Page 13 - Brave Bird at Wounded Knee - I Am America

At the mention of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation,

Patsy gasped. Her father was from Pine Ridge. Her
grandma, aunt Marilyn, and cousin Hank still lived there.

They didn’t have a telephone, so they kept in touch with

letters. But Patsy wasn’t that keen on writing letters, so she

mostly heard news from Dad. If he remembered to tell her.
Patsy hadn’t been to Pine Ridge since her grandfather’s

funeral, more than three years ago. But she was shocked

that something like this was happening. With its rolling

hills, Pine Ridge had seemed so peaceful.
“An interesting situation, Franklin,” Miss Ashman said.

“Please, tell us your thoughts.”

“I think those Indians better get out of that town,”

Frank said.
Patsy’s stomach felt like it was folding in half. She

wondered if any of “those Indians” were her family, and

if they were safe.

“Hmm,” Miss Ashman said. “Why is that?”
“Well, you can’t just go around taking over other people’s

towns. It’s not right. They’re probably Communists.”

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