“Don’t ever forget who you are.”

DL: What is your opinion of the war?

ML: Well there’s two sides to looking at that. Looking at the US white government side: well they want to conquer the Indians, do away with them so they take over the whole North, South Dakota, Minnesota country as they wouldn’t be populated with Indians. That’s the way I look at it on that side. On the aboriginal side, that was all our country, our sacred country hunting grounds and all that. Through them, they destroyed our buffalo and our ways of life and living off the land. So it’s a losing battle for us to what present day today is. We have to live the life of the white people. But back in my mind, I’m still a Dakota and I’m going to remain that way and all the things that I’ve known and said then I’m not going to change no matter how much it’s going to change. It could change all at once but I’ve got to remain who I am. But I was taught that, “Don’t ever forget who you are.” I was told that.