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\r\n<\/p>\r\nNEAR LINCOLN, Nebraska \u2013 The 56-year-old Lakota man hoisted the eagle staff up and shouted over the rush of wind.\r\n
<\/p>\r\nHe told the six men and women who sat mounted on horses before him to spend the first 20 minutes of their ride in silence and prayer. He called on them to ask the creator for guidance and watch over them as they made their long journey across Nebraska.\r\n
<\/p>\r\nAbove them, the sky threatened rain. A strong breeze pushed the grass and trees by the side of the road. Tom Ziegler lifted the red cloth-wrapped staff a little higher and yelled, \u201cHoka hey! Let\u2019s ride.\u201d\r\n
<\/p>\r\nWith that, the seven riders turned their horses west and began trotting down the gravel road.\r\n
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\t\twww.facebook.com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<\/p>\r\nThe riders began their journey on March 21 in Mayetta north of Topeka, Kansas, and they plan to arrive in Marty, South Dakota, on April 4. The 350-mile ride is being held to honor the life of Dorothy \u201cScootie\u201d Kiyukan Ziegler<\/a>, who died at the age of 58 on January 7 from liver cancer.\r\n <\/p>\r\nKiyukan Ziegler was a citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.\r\n <\/p>\r\nHer husband, Tom Ziegler, said his wife loved horses, Native culture and children, and he knew after she died that he had to honor her by taking a long horse ride north.\r\n <\/p>\r\n\u201cOne of the main things she wanted to do was bring the horse society back into each culture, especially on her reservation and in the reservations up in South Dakota,\u201d he said.\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\nThe couple had taken part in many long horse rides over the years, including rides held to commemorate the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre and the hanging of 38 Dakota men in 1862.\r\n <\/p>\r\nAs with all horse rides, Ziegler said, he hoped the horse ride to Marty, South Dakota, would educate those he encountered along the way about Lakota horse culture.\r\n <\/p>\r\nAnd education was one of his wife\u2019s greatest passions, he said.\r\n <\/p>\r\nBorn in Chicago, Kiyukan Ziegler spent much of her youth as a ward of the state and moved from foster home to foster home until she ended up at the Marty Indian School. After graduating from that school, she attended the University of South Dakota, where she earned a master\u2019s degree in psychology.\r\n <\/p>\r\nEventually, she returned to Marty Indian School, where she served as a high school guidance counselor and later the high school principal. She earned many awards during her career, including the National Indian Education Association\u2019s 1994 Educator of the Year Award and South Dakota\u2019s Indian Educator of the Year Award.\r\n <\/p>\r\nIn 1994, South Dakota Gov. Walter Dale Miller proclaimed October 28th as \u201cDorothy Kiyukan Day\u201d in South Dakota.\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\nZiegler said his wife loved helping youth get into college and get scholarships. She also loved being a fancy and jingle dress dancer. She was always laughing and enjoyed being around children.\r\n <\/p>\r\n\u201cShe loved being around kids,\u201d he said. \u201cShe loved that laughter.\u201d\r\n <\/p>\r\n\u201cShe loved to help people. She just wanted people to live a good life.\u201d\r\n <\/p>\r\nKelly Daniels, a photographer who has documented the journey on a Facebook page set up for the ride, said she met Kiyukan Ziegler several years ago after a fundraiser in Kansas City for the Wounded Knee Ride.\r\n <\/p>\r\nAfter receiving a horse as a gift, Daniels was looking for someone to teach her to ride, and Kiyukan Ziegler learned of this and reached out to Daniels to ask her to visit her and Ziegler\u2019s home on the Potawatomi Reservation.\r\n <\/p>\r\n\u201cWhen I got there, I found out that they\u2019d been on the ride and that she had cancer and that she wanted me to ride,\u201d Daniels said. \u201cI knew that that\u2019s where I needed to be.\u201d\r\n <\/p>![\"dorothykikuyanhorseride\"](\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/31\/dorothykikuyanhorseride-scaled.jpg\")
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