Notes

~lived in northern part of U.S

~today only 70,000 registered

~ relied on wild rice and hunted fish,deer,buffalo,elk, and antelope, and women gathered a wide variety of wild plants.

~ intro of horses and guns made an impact

~ signed treaties with U.S ceding land and in retun for goods(food,cloth,and tools)

~The Lakota spent summers on the open plains hunting buffalo. When the weather grew colder, family groups would seek protection from the frigid winds, moving their camps to more protected, wooded areas.
~did not grow crops, but often supplemented their diet by trading with neighboring farming tribes

~women gathered a wide variety of wild plants.

~For them, nature is sacred. Everything exists within Wakan Tanka, "The Great Spirit," that holds power over everything that has and still exists.

~The great warrior, Sitting Bull, was one of these holy men.

~ceremonies to maintain a connection to the Great Spirit. They take part in sweat lodges, vision quests and the sacred pipe ceremony. Before important rituals, tribal members cleanse their bodies and spirits in the sweat lodge with the four basic elements of the earth. Vision quests begin at puberty. Males, and sometimes females, seek out solitary places where they fast for days in order to open their minds to the Great Spirit. Finally, the Sioux smoke the sacred pipe, the smoke of which carries their prayers and good thoughts to the celestial beings for every important occasion in life, especially important ceremonies.

~The Sun Dance and Ghost Dance -- the most important and controversial ceremonies of the Sioux -- once incited fear and the enactment of the Code of Religious Offenses in late 1800s that banned the practice of these rituals.

~The most religious of ceremonies, The Sun Dance, was a self-sacrifice ritual that included dancing, drums, praying and self-inflicted lacerations. These lacerations connected the individual to the world tree during prayer; when the piercing stripped the flesh, the warrior offered it as a sacrifice for family and community improvement.

~ purpose of the Ghost Dance -- a ritual that led to the Battle of Wounded Knee Creek -- was originally to bring peace with the white settlers, but the Sioux altered the ceremony to create a cleansing ritual: one that would rid the evil whites from Sioux land.

CREATION STORY
~ There was another world before this one. But the people of that world did not behave themselves. Displeased, the Great Spirit set out to make a new world. He sang several songs to bring rain, which poured stronger with each song.

As he sang the fourth song, the earth split apart and water gushed up through the many cracks, causing a flood. By the time the rain stopped, all of the people and nearly all of the animals had drowned. Only Kangi - the crow - survived.

Kangi pleaded with the Great Spirit to make him a new place to rest.

So, the Great Spirit decided the time had come to make his new world. From his huge pipe bag, which contained all types of animals and birds, the Great Spirit selected four animals known for their ability to remain under water for a long time.

He sent each in turn to retrieve a lump of mud from beneath the flood waters.

First the loon dove deep into the dark waters, but it was unable to reach the bottom. Ptan, the otter, even with its strong webbed feet also failed. Next, the cápa (beaver) used its large flat tail to propel itself deep under the water, but it too brought nothing back. Finally, the Great Spirit took the kéya (turtle) from his pipe bag and urged it to bring back some mud.

Turtle stayed under the water for so long that everyone was sure it had drowned.
Kyea - turtle

Then, with a splash, the turtle broke the water's surface! Mud filled its feet and claws and the cracks between its upper and lower shells.

Singing, the Great Spirit shaped the mud in his hands and spread it on the water, where it was just big enough for himself and the crow. He then shook two long eagle wing feathers over the mud until earth spread wide and varied, overcoming the waters.

Feeling sadness for the dry land, the Great Spirit cried tears that became oceans, streams and lakes. He named the new land “Turtle Continent” in honor of the turtle, which provided the mud that formed the land.

The Great Spirit then took many animals and birds from his great pipe bag and spread them across the earth.

From red, white, black and yellow earth, he made men and women. The Great Spirit gave the people his sacred pipe and told them to live by it. He warned them about the fate of the people who came before them.

He promised all would be well if all living things learned to live in harmony. But, the world would be destroyed again if they made it bad and ugly.

~Siouan language

~Today, one half of all enrolled Sioux live off the Reservation.

Lakota reservations recognized by the U.S. government include:

Oglala (Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota and Nebraska)
Sicangu (Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota)
Hunkpapa (Standing Rock Reservation North Dakota and South Dakota)
Mniconjou (Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, South Dakota)
Itazipco (Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, South Dakota)
Siha Sapa (Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, South Dakota)
Ooinunpa (Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, South Dakota)

Some Lakota also live on other Sioux reservations in eastern South Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska:

Santee Indian Reservation, in Nebraska
Crow Creek Indian Reservation in Central South Dakota
Yankton Indian Reservation in Central South Dakota
Flandreau Indian Reservation in Eastern South Dakota
Lake Traverse Indian Reservation in Northeastern South Dakota and Southeastern North Dakota
Lower Sioux Indian Reservation in Minnesota
Upper Sioux Indian Reservation in Minnesota
Shakopee-Mdewakanton Indian Reservation in Minnesota
Prairie Island Indian Reservation in Minnesota