I turned my light off and tried to go to sleep, a little annoyed. This time I got up to check, but I couldn’t find any explanation for the knocking. I thought some shoes must have fallen from a shelf, so I didn’t pay much attention and tried to fall asleep. I was in my bedroom, just starting to fall asleep, when I heard three knocks come from inside my closet door. It was 11:45 p.m., and I had long since put the boys to bed. My mom went out of town for a softball tournament, and I stayed home to babysit my brother and my nephew. It was summer, but I’m not entirely sure what year. I was taught that when something happens in your house you leave out a spirit plate, some tobacco, and say a prayer.īut I once experienced something so terrifying that I couldn’t just ignore it. Tall man, little people, wind walkers (also known as shape-shifters), and wanagees (bad spirits) are very old “superstitions” among Indian country, but multiple people have claimed that they are real.Īs Native people, we are usually taught that when something happens paranormally, you usually just ignore it, and in doing so, that makes it go away. People on the rez have heard stories and experienced events that cannot be explained. According to the officer, the mysterious woman appeared on the footage from his dash cam and then vanished. He pulled over to check on her, but she was nowhere to be found. When he looked in his rearview mirror, she wasn’t there. He asked where she needed to go, but she didn’t respond. She accepted, got in the back seat, and the officer continued driving. Once, when he was driving on Highway 212 pulling back into town, he noticed a woman walking on the side of the road. I also remember a story I heard from a Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe police officer. The video surveillance for the 24-hour gas station captured a black fog floating across the inside of the store. One time he was seen on top of the Subway on Main Street. My Lakota teachers from back home would tell us stories about how the tall man would make an appearance in the town of Eagle Butte. When I was a teenager, I became very interested in the paranormal. We would experience weird little things from time to time, but my mom would always shrug it off.

Growing up, my mom raised me to be very open about ghosts and the paranormal. The evil brought to my ancestors who were forced to live on reservations still remains. It makes perfect sense because of the history of Indian reservations. I’ve had people from back home tell me about their ghost stories, and I can say without a doubt that if you want to find ghosts, the rez is a sure spot. In the spirit of spooky season, I would like to tell you about some of the paranormal phenomenon that occurs on Indian reservations, along with what I have experienced as well.

Eerie rez stories