In 1776, a powerful empire was born in North America. The Lakotas had reached the Black Hills, the most sacred place and most coveted buffalo hunting grounds in the western plains.
西元 1776 年, 北美洲大陸上誕生了一個強大的帝國。 拉科塔人在這年抵達了黑山, 這塊區域在當時是西部大平原裡最神聖 也是最令人垂涎的野牛獵場。
Located in what is now South Dakota, control of the Black Hills, or Paha Sapa, marked the Lakotas as the dominant power in the American West. Just a few decades before, they were vying for power in the eastern woodlands— and losing.
黑山,拉科塔語又叫做 Paha Sapa, 位在現今的南達科塔州。 當拉科塔族人掌握黑山地區, 便樹立了他們在美西的霸權地位。 然而在幾十年前,他們還在爭奪 東部林地的控制權 但失敗了。
One of seven nations, or seven council fires, that made up the Sioux Alliance, the Lakotas had lived in the forests and wetlands between the Great Lakes and the Missouri Valley for centuries. In the 1600s, European colonizers destabilized this region. While some tribes profited by trading furs with new France, the Lakotas lived just out of range of the best trade opportunities. So in the early 1700s, they turned their attention west.
作為組成蘇族同盟七個部落之一, 拉科塔人幾個世紀以來生活在五大湖區 和密蘇里峽谷之間的森林和溼地。 到了 17 世紀,歐洲殖民者的到來 破壞了區域的穩定。 儘管有些部落透過和法國殖民者 交易皮革而獲利, 拉科塔人卻選擇放棄並遠離 這絕佳的貿易機會。 因此到了 18 世紀初, 他們將目光轉向西部。
The western plains were much less fertile and abundant than the Lakotas’ homelands. The only easy access to food and water was immediately alongside the rivers— land Arikaras had already claimed.
可是西部大平原的土地 遠不如故鄉那樣肥沃、豐富。 若要輕易獲取糧食和水源, 他們就只能沿著河岸—— 因為土地早已被阿里卡拉族佔走了。
To compete, the Lakotas became skilled buffalo hunters and warriors on horseback. They conquered the farming Arikaras, forcing them to pay tributes of maize and squash. When the Spanish arrived expecting to find lucrative trading grounds, they had to pay tolls to the Lakotas instead. In 1804, a new spectacle came floating up the Missouri River: Merriwether Lewis and William Clark. Lakota chief Black Buffalo refused to let them pass until they paid a hefty tribute.
為了和他們競爭,拉科塔人搖身一變 成為精湛的野牛獵手 及馬背上的戰士。 他們征服了擅長務農的阿里卡拉人, 強迫他們進貢玉米和南瓜。 就連西班牙人到達此地找尋 營利的貿易據點時, 也必須向拉科塔人支付過路費。 1804 年,沿著密蘇里河順流而上 一個劃時代的交流發生了: 梅里韋瑟·路易斯 和威廉·克拉克到達了該地。 拉科塔族的黑牛酋長拒絕讓他們通行 除非他們先支付一筆昂貴的費用。
In spite of this rocky start, the expedition marked the beginning of a close trade alliance between the Lakotas and the United States. Lakota men hunted buffalo, while women processed the hides into robes for trade. The US government supplied guns, ammunition, and other goods, even providing Lakotas with smallpox vaccines that protected them from the deadly epidemics that ravaged other Native American nations.
儘管這不是一個好的開始, 這次探險仍代表著拉科塔族和美國 開始建立密切的貿易夥伴關係。 拉科塔男人負責狩獵野牛, 女人再將獸皮加工製成袍子販賣。 美國政府則負責提供槍枝、 子彈和其他貨品。 當其他部落正受到天花肆虐時, 美國政府甚至提供疫苗, 保護拉科塔族免受 這致命傳染病的侵害。
On paper, the United States had acquired the Lakotas’ lands from France in the Louisiana Purchase. But the Lakotas would not cede their lands because of an agreement between two foreign powers. Though there were 15,000 Lakotas and 23 million Americans, the bulk of US population and military might was concentrated on the east coast. Just getting an army to Lakota territory presented a huge expense, and once there they would face formidable warriors with deep local knowledge and alliances. To avoid a war it couldn’t afford and wouldn’t win, the US government attempted to appease the Lakotas, paying steep tributes of ammunition and rations demanded by Lakota leaders.
名義上,美國以一紙路易斯安那購地案 向法國購得拉科塔人的土地。 但是拉科塔人並不會因為 兩個外來勢力訂定的條約 就放棄他們的土地。 縱使這裡住著 15,000 名拉科塔人 和 2,300 萬美國人, 但這時大部分的美國人和軍隊 仍聚集在東岸。 向拉科塔族的領地用兵將會是 一筆很大的開銷, 而且軍隊一到該地,他們要面對的 是一群熟悉當地、 互相結盟的勇猛戰士。 為了避免一場負擔不起 也打不贏的戰爭, 美國政府嘗試安撫拉科塔人 並支付拉科塔的領導者們要求的 一大筆彈藥和糧食。
So while almost all the Native Americans in North America were being forced off their lands and onto reservations, the Lakota Empire was still expanding. By 1850, they controlled some 500,000 square kilometers. They were spread thinly across this vast area, moving their villages in pursuit of Buffalo. Though there was no central authority, the leaders of bands, or oyates, came together at annual Sun Dances to strategize and coordinate complex diplomatic operations. Lasting a few weeks each summer, Sun Dances were spiritual ceremonies that reaffirmed communal ties, appeased Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, and kept the world in balance.
就在幾乎所有北美洲原住民被迫 離開家園,住進保護區時, 拉科塔帝國的版圖仍然持續擴張。 到了 1850 年,他們統治了 約 50 萬平方公里的土地。 在這片寬廣的區域, 他們族群分布稀落, 為了追逐野牛群而不停地遷移村莊。 雖然他們沒有一位統一的領袖, 各部落的領導人, 拉科塔語又稱 oyates, 會在每年的太陽舞祭聚會, 共同策畫、協調複雜的外交行動。 太陽舞祭會在每年夏天持續舉辦幾週, 舞蹈是強化社群關係的宗教儀式, 也是為了安慰偉大的祖靈 Wakan Tanka, 同時維持世界的平衡。
Starting in 1849, the California gold rush brought hordes of white settlers west, encroaching on Lakota territory and disturbing the buffalo herds. Lakota leaders correctly interpreted this migration as a signal that the US no longer intended to respect their claim to the land. In retaliation, they attacked wagon trains and government offices.
然而到了 1849 年,加州掏金熱興起, 導致許多白人定居者向西湧入, 他們強佔拉科塔人的土地, 還妨礙了野牛群生長。 拉科塔的領導者們準確地接收到 這波移民潮帶來的一個訊號: 美國政府無意繼續尊重他們 對這片土地的所有權了。 他們則攻擊馬車隊 和政府建築作為報復。
As the conflict grew, Chief Red Cloud negotiated in Washington DC. While back in Lakota territory, chiefs Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and others prepared for battle. They mobilized their Cheyenne and Arapaho allies and almost all the other Sioux nations against the US.
隨著衝突日益增長,紅雲酋長 前往華盛頓特區與政府談判。 但在拉科塔的領土,坐牛、瘋馬 和其他酋長正準備與政府一戰。 他們聯合夏安、阿拉帕荷族人 以及幾乎其他所有的蘇族部落 反抗美國政府。
In 1876, exactly 100 years after the Lakotas’ arrival, gold prospectors occupied the sacred Black Hills. For many Lakotas, this was the final straw. Following a vision by Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse led Lakota forces to decisively defeat the Americans in the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
1876 年,這年正好是拉科塔人到達 該地的 100 週年, 掏金客佔領了神聖的黑山地區。 對許多拉科塔人而言, 這是引起反抗的導火線。 在坐牛酋長的建議下, 瘋馬酋長帶領部隊 在小大角戰役中決然地擊敗了美國人。
After this victory, the Lakotas faced an even graver threat: wagon travel and railroad construction had decimated buffalo populations, and they faced starvation. To survive, they moved on to reservations, where the authorities murdered Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse and attempted to dismantle their culture, prohibiting the Sun Dance on reservations. The Lakotas started a protest movement called the Ghost Dance. Alarmed by this resistance, in 1890, the US Army massacred hundreds of Lakotas, many of them women and children, at Wounded Knee Creek.
在獲得勝利之後,拉科塔人 面臨一個更嚴重的問題: 馬車行駛和鐵路架設 造成野牛大量死亡, 因此他們面臨飢荒。 為了能夠活下去, 他們只好搬入保護區。 坐牛和瘋馬酋長就這樣在保護區內 遭到美國政府殺害。 而政府為了滅絕他們的文化, 又禁止族人在保護區內跳太陽舞。 為了以示抗議,拉科塔人開始 跳起了「鬼舞」。 政府對這樣的反抗有所警覺, 美國軍隊於是在 1890 年 於傷膝河屠殺上百位名科塔人, 其中大部分是婦女和孩童。
Today, Lakotas continue to fight for their culture and their land. In 2016, they drew supporters worldwide to protest construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline through their reservation, continuing a long history of resistance to a government known for breaking its promises.
時至今日,拉科塔人仍然持續為了 他們的文化和土地抗爭。 在 2016 年,他們吸引了 來自世界各地的支持者, 抗議橫跨他們保護區架設的 達科塔州輸油管道。 他們將延續這段漫長的反抗史, 反抗那以背信忘義而知名的政府。