Between Two Worlds - Jeremy Head travels to the Wild West

'Rapid City'. The very name conjures up images of shoot-outs and bandits. South Dakota's second biggest city is smack in the middle of Wild West country - where the ever-expanding American population of the 1800s first encountered native Indians. This is the land of The Lone Ranger, Little House on the Prairie, Dances With Wolves. And the cowboy myth still beats at the heart of modern America. President Bush drew on it when he proclaimed that Bin Laden would be rounded up 'dead or alive'. But do the clichés mean anything? I wanted to see what it's really like to be a cowboy or an Indian today in the 21st century.

Suddenly the Chief takes a rope from the tree and implants the end of it into his back using a hook. He begins to dance harder dragging against the rope, the skin of his back stretching under the strain. The tempo increases again. People raise their hands. I am taken by the spirit of the moment. I join in. I feel like I am supposed to be here. Perhaps not that I belong, but that there is a reason for my presence. Finally the Chief wrenches his back. The hook jerks out. He bellows in pain. And suddenly I notice the sun's heat. My head is spinning. I am hugely dehydrated. The ceremony must have lasted several hours.

© Jeremy Head 2003

(These are sample paragraphs)

Total words: 2800
Available for syndication to non-UK territories
Good quality prints available (email:syndication@jeremyhead.com)


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