Mní Tȟo Wakpála
September 3rd, 1855 Massacre at Blue Water Creek, Nebraska
Every September 3rd, members of the Little Thunder Family Wakíŋaŋ Čík’ala and Sičháŋǧu Tióšpaye, along with families from Lewellen, gather to pray for healing at the ‘Witness Tree’ alongside Paul Harney Soderman, descendant of U.S. General William S. Harney.
We remember the tragic events of 1856, when Harney attacked Chief Little Thunder’s peaceful village—slaughtering 86 Lakota elders, women, and children; committing horrific acts such as using babies in cradleboards for target practice and mutilations; capturing surviving women and children; and leaving behind a legacy of horror and intergenerational trauma.
Blue Water Creek Massacre site, Nebraska
"The Witness Tree" (upper center)
Pathways to Ancestral Healing:
The Blue Water Massacre Reconciliation
We are grateful to announce that on September 3rd, 2025 — 170 years to the day after the Blue Water Creek Massacre — 69 Sacred Belongings were returned home to the Wakíŋyaŋ Čík'ala and Sičháŋǧu Tióšpaye communities.
This homecoming was made possible through a respectful partnership with the Smithsonian Institution's NMNH Ethical Returns and Shared Stewardship Program, returning the Warren Collection — known simply as "Belongings" — to the people from whom they were taken.
But this is more than a physical return. It is a cultural, emotional, and spiritual restoration. Through ceremony, these Belongings become Wisdom Keepers — restoring knowledge, inspiring healing, and nourishing the cultural renewal of a community whose spirit was never broken. This sacred return strengthens identity, resilience, and pride, honoring the past, empowering the present, and protecting the future.
We are also planning the Mní Thó Wákpalá Memorial Garden near the massacre site — a living memorial dedicated to the enduring spirit of the Wakíŋyaŋ Čík'ala and Sičháŋǧu Tióšpaye communities. By honoring this living history, we challenge outdated narratives, deepen cultural understanding, and create a lasting space for healing and collective remembrance.
Executive Director Phillip Little Thunder prays at Blue Water Creek Massacre Site (2024)
(Click photo) To view the 69 belongings taken from the victims of the massacre and held by the Smithsonian Institution since 1873. Ancestral Healing Circle (AHC) is actively working with the NMNH Ethical Returns and Stewardship Program to bring these sacred items home.
"Meeting with the Smithsonian Institution"
Click image to Open PDF
1855 Blue Water Belongings aka Warren Collection
Letters of Validation & Support
