An excerpt from The Chief and I:

October 3, 2002 Sorrow and joy: "It's a Beautiful Day."

Day of immense sorrow and heavy heart. For now, the politicians have been successful in getting the reservoir permit granted from General Rhoades of the Army Corps of Engineers in New York. They reversed the comprehensive Norfolk Army Corps' decision in a rubberstamp move. Carl will not speak of it, but I see his face. I cannot bear the thought.

The greatest object of their lives seems to be to acquire possessions-to be rich. They desire to possess the whole world. For thirty years they tried to entice us to sell our land to them. Finally the soldiers took it by force, and we have been driven away from our beautiful country.-Charles Alexander Eastman's uncle, Santee Sioux

Today, Little Eagle asked how I was, and I said, "Sad." We hugged. He was so tired. "They sell the river for the dollar." He said he spoke with them some years ago and told them "it was the last clean river here, and they destroy it-God's world- but they do not listen. They talk in 'we.' I am a man and must endure what other men are doing." The weight of that statement is a heavy stone to carry in this life.

When he woke from his nap, he had the purest expression on his face and said, "I've been thinking we need to make a sign and paint 'It's a beautiful, sunny day,' on it and set it as you come into the reservation, so people might stop and see it and take notice of the beauty. People are so busy; they go all around, but they don't notice the beauty."

This is the world today, full of sorrow, the reservoir battle, probable war. But I have my gifts from the Chief. Here we sit, the two of us in a small corner of the world, and there is so much life here, so much love.