Hello Hivers and friends. Today I'm going to share some things I learned from my vacation in South Dakota(SD) just over a month ago. I visited two museums that had a lot artifacts and history on the past Native Indigenous people that lived in the region where I call home now.
I grew up in South Dakota which has a decent size population of native people, roughly 15% of the State's population. It's no big secret that they were mistreated for centuries. Even today they are some people who judge them which is horrible.
Thier history on these lands goes way back. The tribes that are in this region today were once in North Carolina. They migrated away from there around 1500 because they seen the white people as an "evil threat."
There were plenty of treaties signed between the U.S. Government and the Indigenous tribes. Many of them were broken or amended. They were pushed off their lands and forced west. Eventually reservations were established where only indigenous tribes would reside.
Today there are 9 reservations in South Dakota. The tribes I will talk about the most will be the Lakota and Dakota. There is also the Nakota. Together these three make up the great nation of people referred to as the Oceti Sakowin. So the government officially recognized this nation as the Sioux in 1825 and still refers to them as such. Many today refer to them as the Sioux. The term Sioux is believed to be a derogatory term meaning "little snakes." It is a fragment of the French and Ojibwa word "nadouessioux." As an individual and nation these people prefer to be called Lakota, Dakota, or Nakota.I would like to believe soon the term Sioux will be used less. I grew up in this state and I didn't realize the term was created and it having a bad meaning.
These three divisions of tribes all hold the forces of nature as holy. They believe in a balance among all things in the universe and hold these virtues: wisdom (woksape), bravery (woohitika), fortitude (wowacintanka), and generosity (wacantognaka). To me they have an utmost respect for nature and utilize everything it gives to the fullest extent. Don't you think we need more people that live this way? Think about it while your eating a delicious piece of fried chicken. They would have found use for the bones that we throw in the trash.
They are such resourceful people just look at how they harvested "Tatanka" the Lakota word meaning Buffalo. They really held these animals sacred and much planning went into hunting them. They would appeal to the Buffalo Spirit and ask for permission prior to hunting. After a hunt they gave thanksgiving and prayers. There life in a sense envolved around the great buffalo herds. I can't imagine there feelings when white immigrants moved into the region and almost wiped out the population. Anyways let me show you some artifacts that came from the buffalo and other animals.
This is all just proof how resourceful the the Native people were. Not much of animal went to waste. All the above were made or constructed from buffalo,weasel,coyote,moose, elk,deer,fox,eagles and more. So many things made such as clothing, bags, plates, farming tools, necklaces, drums, rattles, moccasins (shoes), headdresses, weapons and more.
Let's talk about the headdresses a bit. When it came time to construct a headdress the warrior pooled all his feathers. Each feather represents a deed he did. The feathers are from the eagle and were dyed to certain colors. Blue in color often meant the warrior returned from a battle. Red represented being wounded in action or killed an enemy in battle. The more feathers on a bonnet represents a higher level of bravery. The feathers were than sewed onto a bonnet by a bonnet maker. The one above is a modern day replica. The other one pictured above that is an actual one.
The eagle (wanbli) is placed with honor among all the prairie tribes. Since the eagle flies the highest among wing creatures it was held with great respect because it was the closest thing to their worshiped Great Spirit. It's feathers were cared for with respect and worn with pride. Waiving an eagle feather over one's head acknowledges past bravery or a wish for future bravery.
The horse was a warriors best friend. There was a great bond between the two. Horses were much away for them to get around. Very important for gathering, hunting and during battle. Horses were brought to America by Spain. Trading with Native Americans happened early with the arrival of the Spaniards. I'm sure horses were involved. One thing I will say is the Spaniards were not involved with the majority of the massacres of these people. That goes to our English immigrants. Spain was quick to abandon slavery and it happened back on their soil shortly after arriving here. @Duvinca it's been over a year since I promised you I would write about this subject and it feels good to get rid of my oldest promised article, jaja. So you will be my first multiple part promise article, Amiga 馃榿 I hope you enjoyed and hope you will like part II as well.
Alright I will cut this off here as I have quite a bit more to share in Part II. Alright I give you a look into part II. I will give you an idea what it means to be a man and women in this native culture. I will also show you how art is a big part of this culture. To wrap it all together I will give you a bit of history lesson by mentioning a few of their past leaders. That won't be it as I will share some other things as well.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed. My country celebrates Indigenous Day on 9 October and it is one of the reasons I have chosen this subject. I have a great respect for our Native Indigenous People and care about the struggles they went through and still face today.
Take care, be safe and enjoy the rest of the weekend. Until next time!!
