AND HER NAME WAS BLUE WHIRLWIND

She had been wounded
14 times, she said

Now that her two sons are wounded
and her husband is dead,
she has only
her children left to tend

One wonders how long
it took her wounds to mend

for the biggest of them
is Betrayal

and the loss of hope,
which is a terrible thing

she is proud, and defiant
but afraid inside; she can no
longer sing

She will remember her people
and this horrible day
until her own
journey's end
and her name is perfect:

Blue Whirlwind

©Copyright June 26, 2007 by Christina A. Sharik

The Nation's Hoop Is Broken - The Series: Blue Whirlwind and Family

Blue Whirlwind, a survivor of Wounded Knee, said she had received fourteen wounds. Two of her sons were also wounded. Her husband, Spotted Thunder, was killed. Lois Atwood, grand-niece of Clarence Moreledge, identified Blue Whirlwind from another Moreledge photograph in her possession. (Atwood to Wendell Frantz, Curator of Lincoln Museums, Nebraska State Historical Society, Nov. 14, 1973)