ICAA to present movie, discussion about ‘Unity Ride’
Following the film, Gus Higheagle will speak about his experiences. Higheagle is the spiritual leader of the Tankan Chan Tipi Unity Riders and is from Canupawakpa Dakota Nation in Manitoba, Canada. He was the “wrangler” (organizer) of the Unity Ride that is the subject of the film and appears numerous times in the film.
In the spring of 2005, Lakota spiritual leader Jim Miller awoke from a dream in which 38 of his Dakota ancestors were hanged. At that time, he knew nothing of the largest mass execution in United States history ordered by Abraham Lincoln on Dec. 26, 1862.
Four years later, Miller, Higheagle and a group of riders decided to retrace the 330-mile route of his dream on horseback across the great plains to arrive in Mankato, Minn., on the anniversary of the hanging. This is the story of their journey – the blizzards they endure, the communities that house and feed them along the way, and the dark history they are beginning to wipe away.
