Dec. 29 is the 131st anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre. Here’s why it matters.

Many people don’t know that Dec. 29, 2021, is the 131st anniversary of the massacre of 150 to 330 Lakota Native Americans at Wound Knee, many of whom where women and children.

If you don’t know why this date should be important to you, keep reading. Because David Kump of Joliet is on a one-man mission to educate the world about the massacre, along with Native American culture and philosophy.

“I’m dedicating the rest of my life to this,” Kump said. “It may take that long – and I don’t know how long I have – just to convince a handful of people to give this some thought. It’s a worthwhile cause and I’m going to keep hammering at it.”

No, Kump is not Native American. And Kump said he’s been told some Native Americans might resent him for adopting their cause.

But Kump is doing it anyway. Kump feels the issue is not a Native American issue, but a human issue. In 2019, he released an original song called “Wovoka Ghost Dance” on his “Animal Spirit Soul” CD.

The original Ghost Dance was actually two movements of Native Americans in the 19th century to restore their land and cultures, which they felt could be hastened by certain dances and songs to the dead, according to Encyclopedia Britannica in a 2019 Herald-News story.

The movement reached the Sioux early in 1890, which was wrongly blamed for the Sioux outbreak later that year, and “culminated with the massacre at Wounded Knee, South Dakota,” Encyclopedia Britannica also said.

“Can you imagine being so desperate that they thought the ghost dance would protect them from the cavalry? They actually believed it,” Kump said in the 2019 story. “To have that be their only hope, and to hang onto that – that shows how badly they were treated.”

Kump said that, from 1820 to about 1870, 60 million buffalo “were killed on purpose, sanctioned and encouraged by the government of the United States for one purpose: to end the Native American way of life.”

He called it a “sin against humanity.”

“It is a sin against the animal kingdom that affects humans,” Kump said. “It is a sin against humanity.”

Kump said the average person doesn’t know much about the massacre or Native Americans – and much of that might not be completely factual. So for the sake of truth – and the fact Native Americans were here before most of our ancestors – Kump feels people should educate themselves.

“I want people to use Native Americans – their life, their philosophy, the example they set down in their lives – to be one more option to consider when sitting around thinking, ‘Geez, what can I think about today?’ ”

Because the anniversary of Wounded Knee is just four days after Christmas, Kump feels that’s an excellent time to reflect on a culture that valued simplicity and nature. Because that anniversary occurs shortly after a holiday that’s often associated with greed and consumerism, he said.

“It gives men the opportunity, at the same time everybody is hustling and busting and running around buying non-recyclable Christmas gifts to tell people, ‘Hey, wait a minute. Slow down. Give this philosophy some thought,” Kump said. “And, if nothing else, maybe it’s a way to balance this unbelievable dichotomy between what the Native American philosophy was and what this so-called American dream is really doing to this country and its resources and its people.”

Kump finds it ironic that people will cut down trees to make paper to use for signs that say, “Save the trees.”

“That concept, if you think about it, is almost laughable,” Kump said. “And yet that’s just what we do without thinking about it. If we would just think about this taking of resources for no other reason than the bottom line of greed, maybe that would affect people’s behavior.”

Kump would like people to ask themselves these questions: “How much do I need? How much more do I need? How can I maximize what I already have and be thankful for that and make it sacred?”

He’s not advocating the relinquishment of all possessions – or that even possessions are bad.

“Hey, I love gas powered engines and race cars,” Kump said. “But can’t we give it some thought to cut back a little, to not be so greedy and selfish. As a result, that would have to benefit the planet.”

So, ultimately, what is Kump hoping to accomplish? Well, he’s realistic enough to know he won’t change the world or create a certain mindset in everyone.

“But let’s just make little changes,” he said.