ride since 2006, the second year. I was in eighth grade when I started. As the years have gone by the riders that we’ve met every year have become a part of a new kind of family. We are all different even though we are all somehow related. Those of us who are from the Lower Sioux region are used to different types of living than those who come from Canada, Nebraska, South Dakota, and other parts of the world. The differences that we have are forgotten when we come to this ride. We get up early in the morning to get our horses ready together. We ride all day together, and we eat together at night. It is then that our differences merge and we teach each other. The thing that seems to bind us the most is the fact that we can laugh. Humor may not be what is expected on a memorial ride, but it is encouraged for it is stressed that this ride is for forgiveness. Although our group goes only for the last four days it is enough to establish that sense of family amongst each other. It is from these riders that I’ve learned most about my culture. I have read books, but they cannot foster
the feeling that one gets when they are living in an experience such as the ride.
The biggest impact the ride has had on me is that it has helped me to decide what I want to do. The Sunktanka Horse Program began as a type of horse
therapy/Dakota culture program. I started to go when I was in fourth grade. I have always had anxiety and this helped. I was never one to be the center of
attention, but in the fall of 2010, I decided that I was going to start the ride earlier than my friends. Being alone with just the riders and without my friends
made me terrified at first, but the older riders made me feel nothing but comfortable. We had started out in Flandreau, South Dakota and by the time we
had made it back to the Lower Sioux Community I was the social butterfly of the group. My anxiety was gone as was my distrust of people. I went back to school and ended my senior year on the honor roll with a college acceptance letter to the University of Minnesota Duluth. In the fall of 2011, I had had an incident that caused me to develop PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and Panic Disorder. I was so far from being reached that I had developed a minor addiction to alcohol. Although, I felt all of this I still came back to the horses every weekend and trained. Every time I trained I had to give up everything I felt to remain in control of my feelings so that my body wouldn’t tense up and spook my horse. The ride is an intense ride for even the most experienced of riders. One always has to remain aware that it is a ride with multiple horses from different
herds that you don’t know. You have to be in control. You have to be physically and mentally ready for the distance. Even though I didn’t ride the whole four days I still stayed and helped. Being there with the riders, riders’ families, and supporters was exactly what I needed. They are always so welcoming to everyone that it was hard not to feel safe in that environment. After the ride, I took that feeling with me. I overcame my obstacles and continued to work with the horses. I now am a college student with a psychology major aspiring to take on a pre-med major this year. I continue to work with the horses and kids teaching them the things that I’ve learned. I hope to someday graduate and become a Pediatrician with a psychology background. I hope to continue on and work with horse therapy.
As a psychology major I do not expect everyone who hears about the ride to just believe in faith. I didn’t. I am a realist. I do believe in the hard work, discipline, and love that go into this ride. Anyone who does this ride has to want it, but also understand that when they come they cannot get away with just being in the background. Once you go you will always be a part of a family that grows every year with new supporters and riders. It is truly a ride about
forgiveness, love, and the richness of a culture that many thought to be almost lost, but is now being embraced
