Heir to Sitting Bull
Tuesday, October 9 2007
Heir to Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull
The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History announced last month that it is returning items taken from Sitting Bull after his death, including a lock of his hair.
Ernie LaPointe is the great-grandson of the Lakota leader, who defeated General Custer at the battle of Little Big Horn. Yet Ernie's mother used to say that he should never tell anyone he was Sitting Bull's descendant - so he kept it a secret for much of his life.
When a nonprofit organization proposed making a tourist attraction at Sitting Bull's grave site, Ernie decided to make his lineage known.
Ernie LaPointe
Ernie talks with Dick Gordon about what it was like when the Smithsonian determined he was the rightful owner of the Sitting Bull artifacts - and how it felt to see them for the first time. He also shares some of his cherished stories from growing up in Sitting Bull's family.
- Find out more about Ernie's DVD, "The Authorized Biography of Sitting Bull by his Great Grandson"
- Learn more about Sitting Bull
Music heard in this story: Ghost of Sitting Bull by Peter Samuels for the album Spirit of the Ancestors
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A Table in Heaven
Sirio Maccioni
The documentary film "A Table in Heaven" premieres tonight in New York City.
The film chronicles the story of Le Cirque - a glittering landmark in the New York restaurant scene - and Sirio Maccioni, the man who runs it.
Sirio first opened the restaurant in 1974. He drew in an elite and loyal clientele, including Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, Robert De Niro, Joan Collins, Bill Cosby and Rudy Giuliani. In 2004, Sirio closed Le Cirque in order to re-open it in a new location, a move that created a lot of tension between him and his sons who work for him.
Andrew Rossi
Dick talks with filmmaker Andrew Rossi, Sirio Maccioni, and Sirio's son, Marco, who is in line to take over the empire.
- Find out more about the film
- Find out more about the Maccionis' restaurant
