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Writer's pictureRose High Bear

Update on the Martin High Bear Biography



Dear relatives, some of you are wondering when I am going to catch up after a month of Native conferences and the travel releasing the High Bear biography on reservations and tribal colleges in South and North Dakota and beyond. Well, I’m caught up and expect to be my usual self by Thanksgiving. 


Some of you may know that the biography of Martin High Bear, the late Lakota Medicine Man and Spiritual Leader, THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS OF THE SACRED BUFFALO CALF WOMAN, was released September 11, 2024, the anniversary of his 105th birthday. It is now in its second printing and available for sale at local bookstores and Amazon, plus signed copies are available at our website with any profits contributing to donation of books at tribal schools and colleges.




The background: Back in 1988, shortly after we exchanged vows, a grandmother came to me with a message that I would be writing the book of Martin’s life and that it would have an impact on his people and the peoples of the world. It took him seven years to think about it. In 1995 when his community suggested he have the book of his life written, he finally agreed.


After his passing, I knew I didn’t have adequate knowledge of Lakota culture and spirituality, so I made 4 or 5 trips out to meet with his family and loved ones and record their memories and stories. His sons Clifford, Eddie, and Leonard, his sister, Melda, cousins, Rufus Charger and Harry Charger, and his adopted Sisseton family, the Thompsons, including Ed Red Owl shared stories. I also learned more about his stepfather Felix Green through Jerry Flute, and his niece LaVera Rose who worked in the SD State Archives. 


The biography features Martin’s history and vision, which involves restoration of the ancient cultural values and spiritual qualities of his ancestry. It has taken 28 years and many interviews to complete this vision and now we are getting the word out to the world that it has been released.


The publication is a fulfillment of the vision, so the book release events became Wopila events (“giveaway” in Lakota), instead of a focus on book sales. I conducted three giveaways and gifted copies of the book away to three colleges in the homeland of his ancestors. Our desire is for the book to become a textbook for Native American studies in these communities. 


The trip created rich personal memories, especially the meetings with family in South and North Dakota. The first book giveaway was held at the He Sapa Center on Oglala Lakota College’s Rapid City campus, with special thanks to Bryant High Horse/Stands who helped arrange the event, and to Juanita and Ben Rhodd who greeted me upon my arrival in Rapid City and traveled with me to three of the tribal colleges.


A special surprise was a phone call from Eddie High Bear’s grandson and his cousin who attended the book reading event at He Sapa Center. These great grandchildren had heard his biography would be published someday, and then they saw the notice at the last minute on Facebook and came down to the college to meet me. I gifted books to them to share with their family. The guidance in his biography has strengthened them knowing they have inherited Martin’s spiritual heritage.


On our way to Ft. Yates, North Dakota and Standing Rock Indian Reservation, we stopped at Martin’s childhood community of LaPlant and got to visit with another member of his family, his niece, who was grateful to receive a copy of Martin’s biography and additional copies to share with other relatives.


At Ft. Yates, I gave a presentation at Sitting Bull College to about two dozen students and faculty. They asked a lot of good questions about the biography and recent history of Martin and his family. I was thrilled at the conclusion when the college administrators asked to take a photo of our group and then they gifted me with a beautiful Sitting Bull College blanket.


The next day we gave a talk at United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, North Dakota. The response was very positive, as college administrators remembered that I had developed the 1999 and 2000 South and North Dakota Oral History Project and recorded 40 of the elders from Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. They use these recordings to conduct tribal oral history research which is helping to restore history and oral traditions with students at the college. Their President gifted me with a beaded medallion and thanked me for the presentation and the gift of the books that were gifted.


Last week, I was featured in a podcast hosted by our publisher, TrineDay. R. A. “Kris” Millegan interviewed me for The Journey Podcast #167. You can listen here! It was the day after the Presidential election and I had a chance to share my perspective on the potential for the book to restore Native American cultural values and spiritual 

qualities. 



The Martin High Bear biography is now published and available at bookstores and Elderberry Wisdom Farm’s website: https://www.elderberrywisdom.org/high-bear-documentary. Proceeds of biography purchases from our website will help us donate copies to Native schools, colleges and organizations.

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