“My mother told me not to speak about them,” LaPointe said about the stories he learned in the 1950s. LaPointe is a Sun Dancer who lives the traditional way of the Lakota. On his mother’s side, he is the great-grandson of Sitting Bull and the grandson of Standing Holy, Sitting Bull’s youngest daughter.
The South Dakota-born LaPointe asked his mom why and she told him, “your life will never be the same and to wait until the time was right.”
The reason was because the stories passed down through his family might contradict the known history of Sitting Bull and his role at the Battle of Little Big Horn with Gen. George Custer.
LaPointe’s mother died when he was 10 and in 1992 his aunt told him it was time to tell the stories.
“So I took it upon myself to start this trail of trying to straighten it out,” LaPointe said. “I try doing it in a way where I tell the story truthfully.”
He has traveled to Germany and across the United States to tell his family’s account of the life of Sitting Bull.
On Monday, he spoke to the students of Killeen Independent School District, the Temple South Rotary Club and at a public presentation at Temple College.
“He’s very knowledgeable,” said Michael Donahue, visual arts department chair at Temple College. “These stories have been passed down through the family and they are stories that no other historian could possibly know about. It’s a unique thing.”
Donahue wrote the book “Drawing Battle Lines: The Map Testimony of Custer’s Last Fight” that is based on his 35 years of research and collecting information about the battle that took place on June 25, 1876. Donahue first met LaPointe at a talk at the Little Big Horn Battlefield where Donahue has worked as a park ranger for 19 years.
“Ernie spoke and I was really impressed with his objectivity,” Donahue said. “A lot of times people will come in there and have really strong-minded opinions about what happened at Little Big Horn.”
Besides telling the story of Sitting Bull, LaPointe is able to share other aspects of his Native American heritage. He encourages questions from the audience about Native American history and even himself.
One of the most common asked questions is why he keeps his hair so long, LaPointe said.
“It’s because of my mother. I respect her and she had long hair so I wear mine long,” LaPointe said. “She braided her hair and when I braid my hair there is a significance to it.”
One strand of the braid is in honor of his mother, one strand represents himself and one strand is in honor of his father.
“When you braid it all together that means you are entwined with them,” LaPointe said.
LaPointe said he hoped his stories would be well received by the public and is thankful he has been able to share them with a new audience.
“These are the stories behind the stories and they are completely different than the history books, and the response from the public has been amazing,” LaPointe said.
LaPointe’s DVD, “The Authorized Biography of Sitting Bull By His Great-Grandson,” is available at retail stores online.
