In honor of the thousands of veterans who came to the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ Camp and the Standing Rock Indian Reservation this past weekend, here is a video of another Standing Rock tradition that honors veterans: the Cannon Ball Wačhípi. This annual powwow happens on Flag Day weekend in June. Local veterans are honored, and many American flags fly around the arena. At 5pm sharp each day, the dancing stops, and the flags are retired with great respect and flag songs.

This video is from the 2015 Wačhípi. In 2014, President Barack Obama visited the Cannon Ball Wačhípi, making promises to “give the nation-to-nation relationship [between Sovereign Indigenous Nations and the U.S.] the respect that it deserved.”  His promises included “respect[ing] your sovereignty, and uphold[ing] treaty obligations, and…work[ing] with you in a spirit of true partnership, in mutual respect, to give our children the future that they deserve.” (You can read the full transcript of his speech here.)

Notice the fancy dancer in the Color Guard, dragging Custer’s Seventh Calvary Flag on the ground. This can be seen at powwows throughout Lakota country. The Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Seven Council Fires of the Great Lakota Nation, sometimes spelled “Oceti Sakowin,” of which the Húŋkpapȟa Lakȟóta of Standing Rock are a member) came together to defeat the General George Armstrong Custer and the United States Army at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876.

Many thanks to Kate Insolia (Lower Brule Sioux Tribe) for capturing this video for us!