As I Underhand It, two events of historical significance are attached to this day in history, December 29, the first being that sad business back in 1890, when the itchy trigger fingers of the U.S. Cavalry sent upwards of three hundred men, women and children to an icy mass grave overlooking Wounded Knee creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. ‘Twas bloody human failing on a massive scale to be sure, but one that provided the impetus for the latter, happier event in the winter of 2012, when Dr. Shane Haberkorn and his surgical team cut the ribbon on their “Wounded Knees, Hips and Shoulders” Orthopedic Facility in Rapid City. A native South Dakotan and former quarterback, “Crazy Horse” Haberkorn (pictured) is a history buff who finds inspiration in the spirit of the Lakota, whose framed images dot the walls of the center. The site of the battlefield massacre in Oglala County has long been a National Historic Landmark, but Dr. Haberkorn and his associates were the first to properly memorialize the fallen in their work on behalf of wounded patients, performing everything from minimally invasive arthroscopy to total joint reconstruction. Today, we respectfully remember the lives lost at Wounded Knee and the limbs revitalized at Wounded Knee Ortho, whose current office expansion is indicative of their continuing reverence for the hallowed ground, as is the ceremonial cigar store injun awaiting unveiling in the front hall supply closet.
