Indianz.Com > News > Yellow Bird: Going back home to the reservation

Yellow Bird: Going back home to the reservation
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Filed Under: Opinion

"After several weeks of pulling up some deep-set roots in Grand Forks, I transplanted myself into new soil, and my spirit is beginning to take root here in New Town.

It’s a different experience that I admit I didn’t expect.

I expected past years of living on the reservation to be . . . well, in the past. But like those ancient seeds that lay dormant for years and then — with a little water — start to grow again, I, too, am growing again in this new environment.

On the first day at my new job as press secretary for the Three Affiliated Tribes, I crossed the open area between the tribal complex to the Helen Gough Museum and the Four Bears casino for lunch. As I walked, I looked down and was surprised to find a tiny bit of grass that I remember running through as a child. Memories of those early years flooded back.

I am living in the new New Town. It has changed. It has grown tremendously. In fact, it’s one of the fastest-growing towns in North Dakota.

When I look at the horizon, I see oil derricks and spurts of fire coming from the hills.

It’s also odd to see the changes in old friends whom I went to high school with, but perhaps that’s just a reflection of myself that I’m seeing.

And while the people have changed, that doesn’t seem to have happened to the land. It’s the same awe-inspiring place it was years ago."

Get the Story:
COLUMNIST DORREEN YELLOW BIRD: Maybe you can go home again (The Grand Forks Herald 5/20)

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