The Wisdom of the Native Americans by Kent Nerburn

Author:Kent Nerburn
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1577310799
Publisher: New World Library

Before there were any cities on this continent, before there were bridges to span the Mississippi, before the great network of railroads was even dreamed of, we Indian people had councils which gave their decisions in accordance with the highest ideal of human justice.

Though the occurrence of murder was rare, it was a grave offense, to be atoned for as the council might decree. Often it happened that the slayer was called upon to pay the penalty with his own life.

In such cases, the murderer made no attempt to escape or evade justice. That the crime was committed in the depths of the forest or at dead of night, witnessed by no human eye, made no difference to his mind. He was thoroughly convinced that all is known to the Great Mystery, and hence did not hesitate to give himself up, to stand trial by the old and wise men of the victim’s clan.

Even his own family and clan might by no means attempt to excuse or to defend him. But his judges took all the known circumstances into consideration, and if it appeared that he slew in self-defense, or that the provocation was severe, he might be set free after a thirty days’ period of mourning in solitude. This ceremonial mourning was a sign of reverence for the departed spirit.

If there were no circumstances justifying the slaying, the murdered man’s next of kin were authorized to take the murderer’s life. If they refrained from doing so, as often happened, he remained an outcast from the clan.

It is well remembered that Crow Dog, who killed the Sioux chief, Spotted Tail, in 1881 calmly surrendered himself and was tried and convicted by the courts in South Dakota.

The cause of his act was a solemn commission received from his people thirty years earlier. At that time, Spotted Tail had usurped the chieftainship of his people with the aid of the U.S. military. Crow Dog was under a vow to slay the chief, in case he ever disgraced the name of the Brule Sioux.

There is no doubt that Spotted Tail had committed crimes both public and private, having been guilty of misuse of office as well as of gross offense against morality. Therefore, his death was not a matter of personal vengeance, but of just retribution.

A few days before Crow Dog was to be executed, he asked permission to visit his home and say farewell to his wife and twin boys, then nine or ten years old. Strange to say, the request was granted, and the condemned man was sent home under escort of the deputy sheriff, who remained at the Indian agency, merely telling his prisoner to report there on the following day.

When Crow Dog did not appear at the time set, the sheriff dispatched the Indian police after him. They did not find him, and his wife simply said that he had desired to ride alone to the prison, and would reach there on the day appointed. All doubt was removed the next day by a telegram from Rapid City, two hundred miles distant.

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