Bethlehem Lutheran Church

On the Northern Cheyenne Reservaion, nearly 50% of the populaion lives under the poverty level and over 20% are unemployed (compared to only 8% in the whole of Montana). To the reader, these are just numbers. And if you are like me, numbers are not my chosen language. It is easier for me to understand through stories, relaionships and senses. Upon visiing an American Indian Reservaion, I sensed an undercurrent of hopelessness, with an overlayer of forgotten. I have met and spoken with many residents and various tribal leaders. In almost every conversaion, I am told that the greatest challenge is generaing hope.   And without that hope, all the services and programs offered remain only parially successful.There is a movement to teach the young and new generaions the tradiions, stories and history that ground the Northern Cheyenne Naion. Those at the forefront of this movement believe that by acknowledging their roots, young people can begin to find confidence in the resilience of their ancestors.The Fort Robinson Outbreak Spiritual Run takes young members of the southeastern Montana tribe on journey to their past. 90 young runners begin on a Monday at Fort Robinson, Nebraska and finish on the following Saturday in Busby, Montana, 400 miles from Lame Deer.  Fith-graders up to high school seniors took part in the 16th annual run. This run retraces the steps of Chief Dull Knife and 150 Northern Cheyenne men, women and children, who broke out of their wooden barracks and escaped, where they had been relocated by the American government against their will. At the end of 1878, with temperatures at 30 or below, these brave people set out for their Montana homeland. Many died or were killed by soldiers, but a few survived to reach southeastern Montana. A young teen runner, who has paricipated since she was 8, had this to say about how this run has impacted her, "As a kid it makes me realize what I can do in the future to help people," she said. "Like help out on our reservaion and talk to kids about suicide and drinking and being an alcoholic. There's consequences to everything they do." These are words spoken by one who has found hope.