Walking in the Sacred Manner

by Tilda Long Soldier and Mark St. Pierre

If anyone reading this actually reads through the intro, and doesn't think it's "hippy bullshit", good for you. I found most of this quite intriguing and perfect timing with all the unrest and need for clarifying some spiritualism which may, and claims, to bring people together with the end game being peace between whatever race one identifies.

Intro: A quote regards the title's origin being about remembering the old ways and to walk in a sacred manner daily. It says how most religions vary on positive experiences and helpfulness for females. 1 of the few comes from Native American religion and culture, which ofc gets perverted as non-natives embrace it, sometimes. It's esp. hard to practice some of these belief systems if one doesn't live in the culture.

Tilda, Oglala Lakota used to work in a fam-owned art gallery in CO, and would normally defer ignorant qs or racist remarks to Mark, these moments fueling her and his search into women healers of the Lakota. Tilda comes from a physically arduous background, living on her g-g/father's log house in SD. Little Warrior, his real name Ozuya Cikala, is the last living survivor of the Little Big Horn Battle, and had treated with success, a stroke Black Elk suffered. Ozuya died in mid 50s, Tilda born in 1962, the shaman's separate small frame house falling to ruin.

The main log house changed little, and remains in good condition, 1 log building used as an Indian dance hall, Ozuya loving to have large parties and guests camp for a few days. Tilda harkens of living in the 1 room home with 10 others, g/ma included. They'd have meals outside and chat of news in Lakota. Iktomi and Anukite is the story of Adam and Eve, and Tilda remembers going to their Episcopal church where they sang Christian hymns in Lakota.

By the time Tilda was born, Christian missionary "activity" had gone through much of Indian land for a century, so by now many people feel a missionary-inflicted fear to practice the old ways. So many Lakota women and men become more conflicted with each other caused by this Christian belief structure which hadn't occurred before. Tilda grew up in the days with the suppressive, doubting fear to practice their native religion. Learning about holy women for Tilda came from fam stories, not having much 1st-hand exp.

Due to having a partial understanding of their traditions, despite the character and personality staying strong, with many Lakota who practice Christianity suffering for the estrangement of their full religious traditions. Since starting their research for this book, they wonder if these people not only remember the old ways, but would want to share with them, and would know of holy women which details of had nearly left them all. From a quote by Orville Mesteth, a Lakota elder, he talks of how the Catholics are pulling a Spanish-like Inquisition to impose fear and doubt of "ancient knowledge". A story told to him about a powerful Hunkpapa Lakota medicine woman by Mrs. White Bull, in 1910 when the Catholic's are laying it on thick with their mission, this woman has reached her patience's end.

Mrs. White Bull coaxes her people to join her in the thick of winter to a plum bush, breaking off a branch and singing to it, and plums growing from it. Some of the people are still frightened by the show of old ways even when told by others of the taste being ripe. So even with their "rich Lakota lifestyle, language", and the way to live off the land, Tilda's immediate relatives were still scared to perform the ceremonies, like many, still being called to them spiritually. When Tilda's g/ma dies without warning from an illness when Tilda's 10, the fam falls into depression and alcoholism.

So, Tilda with 1 sis and 2 bros move into her g/auntie's home, she already caring for 7 other grandkids, whilst Tilda's 2 other bros are sent to live on another part of the reservation. Tilda learns to be an adult in her g/aunt's care, til after h.s., this being how Tilda learns the Lakota ceremonies and beadwork. She's 12 when she sees her 1st ceremony, and most Lakota people who still hold Christian beliefs still being aware of the full knowledge of their old ways which fill in the missionaries footprints. Tilda's work on this book is in the dialogue for interviews conducted, expanding on Mark's understanding of the spiritual, linguistic, and ceremonial knowledge, as well as fully editing the manuscript.

Mark meets Tilda whilst he is asst VP of Oglala Lakota College in 1983. Mark works and founded Big Foot Community College, and teaches at a couple other colleges in Indian studies, and had a consistent relationship with Lakota religion. He is taught 1st-hand by a handful of elders, and is most close with his spiritual father, Kenneth Young Bear, and Madonna (Swan) Abdalla, of which he collabed writing her bio. Mark has never taught native religion or philosophy for the Lakota advocating non-Native seekers must learn 1sthand by living on a Lakota reservation for an extended time.

Tilda and Mark's drive to make this book came from the frustration of wannabe native spiritualists, seemingly flaunting books at them which don't encompass the real nature of women healers, and are harmfully misleading to genuine seekers of higher thinking. Mark has similar reasons for wanting to put this knowledge out there, and regards how some natives believe non-Indians shouldn't be allowed to know, despite natives using Black Elk Speaks and The Sacred Pipe, the idea by many natives being of books not being helpful to understanding their religion. This idea seems to be changing in order to preserve everyone being able to coexist in understanding each other. Jackie Yellow Tail, a Crow woman shares regarding this debate, people being here for a reason, regardless of color, and people are like Mother Earth, they have positive and negative, and many aren't balanced.

Life is a circle as the world is, and Christianity sees the world within this circle with Jesus in the middle, and outside is the animals and nature. So, around the world there are many things on Mother Earth, and man is above them all. Indians see the same circle, but man is among everything in nature and animals. People make it difficult despite man being the same as the others, we have the ability to grow spiritually, like Mother Earth, connected to the Creator from the top of our heads as we walk the Earth.

"People are a little Mother Earth, they deserve...respect", as well as treating others with respect, give, take, positive, negative. When Tilda and Mark start their journey to conduct interviews of the historic holy women to interview, they attempt to set a "piece of human history straight". Jackie Yellow Tail predicts people would turn more to Indigenous people for their closeness to the Creator, and the end times needing its spiritual people to lead. Most cultures around the world had a shaman-esque specialist of communing with the spirit realm.

So, shamanism is considered the 1st and oldest religion, knowing which and how much of a drug to take for rituals or communication. Sioux, is a generalized term for many tribes, and officially prefer Lakota be used, for it being what they call themselves. The Sun Dance is explained and details variations between tribes and their purpose hopefully ending in a vision, but the basic idea being to pray for new life, the (female) world hopefully getting rain (male). Also, everything Tilda and Mark learns from the interviewed is in their tribal language.

If one hasn't been raised to understand the importance of the ceremony, it's nearly impossible to attempt, at all. The meaning of Power and when Neva Standing Bear Paxton, a Lakota spiritual leader in CO, practices Episcopalian for sys of thought and rituals, but fairly powerless in effecting changes in the world, which is why she turns to the Indian ways for her spirituality, and physical health. Shamanism is the belief of having spiritual contact, and sometimes being taken over either drug-induced or naturally by spirits. Madonna Swan tells of a time when she is 8 and on 4th of Jul, they finally get to go see a rodeo, but Tilda has a bad toothache.

Fortunately, a good herb doc, Mrs. Blue Hair is camped near them and agrees to help make her tooth better so she could attend the rodeo, and after, get it pulled. Tilda's experience is having the woman sing and put white powder on her tooth, the ceremony working. Tanya Ward, a full blood educator from Cheyenne R. Reservation tells of Lakota reality of soul travel, she meeting Mrs. Kills Enemy when she is 5 and living with her g/ma for summer. Her g/ma'd set a tent outside and look in the 3 directions where roads ran, knowing when to expect visitors.

In the evening, a woman comes, telling Tanya she saw her g/ma is ill in a dream, and came to help her, the little Tanya realizing later she is talking about mind or soul travel. Mark detail's how once shamans themselves became ill from overuse, they are forgotten, and essentially abandoned in a cruel irony; 1 man Chauncey Dupris dying of cancer and relating how he'd be called on for when people are ill, but no 1 comes to help him, no retirement, as he dies. The way a Shaman's role in the tribal world is entailed, regards how Catholicism keeps the votive candles, but everyone who follows Shamanic tradition believing the soul has multiple parts and spirit flight can happen with the living body left. The shaman keeps the spiritual equilibrium in the world and humans relationship to spirit, plant, and animal worlds.

Tribal groups vary on how shamans are chosen, but they being exceptional, equally agreed. The Plains Indians people equally honor the females side of creation, and noting both positive and negative aspects. Same people among the Plains Indians'd be 1 of the special to get a dream to become a healer, or sometimes a dream of future weather, sometimes even able to change the weather. Other shamans could communicate by dream with animals to guide them toward their community for food.

Also, menopause is a large part of the maturing process for women to become holy docs. Not to say they wouldn't have the dreams to become healers early, since this also allowed for apprenticeship, and time for the women's power to ebb. Knowing the context of how the term of medicine man or woman is used and understood by the Indian people is key to having a true grasp on a holy woman's role in contact with the spirit world. Plains Indian kids are taught to hear and translate the dram world, which is considered the lasting, sacred world.

Some women have a talent for frequency and ability to understand their dreams, which can also lead to various callings and career paths. Sometimes in the 19th century, there are societies dedicated to having young women who had dreams regarding certain quillwork or craft societies they were invited to join, these no longer active, ofc, but porcupine quillwork still considered sacred. These women docs aren't any different than other women in society, other than having their extra role which commands respect. Religious rites are flexible with the time and for what the people needed at the time, the core rituals remaining, which allowed the beliefs to remain meaningful unlike dogmatic structures.

Depending on the woman's spirit helpers also dictated which ceremonies could be performed. Herb women docs involve no rituals, but use songs and herbs to unleash their healing powers otherwise the plant remains inactive, the song being learnt by dream. Most Westerners forget about their spiritual health having effect on their physical health, and Lakota are aware of the soul needing care even after death. A Wapiye' Win, ghost or spirit-calling holy woman could go to the spirit world and relay info to living relatives.

Madonna Swan shares an experience not long before she passes away, of going to see Mrs. Kills Enemy to help her prevent an illness. The ceremony, which is told in detail, works and MS never gets sick again. The most popular doc is the ghost or spirit calling kind for spiritual remedy, bringing someone back into balance. Mrs. Dora Brown Bull shares a story about her son and a medicine woman called Millie Lays Hard, Dora's son, Vernal 1 and half or 2 yrs old at the time and very ill.

Vernal's close to death so they bring Lays Hard back and she prepares a tea, and is spiritually helped by owl, and Lays Hard explains Verna's g/pa'd been trying to bring him to the spirit world, but she'd handled it, and they wouldn't be bothered; Vernal was in his 50s during the interview. Madonna Swan also tells of a mixed blood woman doc who is quiet during her rituals, and covers patients in a cloth. Madonna Swan's mother has a terrible stomach pain, and Mrs. Emily Hunter is called twice, she curing her mother of her kidney infection with tea from a root found by MS's dad and is cured. Jesse James Jr., an Oglala/Creek native, shares of his g/ma, a former wife of Crazy Horse, Mrs. Laravie treated a woman's g/ma for cataracts, using cottonwood bark and burning it to a fine white powder, then putting it in her eyes; they'd swell shut for a few days, and then open, her cataracts breaking up, and she able to see.

The # of Indian herbal docs has declined to a couple per reservation and most had a tea remedy variation for diabetes, which included sage. Modern tribal people who are full blood harbor the sense of mixed blood putting on their heritage for money, which actually is between both extremes: day 2 day is mixed with old and new ideas, Jackie Yellow Tail saying how it feels like jogging with one shoe in a running sneaker and the other in a moccasin. Tilda and Mark happen to chat with Roberta (Deer with Horns) Wolf and her husband, and once hearing about their research travel project, shares of when she peeped on her g/ma when she was going to pray when she is 8, and somehow got seen, but is allowed to watch quietly. Her g/ma plans to teach Roberta's older sis the ways, but she dies at 16 of diabetes and her g/ma dies later, Roberta not knowing why her ma had burnt her g/ma's medicine bundles.

For tribal people, balance of physical and spiritual is unstable, and most medicine men and women help people injured by the living as a colonized people, dealing with mental and physical illnesses like depression, drug abuse, suicidal, no positive identity; common to effects of colonization. The obvious problems are treated by white docs, which obviously white America appropriates certain parts of ceremonies which aren't truly understood as a standalone piece, like how sweat baths are used, and usually taught young and used in all stages of life. Like Judaism, 1 needs to read the Old Testament to get the ceremonies and beliefs, so like Indian people, they have their unique tribal creation stories. Kids learn the origin story of their people and ways many times before they learn to talk, and onward into adulthood.

So, to grasp the Lakota people's start, stories must be shared like to a child. Lakota Creation story intros Iyan, the rock which exists in a void and wants something other than himself he could have power over, so he pierces himself, and his blue blood makes Mother Earth, as well as the ocean and sky. The rock is left hard by this act, the energy he gave away making him powerless. The power couldn't live in water, so it forms the blue sky, and the female earth. (Possible correlation between genders being fluid like water, male sky, and the waters being infused into them, but not the water being given a gender, since it came from the power creating it.)

Sky then creates the sun of the day and night, or "Moon". Sun and Moon marry, making constant light, he then creating the father of all winds. After him are created humans who live underground, and serve the gods, called the Buffalo Nation and become the Lakota. Their chief is Old Man and Old Woman, and they have a daughter called face.

Face grows beautiful beyond her people, the Ikce'. The wind eventually marries her, but Old Woman isn't happy til her whole fam are powered by the gods, and wants face to marry Sun. So, she plans with Spider, who has her agree she must help him make the people look stupid forever. OW plans to enhance her daughter's beauty with magic, and it works perfectly, ending with the sky punishing all of them to different sides of the earth.

After awhile, Anukite', face, who's renamed to "Double-Faced Woman", becomes needy for the human nation, so teams up with Iktomi, "Spider" who's bored, decides to bait the human's with roasted buffalo meat to come to the surface, he leaving it at the cave entrance to the underworld. 1st Man, Tokahe', chief of Buffalo Nation asks Spider to lead him to the gifts, going back to show his people. An equal amount of men and women totaling a dozen believe Tokahe' discovered a better land to live, following he and his wife back up. These men and women become the ancestors of the 7 Fire Places, making up the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota peoples; All of which are referred as Sioux by whites.

When the seasons change, the people try looking for the cave entrance and can't locate it, Tokahe' and his people become, "Common". He begs for help, OM becoming "Wizard", Wazi and OW, Wakanka becoming "the Witch", due to her ability to predict the future, and takes pity on humans, educating them on the many things on this CHANGING Earth; and then able to make "homes" on this earth. This story is told to Mark by Colleen Cutshall, Lakota artist and educator. In Western and most Eastern traditions centralize men as the main character in creation stories or the human host, like Jesus and Buddha, which changes the belief structure.

In mid 18th century, the Lakota are recently removed from their woodlands home and into the prairie of the Chippewa, making them poverty-stricken, and starving, their "messiah", coming to them in the form of a woman, Falling Star, Whope', daughter of Sky and comes to the Lakota again as the Sacred Calf Pipe Woman. Mark heard this in 1971 from a Hunkpapa/Itazipco tribe, Manuel Red Bear in SD, and took Mark to an Itazipco village on the Moreau R. and permanent residence of the Lakota "Holy of Holies", the Sacred Calf Pipe Bundle. Manuel tells him on their ride why this place is so special to Lakota, stemming from the days when people didn't have horses, Standing Walking Buffalo from the Itazipco band are starving because buffalo hadn't returned in awhile, so the chief sends a couple scouts to surveille and report the buffalo's path.

The 2 men travel far after a full day walking, they seeing a naked woman approach, her hair covering her body, 1 man respecting her by looking away, and knowing she must be sacred or mysterious, but the other having lude thoughts, the woman noticing and accepting his desire. When the 2 lay down, a mist covers them, and when it lifts, locusts had picked the man's body clean. The woman states the other man need not be scared, but prepare his village for her to visit with a helpful gift for them. The young man returns with the news, the other young man's parent's calling him a murderer, but the council stating they'd see if the young man spoke truth.

They set up the village, and next down, a person is seen in the distance. She sings as she gets to the village, and the men don't look at her, so a woman leads her forward, the poor people offering her water, she accepting. She says she is from Buffalo Nation, and tips on how to live fully, offering a sacred pipe, and sharing how if they accept her help they'd always have the necessities of life. She also shares of performing the Sun Dance, the way to fast for visions, Sweat Bath, as well as how to respect women, and teaching boys how to live, and after teaching girls the same.

The kids are instructed to listen to their parents, live morally, and not think with ill will, like "the bad man". Finally, she teaches women how to live, be good mothers, and grandmothers, and their work to care for the dead, instructing them how to do "the spirit-keeping ceremonies". She also teachers the Coming of Age ceremony to remember her, and Throwing of the Ball rite, helping women have good lives. She then tells Standing Walking Buffalo of honoring the Itazipco people for being humble, and having them protect the Pipe, 1 man fighting for it for jealousy and losing an ear.

The White Buffalo Calf Woman attaches the ear to the pipe as a reminder of the consequence of jealousy. She stays 4 days to mentor the people, and on her last day, she shows how to smoke the Pipe, and offer to the sky, the 4 directions, and Mother Earth, handing the Pipe off to Standing Walking Buffalo, then walking to the edge of their camp before allowing they look at her. The people watch as she rolls in the grass and changes into a yellow, black, red, and white buffalo before vanishing. This marks the last time she is seen, but the Itazipco still have the pipe in SD where they are headed.

This is in religious life, the most powerful Lakota story. The story varies slightly, but the core values remain. The Lakota stages of life correspond to Mother Earth: the rock age, bow, fire, and pipe ages, which matches humans, ofc: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. The 1 difference is there's the possibility of reincarnation, which means the cycle may continue.

All Lakota believe she exists, but some suggest she's Whope' (the falling star). This story also mirrors an earlier legend which has White Buffalo Woman being sent by the Sky to live with the Wind, and his 5 sons. In this legend, White Buffalo Woman alludes to being fathered by the Sun, and Moon. 4 of the Wind's human sons speak to Whope' before being sent to become the 4 season of the year.

Yumni, Whirlwind asks if she'd give him a drink if he became thirsty, she replying she'd make all his needs met, and he'd happily dance in whatever directions are soon to be made without exhaustion. The eldest bro declares he should get the best of all, since the youngest could do nothing for himself or others. The Wind speaks to the 4 and says North Wind will come 1st in everything if he stays worthy, and if not a different bro'd be elected. Tate' continues to explain how North Wind'd keep his good standing for as long as he prepared himself and did the work, since he'd be leading his younger bros.

NWind doesn't care to be a direction, only wanting Whope' for his wife. Tate' states the Great Spirit wants him as a direction, and NWind must accept or bring his own bad luck. NWind is then allowed to attempt it, but face consequences if she doesn't want him, and depending on his next move. By evening, Eya comes mildly and speaks with Whope' of always loving her like a sis, and then Yanpa wanders over.

This prompts Whope' to inquire if he was tired and needs anything. Yanpa admits to always being tired and hungry, hoping for anything fresh. Whope' pulls out some sweetgrass, and states her love for him as a bro, and'd have comfort from burning sweetgrass, since the smell relieves fatigue and hunger pangs. Also the smell'd appease the Mysterious Beings and provide aid.

Itokaya lays an antelope body at Whope's feet, which she ignores as he sits quietly. Yata watches them all with a smile, as Eya rubs his head, and when the 3 bros go in the tipi, Okaya goes off to sit at the water, gazing at the stars for awhile, eventually singing and playing the flute. Yumni then states how pretty his sis is as she listens to Okaya play, and he glad she's happy. Whope' returns his words of love and wishes to always be able to listen to the music.

Tate' is a good father by setting "challenges" for his boys to improve themselves with. NorthW is cocky, ugly, and picks fights, EWind is slothful, W is uncertain of himself, paranoid, and jealous. Okaya is humble, sweet, diligent, giving, truthful, open, smart, and brave. He's also clever humored, and warm, each wind a Lakota allegory of good men.

For boys and girls to learn long stories of, Whope' chooses Iyokaga, S wind as her hubby, and Yumni lives with them always. Whope' is the feminine embodiment of ideals which is why she's commonly taken for White Buffalo Calf Maiden, and had been recorded by 1780, a time of crisis, another reason for her resurfacing, now. Less orthodox Lakota believe she's the virgin Mary, and others don't read into possible other IDs only knowing she comes to aid them. In the book, A Sacred Pipe, there's an excerpt regarding the Mysterious/Holy Woman, who touches the "foot of the pipe" to a round stone, and says how this connects their father and grandfather, mother, and grandmother.

The stone is made of the same stone as the pipe of our father. The rock is the Earth, Grandmother, mother, and where we live, and the Great Spirit giving us a red day and road, everything sacred and to remember this! The holy pipe will send the voices of the people to Wakan-Tanka, 7 circles on the stone having a meaning, and the 1st circle representing the 1st rite. The theory is the sacred maiden either'd changed or brought the 7 rituals used by Lakota to survive. 2 of the rituals were known before she'd come, she adding a pipe ceremony, as well as the new rituals of the Keeping of the Soul, 1st Menses, Making Relatives, the Sun Dance, and the Throwing of the Ball.

All the creationist spirits still affect daily life, Anukite' affecting women with promiscuity and art, and being dangerous for men. Iktomi sometimes appears as human to make people look like fools. The Lakota see themselves as "pitiful" and "pray and cry" to the "constellation of powers" for aid on Earth to remain a unique people, and the interaction to the mysterious sacred is needed to continue life, and all the races of the Earth. This the heart "of the Lakota and other Plains tribes' ceremonial life."

Wakan-Tanka has been "mistakenly" defined as "God", but actually means, The Great Mystery, and is the metaphor regarding the cause of the universe's birth. Wakan-Tanka encompasses everything which is m and f: the Rock, 4 Winds, Sky, Mother Earth, Lightning, Human, Bear, Buffalo, Plant, and Animal Nations, and all considered "good spirits". Plains Indian life show the balance in life between good and evil, which includes spirits, in this case the Mysterious Beings which can go in land, water, and forest, is evil. Each spirit has characters and changeable personalities which are stated in ceremonies for a cure, or weather change, or famine, etc.

"Grandfather" commonly prayed to in these rituals to speak with spirits. The Sun Dance is a 4 day ritual, the White Buffalo Calf Maiden teaching them. The Sun, Mother Earth, 4 Winds, and the Thunders are honored, and they with Blue Sky bring rain, which gives the Earth new life, creating new plants, herbs, and animals which are harvested for humans. Water is our connection to all life, and seen to have sacred healing powers, and used alongside most ceremonies.

So, the Lakota normally pray for health and generations, and snow sent by N Wind which brings "the sacred renewal of life". The Sun Dance altar has "buffalo skull painted with symbols of lightning... or rain", and used to represent many ritual metaphors including the Buffalo Nation, which the Lakota feel "themselves a part". The White Buffalo Calf Maiden, and the agreement from humans and the Great Mystery to trade prayer for sacred aid, comes in the form of rain, food, or shelter, given by the buffalo. The leader of the Sun Dance dictates the reason for it, and goes by dreams, so the tribe difference also has variations.

Making of the Relatives regards young humans joining with the Great Mystery, the ritual acts name translating, "I acknowledge everything in the universe as my relations". Girls' Puberty Rite explains the role of a woman in fam and creation, so White Buffalo Calf Maiden is asked to share her wisdom to guarantee the girl's success, and since the ceremony is closely related to Whope', it's known as the White Buffalo Ceremony, and way back, the material used to catch the blood is wrapped and hung in the plum trees to divert Iktomi, the trickster. Sweat Lodge is another example of a ritual using water and rock, creating the original energy, steam and brings the faithful to the start of time. The wisdom of the 4 winds is called on by name, and intermittently, the words reminding "through the mysterious act of creation" of everything in the world being forever a part of the human fam. the sweat lodge is built in the shape of ribs (Mother Earth's), and when the faithful emerge they do so as spiritually renewed people.

The "health of...the everlasting, intelligent soul-the permanent part of the human- is the principal concern". Lakota society respect women's spiritual and economic power, and when she takes a husband, he joins her camp. Also whilst respecting the father's fam, most join the mother's "band name", the pattern still existing. Due to Lakota society having more equality between men and women than most others, it makes sense they'd tell a female and male creation story.

The female is next provided by Lucy Swan in 1970. A quite old woman is sitting on a high bluff, and quilling on a buffalo robe, she getting worn out quickly. An old dog with quite few teeth and is playful, sits by her. Every day she'd quill, and she soon tires and naps.

At night, the dog unravels the work she did during the day, since if he got too old and forgot, the woman could finish the buffalo robe, and the end of the world would come. The male version is provided by Tilda's grandmother's version from the late 1970s. There's a young buffalo bull with 4 strong legs, he losing 3 legs as these ages pass, 1 at a time, and every year loses a single hair. Tilda's grandma Dora tells her the white people are descended from the spider people.

They learn how to use electricity, like the Thunder Beings. So, spider people put up their wires on poles, like a web, and 1 day it'll cause A GREAT FIRE. This will cause the buffalo to lose it's last leg, and falling to Earth, the end of the world comes. Some variations don't use electricity, but each time is caused by man's downfall.

Lakota belief do liken white people to Iktomi the spider due to their prevalence to technology. The Lakota maintain a respect for the Thunder Beings, due to being volatile, and the idea of certain races having certain skills is referred to by Good Lifeways Woman, an Oglala Lakota. She dreams she's in a large Gymnasium-like room, and sees a light in the form of a medicine wheel. A light emanates off of each quadrant, a red light representing the Red Man told her their contribution to mankind is spiritual insight, the Black man's gift is emotional expression through physical activity, ie music, dance, etc.

White Man's gift is turning their ideas into reality, ie technology. Yellow Man's gift is mental, with meditation, ancient knowledge, ie acupuncture. No one color can exist without the other, and 1 shouldn't be held above the other for equal contribution as part of a whole. A Dakota full-blood artist, Oscar Howe describes a design in 1 of his paintings being 1 of the 1st to be thought up, it meaning how humans learned from the spider people, and is said to have led them to the upper world.

Long ago, a hunter couldn't find food before night fell, a wind swelling, and the hunter locating a cave large enough to just fit in. A lightning storm passes, and by morning when the hunter wakes, he sees a spiderweb over him catching the light, this being the oldest design - Tohokmu. A spider in the web tells the hunter, since he hand't hurt her, she'd share a secret of a hill her people made of arrowheads, and would help him hunt, then shares how to use them, he thanking her and returning to his people. On his way, he locates a bag of the arrowheads, and shows his people, this changing their lives.

Spiders are clever inventors of technology, so Iktomi is the Lakota word for spider, and also, ofc the famed name of the trickster, the stories told in the traditional way, but able to remain flexible with each telling for lessons of morality for kids. Due to electricity and TV now common in Lakota homes for the last 20 years as of 1995, the stories have much decreased. Since being a god, Iktomi can change his form in order to allow his attempt of embarrassing any part of creation: plant, animal, human, he normally steps in his own trap. 1 time when Iktomi is strolling near a river readying to eat his dinner of prairie chx, he hears an odd, quiet moaning of an attractive woman.

Due to Iktomi's ego, he thought she called his name, but he can't quite make the words out to be certain, so he changes to look like a human man and tries to get a look, thinking he sees her naked in the water swaying slowly. So, he tries to think of a way not to scare her, planning on growing his peen long enough to reach her, but interrupted by coyote, who is interested in his chx. Iktomi explains why he's there, and puts his long dong where he's aiming, getting stuck, and realizing it'd been 2 trees making moaning from wind, coyote taking his bag of chx and eating not far away, Iktomi's chx dinner gone by the time he'd gotten himself loose. Told to Mark by the late Joseph Rockboy, it's obvious to any male what the moral is.

RB has taken Mark as his grandson, the 2 close buddies, and is a well-respected field collector of Native American Oral History, as well as knowledgeable elder of the Yankton Sioux Tribe, born in 1900-1981, a linguist of all Sioux dialects fluently. A 2nd legend of traditional ideas of women who seduce men, turns herself into a deer to make men stray and get lost. Women who can do this are considered to have the power of Anukite', a main character of the creation story. It imparts not only the mysterious powers, but tells the importance of understanding behaviors and beliefs, but also is a warning to young Lakota men and women through the eras.

White-tailed deer are said to be a sign of wooing men, and are seen as a manifested power of Anukite' to scold men. Lucy Swan and a well-known Northern Cheyenne fam, the Back Wolfs share the next 2 stories, and whilst the Cheyenne don't have an Anukite' character, they do similarly acknowledge the power of deer spirits. Lucy starts with how some women can show as deer to men, and when men hunt, they must be careful tracking a doe, since she could fool him and appear as a pretty woman, and when laying with him, runs off as a deer, and the perfume drives the men nuts, and wander in the woods til they die of hunger or chill. Next, George Bird Grinnel, an early ethnologist has lived quite awhile with the Cheyenne, and shares of a young man called Black Wolf, who traveled a couple days to visit the girl he loved in a different camp.

When he sees some tipis, he has a look inside the most fine 1, and what he sees inside is a young man playing the flute charmingly, like he's pitching woo as he can also hear people playing finger-bone games, and when having a look, also sees people playing the seed game. He sees pretty women and young men standing in robes, and as he walks back and forth deciding whether to enter, and locate his relatives, the lodge vanishes, and all he sees are deer, he leaving quickly, fearful of bad luck occuring before he could leave. Then, a story from Tilda's girlhood and mention of her g/ma, Sadie Crazy Thunder. When Tilda is small, she remembers when g/ma'd call them in and warn of not staying out too long or Anukite' would come and catch them, she liking to eat kids.

Anukite' (Double-Face Woman) is 1 of the earliest creation spirits, and loves mocking and punishing men Lucy Swan states some Double Woman Dreamers are slutty, bad, and chase taken men, then there are the principally good, like if they dream of twins or are a twin, they'll be a good quill worker. Anukite' can muse artists, a baby with 2 swirls on the head meaning it would be a good artist. Women used to have dream societies, and those with vivid visions believed they were being instructed directly by Anukite'. Lucy Swan knew the most accurate Lakota songs, and for the 1st time written here.

"Cousin come over here. [Now] Someone is waving a shawl at you." First and last line. The 2nd is from Severt Young Bear, an Oglala ELder well revered and expert on Lakota music, providing 1 from his g/ma, "People behold. This beaded shirt my husband will display [wear] As he does Something of importance".

Next is a modern Double Woman dream, an explanation from Nellie Two Bulls, a respected elder who experiences this when young, 11 or 12. She is attacked by the sense of 3 spirits watching her, and had made her feel scared to the point of not leaving the house. It 1st occurs when Nellie and her cousin are playing, and she's walking back to her home, she hearing women chatting and laughing behind her, but no one there, she speeding up til she reaches home, and then doesn't share her experience with her mother for quite awhile. 3 days later, she hears the women again, trying to understand what they're saying.

Soon, she's hearing them during homework and at night, then sees 3 people run by her window. This sets off Nellie asking her mother to walk her to the toilet, making her ma ask why she'd be scared during the day. Then, at night she hear a noise, sits up, and sees 3 women standing in front of her, 1 tall, 1 middle, and 1 short and a little fat. 1 of them shares how they'd wished to speak with her, and share beneficial things.

The 3 take out bundles of their work, the tall 1: beadwork, the middle 1, quillwork, but the 3rd waiting to show hers. She asks Nellie if she'd like to have her bag full of songs, she IDing herself as Blue Bird Woman. If Nellie accepts it, she'd be called Blue Bird Woman, and all songs she thought up she'd sing. The other 2 don't share their names, but offer their talents, as well as being available at her request for help if she thinks of a pattern she doesn't feel she can finish.

Before they leave, they suggest she share these skills with her people. Next day she wakes, she feels worse, losing her appetite, and her ma asking what's going on, having waited patiently, but knowing something's bothering her, with being a medicine woman. When she hears Nellie's confession, she states she's lucky she's a dreamer of the Double woman in a good rather than bad way, and'd consult Nellie's g/father about it, since he's a medicine man. Nellie is instructed to fast and pray on a hill, afterward speaking with her mother, who provides some important lessons about dreams of calling.

Nellie must face her calling otherwise she'll remain uneasy. The Double Woman is a significant part of the sacred world of the Lakota, these dreams transforming the dreamer's life, so the dreams ignored becoming persistent. Those who trust this way, receive hard evidence of the sacred. Anukite' is so powerful, if a man dream's of her, he could become trans, dress as a woman, and "devote himself to the decorative arts of women".

Nellie becomes the most famous Lakota female singer of her generation, maybe even the 20th century, and has continued to discover ways to share her talents. The Sacred Shawl Women's Society still helps battered women, and those affected by colonialism and boarding schools, since the 1980s. Another old-time story is of historical fact, and told by Ray Dupris, it telling the beliefs of Lakota people. Ray is an Itazipco from Iron Lightning, NWestern edge of the Cheyenne River Reservation.

Before white men came to the country, and some lived in earth lodges made of logs and earth. 1 village is made like this, kids going missing, and so everyone staying inside til almost starving, and when some men are sent to look for this enemy, they find nothing. Oahe' (Missouri) River is where giant snakes came out of their holes once every century. 2-3 ft thick, and perhaps 100 ft long, and when men are next sent out to hunt for their starving community, 1 hears a new sound.

He then sees river willow trees and choke cherry bushes getting tossed, but not seeing what is doing it. He also sees flashes of light like mica sheets to signal between people. The man locates his friend looking blackened and swollen, the man dragging him back to the village via made stretcher, and being chased by the same sounds he'd heard before. When he reaches a rise in the land, he sees the snake, the same swelling happening when meeting its eyes, but the man struggling, but soon falling near the village.

A powerful medicine woman tells her people she'd heard of the giant snakes from her g/ma, so requests the warriors make loud sounds, and not look into its eyes, this scaring them off. Next she's brought the poisoned men, sings a song, and sucks the poison from them with a buffalo horn. After she coughs out green bile for awhile, the men's swelling goes down and they go to normal. She tells the village of the snake and how some people still see them swim in the Missouri River, and they still exist.

It's no surprise the Lakota people have such a remarkable forces of both men and women in their oral religious tradition. From Oglala Women, inside a council lodge sits a man called Grandfather, a man and woman entering and being told of a journey they'd take and not to own any more than they required. In order to understand the mind of healers and holy women, 1 must recognize they're learning as they're raised. Plains Indians live in a nonsegmented style which can't be categorized as anthropologists wish: profane and sacred.

Indians don't change their behavior in church compared to their home. Whilst there's formal rituals in public, daily life stays immersed "in the sacred mystery". Culturally, they adapt rituals to stay relevant with the times, and let go of those which no longer fit. Despite this, explanations for the core values and symbols are kept to instruct on the people's place in creation, and are reinvented in the adapted rituals.

Early Childhood of a baby girl according to Lakota, she's almost directly named, this also depending on the extended fam, and financial ability to provide the needed feasts. These are similar to baby showers, but instead the guests are fed lavishly, and given leftovers, as well as varying gifts. Also, whilst the U.S. gov't has tried to suppress this function as illegal, it still persists, now. If the ceremony is done, the Indian name goes along with the baptized name on gov't docs.

In the past they'd made a hole in the baby's moccs so spirits knew the soul is poor and wouldn't be interested in following. If the baby girl is ill, a male transvestite gives her a strong name, this common practice in Crow and Cheyenne, too. The name could be based on the circumstances of birth or someone the baby reminds the parents of, the adult name given later, with care, and when growing to elderly, a g/ma or fam holy woman'd choose the older name. It's usually a name of someone who's passed on, and is well-respected.

Darlene Young Bear shares her naming story being a Hunkapi ceremony. It's performed when she's a baby, her G/ma Louise explaining to her later of when Darlene makes fam, she'll do so with all the spirits in the whole universe. So, G/ma Lucy Short Bull chose the name so the spirits recognized her, and she senses she wouldn't live very long. She wants Darlene to find strength in whoever attempts to overpower her.

Darlene likens these strengths to how she'd felt the jealousies of others when she sang with drum groups and only got better. She acknowledges how her G/ma's wish for her to have a good life came true, since she prays before her performances people will enjoy, and she'll do well. Darlene also states her belief in this also stemming from how she hadn't become an unwed mama with bunches of babies nor an alcohol problem. She feels the spirits didn't want this for her.

Darlene also ignored the teasing on being single longer than the other girls, at 28, but the next yr she finds her man, she still thinking the good and bad spirits watch her. G/ma Louise had told her due to the spirits having her name, they could deny bad spirits from harming her, since they knew she respected them equally along with everything in the universe, whatever God has given a spirit to, he expecting mutual respect. What she knows is to pass on the good way to live to future women and men, instead of suppressing it in support of a culture which isn't theirs, noting how sad it is trying to be something which doesn't suit a conducive healthy life. This Hunkapi ritual is 1 of the central held by Lakota, the name attaching to the soul for ceremonial use and make 1 a member to all physical and spiritual beings.

An historical naming ceremony is next told by Pretty Shield, a Crow Medicine woman in the 1930s. The Crow Indians are by tradition enemies of Lakota and Cheyenne despite also having plenty of shared cultural practices as High Plains peoples. The Crow use the term wise one for a medicine person. "Little Boy Strikes with a Lance, my father's father, gave me my name...", at 4 days old, per custom, and the name wouldn't be changed unless the girl isn't strong.

In this case, the parents'd ask 1 of the g/fathers or g/unc's to change her name, if they felt they could lose her. When inquired whether women ever did the naming, she allows only those who are wise could name, she doing so with her kids, always listening to the Ant people, and they providing all the names, and she not forgetting. During 19th century village life, boys and girls are treated quite flexibly and etiquette had them respect adults they spoke with. The boys and girls are spoken to by the Sacred Calf Pipe Woman, telling them they're her small sisters and bros, and their parents were once kids, all living creatures growing.

They love their kids and if they also learn to revere and respect the pipe she'd gifted their parents, they'd benefit. Wakantanka, the Creator is their great g/pa. The Plains Indian community aren't as structurally defined as in Western, but it's the norm for the ma's sister to discipline and teach the girls as would the ma's bros the boy kids. This allowed the parents to remain balanced when needing to be patient.

Pretty Shield explains Indian ideas of fam and parenting. Near the time Pretty Shield's born, her aunt, Strikes with an Ax lost 2 small girls, killed by the Lakota, as well as her fella. Pretty Shield's aunt from her ma's side, had been mourning for some time, becoming thinner, and weak until Pretty Shield's ma gave her to her aunt to warm her heart again. Even though she's away from her ma and sisters for a little while, it isn't truly separate for how often they'd all be together.

Pretty Shield's aunt kept her even before she could become of real aid to her. "Fam" for Plains Indian people are a large extended fam, and there's a sys of respect between the females and males in a fam, and married-in members, which is being lost, Oliver Brown Wolf comments about how in the 20s and 30s, no one is called by their names, but a word which relates their relationship to them. So, with Oliver's relatives, he'd refer to the women cousins he had by their oldest to youngest rank, and since he is an only child, his ma refers to him as "oldest" or "1st born boy". The circle of relatives this encompasses could be 1000s.

Currently, at this time rez and city g/ma's assume the roles of many roles which used to be shared. G/ma's and g/pa's are normally around to care for the grandkids. Since they take such care of knowing their extended fam, shows a civility and knowing to not commit incest at any level. Children aren't solely the parents, but also the community's.

The new member nearly immediately is given the same adult rights when they're born, and today is believed should always be near the best resources and lives could be had. Which is 1 of the ways missionaries used to convince them sending their kids to boarding schools is the best for their development. Within the extended fam is discussed the girl's strengths and "special traits", and if having an odd "behavior", it could mean the closeness to the spirit world. In most cultures, childhood is an unique experience, and to Plains Indian mothers and fathers, they think of it as the top gift 1 could receive from the Creator.

Most fams keep the extended fam in the child's life so as to intro many personalities and talents for a diverse learning experience. It also serves as extra support if parents are lost, so the grandparents, per tradition play a significant role. The Lakota treat the 1st born kids with more traditional ritual learning and responsibilities per how Tate' treats North wind, expecting to carry the traditions on. Tilda, 2nd born, recollects when her older sister had 1 of the ceremonies.

Tilda vaguely remembers when G/ma Dallas says a prayer and her sis has a thread poked through her ears, their g/ma also braiding small coins in her sis' hair. Tilda senses it is due to her sis being a yr older, and she wondered when young, why she hadn't gotten either of those. When she was young, it'd become more of a public ceremony, boys also given the option to pierce their ear, and what the ceremony and responsibility it held for the parents and tribe. Native American kids also aren't shielded from reality as much as Euro-Ameri. kids, the former knowing only Earth can live forever.

Native kids will repeatedly hear adults share the good and bad premonitions of their future, this culture believing kids are clever, and possibly ancient beings, so most adults don't sugarcoat emergencies or real news. Adolescence for Lakota believe they're Pte' people, who are quite close relatives to Buffalo Nation, what with the White Buffalo Calf Maiden bringing their core cultural values of being good wives, mas, sis', neighbors, etc. When a girl had her 1st menses, a ceremony is held to show the girl's role to womanhood is changed from then on. An older woman, sometimes a relative'd act like a god/ma as instructor.

Mitchell Zephier, a Lakota philosopher and silversmith comments on a pic of a woman who is supposed to encompass the embodiment of White Buffalo Maiden, and is showing the girl having her menses ceremony the way Lakota women handle themselves, to Mitchell's understanding. The g/ma tells the girl a variety of things, "like a sponsor". She's well remembered for being the epitome of maternal Lakota cultural values. Then, the woman'd speak to the young woman of how they're meant to encompass the White Buffalo Calf Maiden for her ways of life.

The sponsor also shares the story of the 1 out of 2 men who'd been having pervy thoughts, so a mist takes most of him, and leaves bones; this being a lesson to respect women. So, men and women each have "4 Cardinal virtues", and in a ceremony for the women, they part their hair in the center and paint the skin red, "walking on the Red Road" and known to be a virtuous Lakota woman. Despite Christian missionaries and feds banning the menstrual ceremony, it still is held in semi-secret til it slowed as the 20th century cont'd. So, when an antiquated ritual needs updating, it may be added to another taking the important pieces, so the symbolism remains.

Madonna Swan next recounts the fullest "description of a modern Isna Ti Ca Lowan puberty ceremony". When Madonna Swan had her 1st moon, her g/ma instructs she'd be staying in her log cabin for 4 days and nights, and'd keep busy by doing beadwork, housecleaning, sewing, etc. She can't let her thoughts wander, and if she makes a mistake in a stitch, to keep moving forward, like in life, don't try to go back and undo it. Madonna Swan had both her ma and g/ma to help her during this time, so it isn't stressful, like making a doll or mending clothes.

Madonna Swan's ma also teaches her to cook the old way, showing hospitality. Her g/ma instructs her to show a good disposition during these times so it's how she'd be in life. Also, Madonna Swan is told if she must scratch her head, she mustn't use her nails for the 4 days, only a stick, due to cleanliness. Madonna Swan's g/ma and ma'd also pray for the best in her life, a good man to stay throughout and children, as well as cooking well for them.

Everything learned in the 4 days'd aid her in life, her g/ma also using the Peace Pipe her pop'd given to her, she holding it up to the 4 directions and Earth. She also details other spirits along with Iktomi, who could appear as tricky people, so to respect and stay scared of them. After the 4 days, M.S. goes back to normal life, and a couple days after, a feast is held. After this day, her g/ma instructs her also no longer being allowed to climb trees, run, or play with her bros the same way, this occurring at 13 for Madonna Swan.

There's also face and scalp paint for the ceremony and usually only the feather is viewed socially. Tilda also recollects this time in her life, and how she'd been advised along with her cousins by their g/ma on not cooking, doing quillwork, or chew on nails, due to being unclean during this time, but to be in a good mood, and do some chores to stay busy, and also train to continue to do so in the future. The "new" Hunkapi ceremony is usually prepared a yr in advance, so the fam members could help gather the traditional food and gifts, Darlene Young Bear elaborating. Her eldest daughter is having the Hunkapi ceremony, she being advised by her aunt.

Darlene's daughter's 10 and Darlene clarifies the difference between adopting someone as a relative as opposed to spirits. She says whilst she becomes upset a lot, she's had a good life, the spirits leading her. The ceremony is preferably meant to be had outdoors, and whilst the ceremony focuses on changing to adulthood, it's also a time where a new relative can be adopted by the girl, including the relatives of the new older person. A new adult name is also given as a nickname, regardless whether it's used or known socially.

After the ceremony, useful items are kept to be given out periodically in the future by close fam of the girl. The food made should be enough to make much leftovers which people then have their own containers, taking home more for the relatives who couldn't attend, but still take part in the restoring power of the feast. Non-Indians miss the value Plains Indian people believe menstruation regarding the mysterious creation powers it involves, some elders extending this to Lakota people misunderstanding this belief, as well. Joseph Rockboy, Yankton/Sicangu Sioux elder 1900-1984, shares of how most people don't know why a woman shouldn't attend ceremonies whilst "having her moon", he detailing it's due to a woman's ability to have birth being sacred, powerful, and still a mystery, and men's part is comparably smaller in importance for planting.

So, they pray for only health and generations, the rest being up to the people. A portion of people favor the Sun Dance, male power of the sky, but blessing Mother Earth is why it's performed, she always being remembered, and also used for medical health purposes. A woman's flow time is a powerful show of the mystery of giving birth, and men recognize not doing anything near as powerful, saying it's respected by the gender in Indian culture. So, if a woman were to touch a man's medicine objects, pipe, or rattles, she'd drain their power for her own power being a powerful, and beneficial opposite.

Out of respect for the men, the woman'd stay away from them, and in the past they'd build a lodge, and she'd be tended, resting from her chores, and it isn't seen as a bad thing, like it is, now. This is done out of respect for the great mystery, and the special power of women. Joe Rockboy is 1 of the last full-blood Yanktons, and also claimed Cheyenne, Sangu Lakota, Santee Dakota, Omaha, and Winnebago, fully fluent in 3 Sioux dialects, he was ageless in how people of all ages hoped to be around him. There's another sacred role holy women enact as teen girls for the Sun Dance.

Each girl takes a hit at a cottonwood tree before it's chopped, Madonna Swan recollecting as a child. She asks her ma about a sweat bath the men were organizing for an ill man, and they were waiting on the virgin g/daughter of Swift Bear. After, Madonna Swan asks her g/pa about why they do it this way, he explaining it must be done the sacred way, also explaining what a virgin is, this ceremony having to be done the correct way if the benefits are to be acquired. Adulthood starts with a Cheyenne quote of a nation only defeated when the hearts of the women are upon the earth.

In the past, a woman's abilities to being multitalented in cleverness, and business elevated her whole fam. Mitchell Zephier shares what his g/pop, Bill Buck, born in the late 19th century, told him. Truthfulness is brought up when Bill tells of Mitchell's aunts gossiping. Bill'd chatted of this in his 70s, people living it tents still.

Due to living with many in close quarters, keeping a certain etiquette is needed or fights'd break out from dishonesty or jealousy. The respected woman sponsor'd give instructional speeches on how to live a good life, honesty being a centered value for Lakota. Madonna Swan tells how 1st player for stick game's chosen by a truthful story of bravery, the winner getting dibs. Dating, marriage, and fam is the guarantee for women.

This role is greatly respected in the Indian community, and elders are traditionally expected to instill these values. In the 19th century, an older woman'd help the younger choose a suitor, the eligible single covering his head and shoulders as the young woman and woman listen to the man speak his reasons, and if the young woman's interested, the eldest bro meets with the young man, and if approved by being able to support a fam, they'd be given a chance to bond. If the young woman doesn't bond with him, she can easily divorce. The ideal among Lakota is the throughout life marriage, but what usually happens is a serial monogamy, since women owned the homes, so there isn't the sense of having to stay in an abusive marriage or uhappy one, until the Anglo legal marriage takes over.

Lakota women are free to act as they wish, not belonging to anyone, and marriage being finalized for divorce with the act of placing the hubby's clothes outside the door. Also, whilst polygamy is regarded, it usually comes down to the financial ability, but if done, normally is instigated by the 1st wife, and coaxes her sisters, since they'd be used to sharing, and it eases the 1st wife's life. Before Xtian missionaries, there isn't a marriage ceremony, but small parties lasting months to years, where gifts are offered to the girl's fam, the norm and most complimentary being horses. The notion this is a form of buying their daughters is a vile misrepresentation through colonization. A variety of gifts from the suitor shows a good fam, and if chosen for being financially stable'd live in a tipi put up near the in-laws for a yr at least, and if poor, may even live with the in-laws, but the communication tier system still being obeyed.

They'd solve this by chatting with teasing and joking, which also shows the ability to take a joke, or make others laugh. So, even though the gift-giving and bros deciding their sis' suitors no longer applies, through oral tradition, it's still known. Lucy Swan speaks on the belief of how the roles of ma, g/ma, and hopefully g/g/ma reflects her own marriage with knowledge "of the older practices and beliefs". She tells of how her friend shared with her male cousin about Lucy and he's smart, handsome, and the son of a chief.

Well, when Lucy's buddy comes to her job to tell how her cousin's coming to see her and if he liked her'd marry her, Lucy's far from ready for getting serious, feeling too young. When she does meet him, she tells of only being a 6th grader and is "dumb", he not worrying since she confirms her other abilities in beadwork, cooking, and cleaning, he well off enough to offer she'd never have to do these things again. She receives a letter later and they marry in 1918. Arranged marriages are most common way back, but now common law is more recognized, and among the Lakota it's accepted a woman's body and rights are hers alone.

A woman'd honor her husband with elegant clothes and home, extending hospitality to fam. The notion of a man cutting the tip of a woman's nose to prove her unfaithfulness is not documented nor pictured anywhere, it supporting the belief of Plains Indians believing a woman's sexual life is also hers to lead. Women also optionally'd nurse up to 5 yrs, which served as her b.c., since it's frowned upon for a man to knock up a woman whilst nursing, helping to space pregnancies and also served the idea of dual marriages. Louise Plenty Holes is possibly the only Lakota left knowing midwifery.

Like people who are drawn to the herbs field or doctor with a medical calling, so are midwives, some with the path of juggling all 3 roles. It makes it more sad seeing how little it's mentioned in books on natives. Tilda translates Louise giving example of the Lakota way of handling childbirth before white hospitals. The midwife isn't considered secondary to the doctor, but a medicine woman delivering the baby herself.

Louise tells of how "stronghearted" people'd deliver babies, she not having lost 1 yet, delivering not only 1 fella's kids, but also his g/kids, as well as 6 sets of twins. She used to help her ma deliver babies which is how she became skilled. She's 23 when she delivers her 1st baby, and goes into detail of preparing the knife for the umbilical cord cut, as well as how they'd tie the umbilical before strings were invented. Her ma'd still use deer tendon, "takan" to tie off the umbilical in multiple spots, Louise also using buffalo grease for the umbilical.

Louise then shares of how they'd get the gum-like substance from the babies mouths, this usually scaring families attempting to deliver their own kids. She goes further into detail as to prep for delivery and cleanliness of hands as well as procedure. She mentions how they'd handle a baby not turning before deliver: feet 1st. Back then they'd have tips on what to do for medication free births, due to literally not having any, and fams are welcome inside, but expectant pops'd become scared and pace outside, and some fams making a scene during delivery.

So, if the fam remains outside the delivery room, the ma won't hold her breath and the baby'll come faster. She goes further into detail about the types of possible births for easy or hard on the baby and or ma. Also before baby powder, there's white quarter-sized plants on the prairie, and when they're broken open, the brown powder inside can help keep the umbilical from becoming sore during healing. Louise also tells of they praying on top of the herbal remedies for pain the ma may go through, if they pray, the baby is delivered healthy and nothing wrong occurs, which's what Louise's ma taught her.

Louise is born in 1900, and Tilda'd translated the above from a recorded interview off video from an Oglala College. Once hospitals arrive, midwives almost vanish. Isabelle (Ten Fingers) Kills Enemy writes a poem regarding Lakota motherhood. Mark met her in the 70s, Isabelle a holy woman who'd a daughter, Valentina who tells of not seeing her ma much, since she didn't attend her healer ceremonies often.

Valentina decides to share a poem her ma wrote on losing a child. What follows is a ma speaking to her child of having a dream where the baby's gone. She speaks of memories of the baby leaving and singing on the way to heaven, the ma and fam calling the baby's name, but they hearing the baby singing; written 1906-84. Holy women are from the old crones portrayed most anywhere in lit, but Valentina shows songs her ma'd written in English, as well.

Cultural anthropologist's admit shamans're the 1st poets, artists, and songwriters of humanity, and usually come from those who're multitalented. Isabelle'd wandered into the Badlands to die, nothing found for awhile. Menopause is when callings to the Great Mystery are listened to, a young woman's mind on "mothering" even subconsciously. Madonna Swan catches pneumonia, and has a dream when she'd learnt of her ovaries being damaged and wouldn't be able to give birth.

Madonna Swan dreams of someone she knew saying they'd brought what she'd been wanting. Levi In The Woods' ma bringing in a bundle and setting it by Madonna Swan, she agreeing it'd been what she's been wanting upon seeing the baby boy, and when waking, cries when seeing the baby's not there. Becoming a g/ma's an extreme desire for the Plains Indian women. 1 does a lot of the teaching of kids and leave wisdom, this being when a g/ma can fulfill the spiritual calling to help those who're in need.

Madonna Swan speaks with Ted Has Horses and he answers by a spirit called Walks With Medicine to tell her she'd be able to work with the sacred upon menopause, and his answer'd made it sound like she hadn't already known this, which she did. So next time she sees him, she chats with him about their last meeting, and he responds with the spirits telling him she's an old woman now, and won't have her period again, which she doesn't. Madonna Swan later on sees a plant Ted'd told her of which's like women, all their wisdom goes to the root after it's aged, women working medicine the right way when they wait. Madonna Swan understood this to mean there's a right timing for everything.

A passage from Good Lifeways Woman, an Oglala Lakota, who tells of any woman learning she's to become a healer also knows she won't fulfill the dream til she's finished her childbearing days. Attitude toward g/parents'd changed with the coming of old age homes, but some fams still keep their elderly for the g/kids. Mary Crow Dog, born '54 shares how Indian kids and g/parents fueled each other. Her g/pa's the only pop she knew, it impressing her how he could support his large fam on the salary of a janitor.

They didn't have or know about certain amenities taken advantage of by poor white and black ghetto communities, they not having electricity, heating, plumbing, or radio. When Thanksgiving comes around, they had the bonus of burgers, her g/pa making them rabbit, deer, squirrel, and porcupine. G/pa and a couple of his bros'd hunt for the meat their carnivorous Sioux blood craved. The fam shares 1 room, and their g/ma'd always feed guests even if there isn't much.

Darlene Young Bear, Minnecojou Elder shares how Western women and Lakota's differences in opinion regarding aging. White women become scared and stressed when menopause nears, but Darlene looked forward to it. In Indian culture, it meant time for full time artistic or healing pursuits, but before then, and women's "creation powers" are too potent, due to being capable of making new people, which makes women greater than men. Then, after this time, women can hold the pipe and work with the ill or become a doc, if it's her path.

A woman referred to as Cathy Strikes talks of how she'd been 1 of the few women to have a dream of a calling, and she chooses someone in her dream to teach her. In real life, she goes about the traditional way to train for 4 years, learning the ceremonies as a man would. Cathy stays close with the man's fam even after he passes. Cathy speaks of praying her dream vision comes true soon, not yet living where she'd seen.

What's shared more fully in the book is a short view of a Lakota woman preparing to walk her path. Lakota women enjoy their lives with recreation through the stick gambling game or shinny, a field hockey game. Ultimately an egalitarian society, and holy women who people go to with their daily issues from physical, mental, and spiritual are shown as the special people they are, and the foundation they experience from ritual and fam life. The hope is to see multiple generations before 1 dies, and women in Lakota culture are meant to handle arrangements for funeral, and care of the departed.

The treatment of the body also affects the passed one's passage onward. When an older Lakota feels ready for death, the women in the fam start planning for the wake and service, this older person commonly visiting spirits soon before dying. Lucy Swan's experience at her deathbed included Mark being told by her to keep the people who are crying for her out, since she is happy to move on, what with speaking with her already passed on hubby and sons so to inform people visiting her to be happy for her. The 1st born daughter is usually expected to handle arrangements, but it could also fall on whichever daughter is closer to the parent about to pass.

Tilda then supplies the traditional Indian way to organize a funeral. Close fam relations prepare the body and chat light-heartedly as if the departed can hear, if a casket isn't donated by the tribe, the fam pitches in to cover costs. The men keep the fire for the soup going in case anyone gets hungry, also handling the wood collection for the 4 day, 3 night wake. The etiquette for body viewing is the same as usual, women expected to make themselves weep and embrace the fam.

At night, bands can perform which the departed liked most. How the fam's expected to care for the gravesite every Memorial day is the normal way to tend the grave, as well as leaving shells or food in respect. When the funeral ends, all the men who want, help bury the loved one quickly, everyone returning to feast before belongings of the departed are given out. The oldest Lakota practice is to completely remove all items related to the 1 gone, so the fam doesn't mourn as hard as they could, as well as not to call the dead 1 back to familiarity.

Tilda shares why this is done being to make the recently dead able to move on without being emotionally bound to the living relatives and getting stuck. The fam is to mourn for a yr formally. After a yr a fest and Giveaway is done in a 4 day anniversary to the dead, also led by the women, and this ending the fam's subdued step away from the public. Jackie Yellow Tail, a Crow tells the translation of what her people call the "Other-side Camps", and a favored g/ma or g/pa'll come to tell when 1's time is near.

Madonna (Blue Horse) Beard tells of how kids who're told there aren't spirits don't truly understand the whole reality, will see the world differently. Plains Indian concepts of death are far from dogmatic and vary by person. If 1 attempts to understand an Indian's view on death, 1 must see how an Indian sees a "soul" as having at least 4 qualities. The ability to translate to English fully is still limiting, though.

1st, the breath is the life force which holds the "intelligent ghost" together. Some medicine people must search for this breath of life to aid the ill, like Mel Lone Hill, a Lakota man who'd gotten pneumonia 4x as a boy, so his fam consulted a medicine woman, who found his soul in another world 4 days later. Like how some people sense where dead bodies are, or whether someone's still alive, using a stone spirit to locate the body for the peace of the fam. The healer uses their power til it's gone, they then dying, sometimes younger than usual due to answering their calling.

This is perhaps why it's respected and scares people, and also ends up with some elderly being abandoned, since they're thought to have gone over to the evil. There's also allies to the healer which protect them, some believing they bond before birth whilst some think they're acquired during life, since more can become bonded by the end of the healer's life. Sometimes the helpers continue to aid others after the healer's passed on. Another aspect of a soul is the "shade of a living person", Tilda recalling she and others could hear, but not see women crying outside, and within a few days her g/ma dies.

Lakota believe ghosts can be just as evil as they are in life, so if 1's angry before death, they'll remain so in the other world. The last aspect is "ton", a power to make a thing, like feathers, claws, or stones holy and useful to Indian docs. Earth and rocks have power and are used to help the living, holy people making talismans to protect patients as well as using songs and spirit helpers. It's also thought 1 can help bind a soul to Earth if grieving loved one's go beyond the healthy amt, Mitchell Zephier commenting.

Mitchell's g/ma is mourning his ma too much after she'd been killed, she sharing how she'd been crying and her ma came and asked why she's sad when she's happy, his g/ma stating she'd no longer be sad for his ma. The ancestral ties remain even after death, and a spirit travels on the "spirit road", and 1 version of this tells of an old woman who'll push a soul off the rd if she doesn't see the IDing mark of a blue dot of The People. If a soul passes, a longer journey starts, and at the end, the soul views a tipi, and inside is an old man who asks how the journey'd been. If 1 answers well and doesn't mumble or complain about their last life, 1 could be sent to live on earth again to learn still more, or 1 will enter the mirror spirit world where happiness reigns.

Others believe those worlds coexist next to each other and the dead and living can see and speak with each other, and then ofc the idea spirits always remain with the living and only rarely show themselves. Plains Indian ideas of death is as versatile as 1's life can be, a death being unique to each, and reincarnation for a soul to eventually being done, may mean a difficult path in death. Severt Young Bear shares his perception of this using a drawn diagram showing a child's birth translating to "slippery", the next from ages 2-6 being "knee-deep in mud" or clumsy, after being "cold", the child searching for their identity, and after, adolescence or "walk on thorns", the time when everything's hard to comprehend. The 1 where women "walks among swarming bees" is when Lakota women begin their lives by starting fams and expressing herself.

When the woman lives well, people talk about her, hence the bees swarming. After this stage comes "walk over the body of relatives", which's when loved ones are dying and the isolation sets in, so the strong of mind and body are shown. So, if the soul finishes their journey well, they won't be sent to earth again. Severt, Tilda's 2nd cousin had passed before they could interview him, but they having the charts he'd drawn which were held at a college, and using these to form the above list.

There's great insight into how a Plains Indian sees death and what's after. Madonna Swan relates an out-of-near death experience where a dream is typical to those who've come back from the spirit world. In 1973, she speaks of her girlhood sweetheart, Levi who's accidentally killed, and Madonna'd been recovering in a tuberculosis hospital. When Madonna Swan'd gone unconscious, she sees Levi In The Woods beckoning she follow, and seeing a hall, then being led by her mom and Cousin Mary, but then had trouble breathing, and loses them, catching up when reaching a corner of the hall.

The only person sitting not dead being Madonna Swan's mom, Aunt Emma, and Cousin Mary, they making room so she could sit. She marvel's at her relatives as they gather for the dance. An announcer calls for the dancing to begin, and drums and singers start. Cousin Mary is 1st to suggest they join the dancing, so she and her ma go with her and dance.

Then the man comes to Madonna to tell of an unknown man wanting to see her quickly, she seeing Levi and Gee behind a door among the most idyllic hills. Levi asks to chat with her, so she moves forward, and he keeps moving on, she following, trying to have him tell her at each new point of distance away from the dance, but soon reaching a stream, which he wants her to cross. Madonna decides to go back even though Levi's still asking her nicely to follow him, but she then feels a slap from the nurse, and being told they'd thought they'd lost her. Madonna shares who she'd dreamt about, and ever since having this dream, she hadn't been scared to die, knowing where people go is lovely, and Levi wants her there with him.

Lakota believe people's spirit can return to live in the body again, the person even better for having died, temporarily. Mitchell Zephier shares a story from his g/ma on his ma's side called Mary, but also known as Woman Who Walks Holy, and it's remembered due to the mysterious type of person it relates. Mitchell tells of how his g/ma'd given his daughter her name, Walks Holy Woman rather than her cherished one of Plenty Horse, given to her by her pop. Woman Who Walks Holy is Mitchell's g/ma's g/ma, and'd cared for her as a girl.

Woman Who Walk Holy as a young woman is a bit vain for knowing her beauty, when she became ill and died. Her parents bury her in a tree for it being winter, wrapping her in a blanket and tools to aid on her spirit journey, a knife included, which's helpful, since she'd been actually in a coma, and wakes some days later. She cuts herself loose with effort due to lack of nutrition, and follows the trail to the new camp, scaring people at first, but then receiving her name of Woman Who Walks Holy for seeming to float when she entered camp. What'd also changed is her vain, childish nature, she sharing what'd been seen in the shadow world.

Woman Who Walks Holy lives to be around 101 yrs, she telling Mitchell's g/ma, she'd die old as well (and does), in her 80s. Even since then, Woman Who Walks Holy is respected as a spiritual person despite this usually being reserved for the elderly. People feel they are close to the sacred when around her, Mitchell's g/ma advising him of having to speak to his daughter regarding the responsibility of the name she'd inherited, and it meaning she'd have to live a certain way. A Ghost Conjurer is a person who uses mysterious or sacred ways to speak with spirits, which joins the living to the dead, and in essence joins the people at present with knowledge from history.

Jackie Yellow Tail is quoted on the importance of dreams and how they're provided to help oneself or someone else, which's a gift in itself. Dreams play an important role in conversing with the spirit world, awake or asleep. Good Lifeways Woman, an Oglala Lakota shares of a spirit helper called Walks With Medicine who informed she'd be taught solely by the spirits, no one man being her teacher. Ihan'bla is a variated term regarding types of dreams which kids raised in traditional Indian homes learn to interpret hundreds and some prolific enough to remember specific details yrs later.

Dreams are utilized to help understand oneself or others, which's why it's how many medicine women are 1st called to the path. Tilda recollects how the older folk, like her g/ma, Sadie Crazy Thunder enjoys sharing their dreams with 1 another, this not as common among the younger generation, but Tilda thinking on dreams for days at a time, sometimes. Any sort of dream which lingers by morning is worth more pondering, since it's the best direct line to the spirit world. The dreamer'll consider the dream til concluding all's known, relatives who're good interpreters aid in this.

An example of a special dream being useful tools is shown by metaphors used, and Mitchell Zephier recalls 1 from his g/ma, Walks Holy Woman, gov't name, Mary Buck. Mitchell'd almost eaten the wasna (dried pounded meat and pounded berries), by accident, and so she wants to share a near-death experience she'd went through, nearly freezing, but a spirit saves her. When she'd 1st gotten married, she'd become impatient waiting for her hubby to finish chatting with Pete Useful Heart, the 2 able to gab for days, so Walks Holy Woman goes out and starts walking along the railroad tracks, it not too cold, yet, but the day growing darker. Well, once it got windier and she gets angrier, she decides to wait under a bridge, thinking she'd dozed off due to feeling a nudge from someone, then offering she follow to a warmer spot, the person's face covered with a blanket.

Even though Walks Holy Woman's scared, he asks she sing with him as they walk, the man having a beautiful voice, and when he stops singing after walking aways, she soon can't see his tracks, but hears a horse whinny, then Mitchell's g/pa Bill helps her back to the cabin. She shares her encounter, and he tells her of the old man who used to sing in Indian and get drinks, 1 night passing out on the tracks, and a train hitting him, this presented as the reason for why she couldn't see his face. He also admits having heard him singing, the dogs also barking at nothing, sometimes. Mitchell's g/ma sums up with this leaving of certain foods like wasna and wojapi "traditional fruit pudding", is meant as offerings of thanks to the dead, so to leave it when seen.

For Indian people, acknowledging spirits, ghosts of people, insects rock and animals is a normal part of life. Small round rocks can have great power to the Lakota, which're known as the rock nation. Contacting spirits is a usual part of ritual with Lakota, the veil between "the lasting world of the spirits" and this temporary 1 having to be crossed, so either the holy women'd go their or the spirits'd use her altar. Animal spirit helpers are divided by the class of animals 2-leg, 4-leg, Wingeds, and those living in water.

Now it's up for debate whether the spirits are merely labeling themselves with animal names, or actually are the animal spirits providing strengths only they can gift. If a woman dreams of Bears, it could be the call to doctor with herbs, whilst a turtle means menstrual or fertility, and spiders for spiritual doctoring. 2 Leggeds consist of humans and the bear. These're the most powerful helpers, the bear called hu-nunpa, the keeper of wisdom.

The bear chooses to share its wisdom directly with humans, it knowing of the herbs above and below the ground, and ruler of the underground creatures. Female bears are known for bravery and defense of fam, and most bear dreamers become docs or pharmacists. 4 Leggeds are related to female powers and influences of human female behavior. The Lakota know a herd of cows being led by the eldest female cows, and herds reform by blood relatives.

They also are ready mamas to left babies, which's also expected of humans. Buffalo dreamers are meant to ask the Buffalo G/fathers to send their kids closer to villages to aid the human nation. Elk dreamers are the psychologist/gynecological specialists for men and women, but also made courting flutes and love charms, writing songs, etc. The elk is spiritually mirrored to male powers to overpower female power, so the man can claim the love of the woman he desires.

Spiders, the 1st who led humans to the surface world, are related to human tech, and also helpful in doctoring the ill. The Wingeds encompass all creatures who fly: insects and bats also included in the mysterious powers of flight. Besides having control of the winds, they're close to the Thunder Beings, as well as butterflies, due to the similarity of the heartbeat in love. The golden eagle is above the bald for Native Americans due to the many phases of development its colors go through.

Eagles have the ability to fly far above the earth in sacred circles. Eagles are seen as sacred messengers between the Sacred Mystery and man, due to being able to fly in the purified air, away from the influences of earth. Owls are sacred and feared for being harbingers of death, but also wonderful spirit helpers, leaders of the 2nd time, night creatures. Lakota mythology accords day being created 1st, moons/months, 3rd, and a yr, 4th.

Owls are the most common helpers of holy women and quite powerful. Water animals, the turtle believed by the Lakota to have the earth built on 1's back, this making it almost hyphenated with Mother Earth. Beaded charms shaped like turtles are given to baby girls, and lizard shaped for boys. There's much symbolic basis behind diseases women get in particular, on top of birth, infancy, and conception, the eating of a turtle's heart being supposed to cure barrenness, and menstrual disorders.

Belle Starboy speaks of a "turtle woman". She's from Rosebud Res, and around 9 yrs old at the time when a woman, G/ma Flood comes to her home, she thinking she's related to her parents somehow, and 1 day gives her a turtle, this common for her, normally she sitting with a turtle on the side of the road, and sometimes giving them to people, always having at least 1 live 1 with her. Mary Crow Dog, a Lakota writer also knew G/ma Flood, she knowing her as Aunt Flood, and loved her stories. Mary paid close attn, since Flood'd switch between Indian words and English. Flood also makes her living with bead and porcupine quillwork.

G/ma Flood was also a medicine woman who had power from the turtles which Indians held her in high respect, what with having possible power over fertility. Snakes are universally not preferred since women who earn the snake, usually're mean to their fam. The Little People are rarely mentioned, but Lakota has a name for them meaning "they dwell in the trees"- Lanotipi, and the Crow think they're keepers of medicine and the Sun Dance, as some Lakota think they're the teachers of the Sun Dance. The size isn't agreed on, but what's being their brown skin, thick hair, little clothes, and some have buffalo horns, and they can appear or not, it believed they're as old as the start of time when everything else'd been made.

Tilda'd been told by her g/ma of where she'd used to see them, but she doesn't anymore possibly caused by the environment, but they're said to relay wisdom, sometimes tricking people to teach needed lessons, but seen for a reason of some kind. She also reminsinces to Mark of a time when Ted Wolf'd 1st met her, and he'd told of when Sidney Keith ran a sweat, people praying, curious people not seeing anything odd, but the faithful seeing little people inside looking at people, 1 the mischievous 1, making fun of people and pulling faces in imitation, the little people acting like it's daylight in the dim sweatlodge. An anonymous Lakota woman remembers when she'd been told by her sis of when she's a teen and hungover in the basement, she'd wake up to see the little people smiling over her, and pointing. Animals and their relation to people lays in their categorized nation, like Buffalo, Deer, Mouse, and Ant Nations, but not excluding plants, as well what with all having their own intellect and souls which also means the ability to help humans.

Oliver Brown Wolf, a Minnecojou Lakota elder shares a very old story. At a Minnecojou camp 1 winter, they're raided by the Crow who take horses and a Lakota woman. The woman shows she isn't happy to be there, and the Crow women feel sorry for her, so advise she hide and wait near a creek a small distance from camp. She does so, and some Crow men look for her, she being found 1st by 2 friendly, big wolves.

They lead the woman as the Crow attempt chase, at night the wolves protect her from the deathly temperatures. The wolves speak in Lakota, telling her she should follow them, knowing a safe area. As they travel through a blizzard in the open prairie, 2 more wolves join them. The power in this story provides the intent of not feeling scared if remembering this story, since the woman escapes the Crow due to the severe conditions.

The woman follows the tracks to a creek, the group following this to Squaw Buttes in S.D., the wolves making her enter a cave where more wolves reside, they sharing deer meat with her. She soon sees how the large wolf fam each had their role to fill within their community, and how they lived together harmoniously. The woman lives among them and integrates into being neighbor friendly, and stays long enough to have their scent. The wolves know their land, so are able to avoid the 2 legged.

When the season changes to turnip-digging time, the woman's ma is nearby, still in mourning, the wolves informing the woman. She comes up with a signal in case she's rejected, but her ma's overjoyed, so the wolves get her message to stay in their cave, she afterward known as Woman Who Lived In The Rock, and the Lakota considering it a sacred spot. Be wary as to when 1 tells the story, since it can cause snow storms, this being a true story which occured in early 18th century, and happened 70 miles west of Eagle Butte. Whilst the woman lived, wolves howled for her at night, which's how it goes sometimes, animals showing affection this way: Ihanke'.

To prove it's a real story, Oliver Brown Wolf shares it's also how the Brown Wolfs got their name: Philip Brown Wolf, Edward Owl King-Two Bears, Albert Owl King, and Inos Owl King are half bros, and Hard To Kill Woman is Albert's wife, who's related to Iguga Oti Win, Woman Who Lived In The Rock. Another story comes from Madonna Swan telling of her g/ma Julia High Pine and when Madonna's ma, Lucy receives a letter advising she check on her ma, who'd been left looking after Lucy's infant niece, Rosie. Upon going to her home, it looks like no 1 is home, but when going inside, finds her g/ma laying on a cot with the baby, Lucy shouting for Madonna's pop, who makes baby milk, and G/ma has time to revive and explain. She'd been waiting 4 days, the food used up, and no wood, no one coming, Julia'd been getting cold, so she prays to the mice nibbling at them 1 send help and to stop walking on them.

Julia sleeps, wakes, sleeps once more, til becoming too weak to move, and keeps waiting, then they arrived, she believing the mice'd told them. Julia then sleeps again, and by next morning, Madonna's ma and pop'd cleaned up and all is warm and tidy. Julia tells Lucy where her hubby could find cash to buy food for Rosie, and some peanuts for the mice, as offering. The 4 days mentioned above where Julia'd been praying, this the amt of time being sacred before receiving a dream, the Sacred Fasting rite.

Julia prays to the Mouse Grandmother, spiritual g/mother to Mouse Nation, Julia afterward showing thanks by gifting peanuts to the mice, and reciprocating back to the Mouse Nation. This serves as reminder of Lakota people seeing themselves as a part of many animal nations all of which have eternal spirits, and sacred knowledge and wisdom. Next comes a translated excerpt from the Crow medicine woman Pretty Shield, after she'd lost her baby girl 2 days before and'd been sleeping outside on the hills when she could, since she didn't sleep much, and ate little so she could be ready for a dream which could help herself and others. 1 morning, she's returning home when she sees a woman running toward her house in front of her, making her scared, since she recognized her as someone who'd died nearly a handful of yrs before.

The woman requests she approach, and after getting closer, confirms she's see-through and standing by an ant hill. When the woman requests again she come close, Pretty Shield walks without choice again, being told to rake up the edges and maker her wish. Pretty Shield does as requested when the woman vanishes, asking for luck and a good life, then returning home. From this day the ant people've helped her, and she always listens to her medicine people.

Dreams which a person receives from a sick person is noted as spirit travel, and Tilda shares a story involving a dog spirit helper. She'd dreamt seeing her dog walk into the spirit realm, but like he's in distress, wanting her to follow, so in her dream, she locates a car trying to find somewhere to crash, so she could follow her dog, then she's flying above the rd, and sees a head on collision, she following her dog again when she sees no one'd been killed, her dog telling her Mark needs to follow them back. When she wakes, it's a couple days later when she gets a call from her ma telling her a couple nights previous, Pepsi, real name Mark, her bro'd been in a wreck, and lost consciousness for a bit, but is ok now. Sometimes dreams are prophetic warnings, the Lakota believing medicine people's helpers are powerful, and neutral to evil, due to being relative, so some people practice spell casting with spirit helpers to harm someone.

1 of 2 stories regarding another version is from Rose Little Bear in 1959, describing a medicine woman who learned of her power whilst traveling north 1 night, the Cheyennes deciding to rest for a meal, but the woman hearing a voice, saying to keep going, because soldiers are behind them. The woman shares her experience, and Little Wolf decides to have everyone keep going. From then on the woman'd go off to listen for the voice, if she didn't hear it, they'd rest. The people soon trust her judgement, which prompts a fight between Little Wolf and Morning Star, the latter being men leaders, so not acknowledging her ability to keeping her people safe with her helper.

Morning Star offers to accept anyone, who'd rather follow the men leader head for their allies on Pine Ridge Res, whilst Little Wolf decides to go onward northwest to Tongue Ri. North Woman gets them there safely whilst Morning Star is blocked by military in Nebraska. They escape, but not without losing 80 people by the military. Some spirits are thought to have lived before and been brought back to live again to aid people in some way.

A story to give example comes from an anonymous Lakota who tells of a girl with scars on her hands, looking like burns, and shared with people who asked she's an old woman who came back and she'd been horribly burned in her last life. These souls either come back willingly or are requested by the Great Spirit. An angry spirit can become trapped in this plane, and sometimes a relative'll experience a recently lost relative like this daughter who tells of her pop coming back and distressed over a loved object, she seeing him during the day and is ongoing into how these dream communications can be. Yellow Bird Woman, a Sicangu holy woman has a dream whilst traveling on a train of her pop wondering why people are crying when he'd been stolen from.

When Yellow Bird Woman wakes, she and her sis get to his home, and he's sitting at the apt door, opening it, and going inside. They also open it, and follow him to his room where his dance outfit is missing along with other fave clothes, and hat. She knows these waking dreams tend to happen with close fams, so if 1 listens, it'll be clear what'll occur. Tilda next shares the etiquette on how to treat someone from the spirit world, through her own experience.

1 night, Tilda along with the other younger kids are already in bed, whilst her sis and g/ma wash dishes. Then, her sis points out a man sitting on the couch, Tilda looking and seeing a western clothed man with white hat. Nonchalantly their g/ma speaks to the man like a real person, whilst checking windows and doors, offering him food, the doors and all locked and shut. She goes on to add if he's not hungry, he should leave for scaring her Takoja (g/children).

Tilda doesn't recollect how the spirit left, but her g/ma goes outside to leave him food. Old people called where they lived, "an old traditional encampment", many people having camped there in the past. So, when Tilda lived with G/ma Sadie and later G/ma Dora, they'd both leave bits of food for spirits. Lakota believe spirits seen in the day can be both good or evil.

Some ghosts being able to bring on a stroke to those who see them. Madonna Swan acknowledges how this isn't how western medicine'd believe, but contact with a departed ghost can "produce" a stroke. Michael Zephier supplies an incident from 1992. A buddy of his sees a ghost when he's splitting wood at sundown.

Madonna Swan also sees a recently passed on buddy during the day. madonna shares of a friend's passing in Nov '73 called Wally Knight, a white man married to Sarah In Amongst, the 2 ranching in the Scaffold Community. In Eagle Butte when Madonna and a buddy'd gone to do some extra credit for college, she'd been sitting helping a buddy, Rose type her report when she decides to take a walk, and as she gets up, she sees Wally smiling and pointing at her. She reacts in shock and shares of seeing a ghost, after a bit sitting again, and typing for 1 more hours, and again when she's about to get up, she sees Wally at the door, beckoning she chat with him, and next she knows she's in hospital in N.D., having a minor stroke, paralyzed on her right side.

Wally apparently wants to take her to a good place, but she declines. Little Warrior, Tilda's G/g/father'd successfully aided a famed holy man, Black Elk for a stroke, the 2 in their 80s, and being teens at the Battle of the Greasy Grass (Little Big Horn). Lucy Looks Twice, Black Elk's daughter, shares after the ceremony Little Warrior'd performed, her pop's mouth's straight, and could eat. Black Elk states to Little Warrior of being good at his work, but to not allow the spirits to treat him so harshly, for being wiped out, but his mouth's still straight, so...

Little Warrior shares of how there're good and bad spirits in his life, but if 1 prays in the morning whilst standing in the doorway it's a good and silent day, give thanks for the day coming after night. Shamans spend their lives learning the traits of both good and bad spirits, so also know how to call them, speak, and send them back. This requires multiple experiences with the sacred, and the student develops her own "rituals". Through correct rituals and songs, the medicine woman succeeds to heal.

Good Lifeways Woman, Oglala Lakota's quoted on how many holy people pray to be a medicine person, but she'd learned early to pray for whatever she becomes, to do it wholly. Obviously both genders dream, and can have powerful sacred ones which show them to a new path in life. For men who're "called" to the path, they'll usually practice with an elder for at least 4 yrs. With women, it can be more varied which Orville Mesteth shares of a chat with his g/moth, Blue Earring Woman on how women receive the call, being in their dreams, is a profound memory, and without warning.

Women aren't always taught the same as a man. The most sacred relic for Lakota is the Sacred Calf Pipe Bundle, normally kept by a man for hundreds of yrs, but some being scared of it, and for good cause, the next story occurring 1898, and to this day told on the Cheyenne Ri. Res. It proves women's dreams are heard, under many marveling "circumstances". 4 cops are involved with stealing the Pipe Bundle, this being when Elk Head, 9th keeper had the Bundle.

White Bull, a cop and is revered by elders for being reasonable and courageous, swipes the Bundle. White Bull, nephew to Sitting Bull, returns the Bundle after checking the contents. Despite this, a mist similarly seen when White Buffalo Calf Maiden came, falls over the area, and 1 by 1 the Indian cops involved die in the next few days. "When Old Man Elk Head passed away the Pipe Bundle was to go to his son Ernest", til his daughter, Red Eagle Woman speaks up to confess of dreaming she'd kept the Bundle, which's against tradition, but the elders agreeing despite the breaking of this tradition, they going with the sacredness of her dream, valuing this as Lakota people.

Certain tribes have bundles which are incredibly sacred having a variety of bones, roots, herbs, fossils, stones, feathers, claws, and relics. They're connected to legendary people within the culture, the Northern Cheyenne having 2 like this: the Sacred Buffalo Hat and Mahuts, 4 arrows meaning Cheyenne male side continuity, this Bundle kept by the Southern Cheyenne in OK. Hat Bundle, as it's known, must be kept up in proper ritual for being as old as the people, or if neglected, is thought to make Cheyenne women stop being able to have babies, this 1 kept in Montana. Mike Running Wolf shares of a particularly clever Northern Cheyenne, Josie (Head Swift) Limpy, knowing the bundle rituals better than anyone alive at the time, and being chosen by her father to be keeper, between '52-'57.

The Hat Bundle's sacred as the Pipe Bundle, the former being the representation of the women's side of creation. Josie Limpy shares her story to a priest in '59, she the daughter of Limpy, who as a young man escapes north from OK in 1878, and survived til '52. Limpy is Suhtai, an ancient sub-tribe in the Cheyenne. Head Swift knew his health was in decline, and when the men were smoking together, chats of successor, and he choosing Josie comes up.

Josie's called to the sacred tipi to speak to the 4 and her pop starts by telling them all how Josie'd been watching his ritual prayers with the pipe and how it's done for blessing to the ppl and fam. After, Josie or Stands Near the Fire, proceeds with the ritual, helping people during the day, and concluding the ritual in the evening. Women who dream like men can choose many kinds of paths, but even if the dream's had young, she waits til menopause to start, the women sometimes experiencing a physical, emotional, or spiritual crisis, like a near death experience or depression. To explain the process from normal to holy woman it'd be necessary to reveal the vivid dream, which no one should be privy to all the specifics of, for having ability to cause harm should they use details of her dreams.

Good Lifeways Woman is raised in a Catholic boarding school, she eventually receiving her master's. Whilst she's still married and had 5 kids, she feels stunted by her narrow understanding of the Lakota language, but still is apt enough to perform the correct songs for ceremonies, which's how spirits are summoned. Good Lifeways Woman provides a general acct in order to protect real IDs, but shares for the benefit of Lakota women on the importance to listening to their dreams. GLwW's 1st time experiencing this is whilst laying down and seeing a beautiful tipi on her ceiling, the scene with trees and the moon making her extremely calm lasting about a min, then is gone.

A week goes by and she has a 2nd dream where she flies slightly above the ground. She sees the land is made of thousands of coins which become mtns and valleys, she almost being able to read the dates on the coins, the dream staying with her. Summer of '75, in S.D., there's an excitement felt due to the ceremonies, and many Lakota going for their 1st time. The relatives are saying how you could see the spirits coming in as blue lights, which're everywhere.

When GLwW'd 1st smelled the prairie, she feels at home in Nebraska. The ground speaks whole thoughts to her, a holy woman beginning to tell when her quality of dream changed from those before, and doesn't take this path lightly, due to being a possible life long, selfless task, and could put her in spiritual risk. Tilda and Mark regard how lucky they were to have Good Lifeways Woman share her continued story on odd dreams. GLwW buys a beaded staff, and decides she'd go buy a pipe, since she's moving from SD, and wants to be able to hang them both near each other on a wall.

GLwW tells her much older sis, and she looks at her with big eyes, and replies this isn't how it worked, but she laughs her off. When she visits a pipe worker and asks to buy a pipe, he's so quiet she notices, and a month later, the man delivers the pipe in 2 pieces, GLwW admitting multiple times of how green she was. She'd always meant to glue the pieces together, but when she'd go looking for it to do it, she wouldn't be able to locate it, blaming her kids who'd always be speechless. These types of dreams could be singular or continue for months or yrs, making the person feel crazy, which the Thunder Beings provide when dreamt.

So, the dreamer dances a particular or sets of ceremonies with Sun Dance, Kettle Dance, or Horse Dance. The next dream interviewed by Mark and Tilda, is a Lakota elder telling of a dream she at 1st ignored and would reenact in public to cleanse herself of what the spirits could deem qualified for death, to her or to a fam member. The woman'd been ignoring her dreams for awhile, she a Thunder Dreamer or Clown Dreamer. The dreams became so intense, if it rained, she'd run for shelter from getting hit by lightning.

Despite this, she waits to perform the 4 Sun Dances exclusive to women, she waiting til 2 fam members die abruptly, so becoming a female Sun Dance "Leader or Dreamer". She's wide awake when she has a vision of seeing Thunder Clowns coming in. She sees women dancing in a Sun Dance ground, with 4 sweat lodges. This point in time, women joined in the Sun Dance, but none are solely women.

The thunder spirits tie GLwW up in her room, she unable to speak or make sound. She hears the drum in her back room, and the thunder spirits dance in front of her, until they all leave, making it so she also could exit. She also immediately knows she'd have to dance it in public resisting quite hard to the point of tears and huddling away from thunder. A couple "people around her" become ill and die she, healthy, and once dancing it 4 times with other women, the dream leaves her, and doesn't affect her, now.

It's common for other people to see the path of others spiritually, sometimes holy people who then inform the "new dreamers" role. It's also possible for the dreamer to become jealous of the new dreamer and sabotage their learning. The next story comes from a fullblood Sicangu Lakota in her late 60s, ma and g/ma, also widely respected among many people. She got her calling late in life, but her dreams more powerful, her Indian name, Zin-tkala Zin Win, or Yellow Bird Woman.

Finding a real medicine man these days is impossible. Now they expect gas compensation for coming to heal 1, maybe 2 people, but even more require aid. In 1984 or 5 a medicine man called Joe Eagle Elk comes to the Denver Lakota community, but has passed, now. The 1st time he'd come, Yellow Bird Woman knew him when he was a boy, before going into the military and WWII, she not seeing him til then, and he says "we came after you", she afraid once he IDs spirits rather than his wife like she'd assumed.

Joe states how they wanted her for work at the sacred altar, she deciding she would, if he taught her the Hocoka ceremony. When they go, she and the minister are the only 2 to see the blue light inside the altar. He shares of seeing the ill standing by her around the altar, so he instructs she hold the pipe as she marvels. In a holy woman's ongoing training her powers of particular dreams start to determine the path.

They could represent a spirit helper's ID, as well as possibly showing the reason the helper came, and also provide the rituals required to call them, the whole reason for a "personal ceremony". Then, a continuation of GLwW and her dream ceremony with Ted. Ted sits at the middle of the altar, preparing her pipe, and placing it on a bed of sage on the altar. It's performed in Rapid City where they'd been living at the time.

The lights are put out, and the singers begin, whilst the ceremony continues, GLwW sees a blue mist above her, like a cloud, she thinking everyone could see it as it changed into an owl, its eyes showing yellow light looking at her. She understood the unspoken message from the owl regarding her learning much and to have patience for a slow start, but'd last many yrs. The owl repeats the message, but also shares she should look in herself for a teacher, the experience in the "conception". She then sees a large buffalo standing above her and its goatee hung over Ted as he sits there.

GLwW's marveling and next it fades to show a man standing with mask and headdress looking like a Sun Dancer with a carved necklace, and when the lights come on, she asks the room if they'd seen the owl, and later, Ted suggests she find a teacher, the spirits preparing to name her. Once she hears her name, things'd occur, and more could be seen in the world where she couldn't before. Happening more often with women is getting dreams of the change to holy person coming at any point. Men can "enhance" their power by preferably 4 days of fasting, women also able to participate, the person going to private hilltop, sweat bath, or vision pit to isolate where spirits're known to live.

Jackie Yellow Tail next shares the traditional feeling to the "crying for a vision". They'd recently celebrated the return of the Sun Dance to Crow, and Jackie'd "fell", which's the ultimate outcome. Due to fasting and praying for 4 days, 1 becomes closer to the Creator, senses being pronounced, helping 1's connection. It can take yrs to fall, but what occurs is a dream-state, a vision of clarity like monks who pray in the mtns.

More commonly, is dreams, or animals talking with the seeker. This is the proof of listening to the Creator's message and being open to whatever "medicine dream" given. Jackie knew she'd have to travel to Wyoming by what she'd seen. Her g/fath. gathered a root to make his special medicine near Fort Wakashie, and also is "home for chief of the Little People, the keeper of the Sun Dance", and is medicine helper to her g/fath. for his role as Sun Dance Leader.

Jackie's dream had felt like she'd gone home, asking many things about her people, and the tasks she'd been given, as well as looking to the Creator for guidance in daily life, as well. Obv, it's not a definite possibility fasting'll product visions, Jackie stating she knew it wouldn't necessarily work, other than thanking the Creator for the new yr. She expected transcendence when she'd 1st tried the Sun Dance 15 yrs ago, but it's a slow realization sometimes, she seeing clarity with memories after thinking back, noting everything has its own pace to reveal itself. When experienced, these visions instigate a variety of emotions, happy, "dread", and q-ing the authenticity.

Wounye' Waste' Win shares she'd had a vision dream of seeing her fam, and to let them go, since they belonged to G/father spirits, and must loosen her hold on them. Jackie understood this as she needing to focus on herself rather than her fam's lives. Not long after, she's sponsoring a Thanksgiving ceremony for Ted Has Horses' daughter, who'd kidney issues, possibly cancer, and they're going to pray for her. During this, a beautiful blue light goes to Jackie, she at 1st resistant, since this is for the ill girl, but another person advises she calm her fear, and the ball goes to her hand, and after lightening her grip, they have the girl stand and they sing a doctoring song, as Jackie places her hand all over her back for the light.

Pejuta Yuja Mani'd come to help, looking "Beam me up, Scotty" silver, Jackie scared, but still allowing the light to envelop her. Pejuta Yuha Mani works the light and moves her hands where it's needed on the girls' back. When they finish the song, they ask the girl to describe what she felt, saying small hands had doctored her back. When Ted asks Jackie, she tells of who'd used her hands to doctor the girl, Ted saying from now on this meant Jackie could use her hands to heal.

Since it's not like there's full instructions, 1 must pray for clarity. Jackie states after this experience, whenever someone ill is around, her hands becomes quite warm. Right before this ceremony, Jackie keeps seeing bears, 1 time it turning into a white bear then turns into a gray-haired man. When Jackie asks her teacher's ma, she tells it meant she had bear power, and'd be a mean ma-in-law, hoping Jackie never angered the bear, after which she gets more bear dreams.

At a powwow in the summer, Jackie wears a blue dress, and is noticed by a medicine man, who sees the blue light around her, knowing from a dream he'd meet her. It happens later the same summer with a woman saying she'd also seen her in a dream with the same dress, and beadwork she was wearing, Jackie disconcerted but exhilarated. GLwW next speaks of how she'd been diverted from using or acknowledging her dreams 4 yrs due to a jealous teacher. At this time, GLwW'd been readying to start fasting, she wanting Ted Has Horses as teacher, but is referred to Francis No Heart, who accepts aiding her.

Unfortunately, he flakes after GLwW'd readied to go to the agreed upon Bear Butte, Ted Has Horses accepting her request to fill in. She has a dream where an owl appears and turns into a man who draws the face of an owl and eagle in the dirt, the blue light there, and going up her pipe stem. The blue light asks if she's ready, and when returning to her hand, she gets a vision of seeing Martin High Bear walking down the hill and looking back at her. She hears a voice say to her of the door being open to her, and human needs have nothing to do with this road, these necessities already available to her, and whilst the road is hard, she'll have to climb herself, they unable to carry her.

After, GLwW sees Martin High Bear again walking away under another force not his own. The uncovering of new powers part of the uninitiated to holy person, awakening them to the spirits call. When GLwW's in graduate school in MN, she senses her roomie's in pain, she asking Eva, who says she'd been feeling pain in her legs, and GLwW offering to rub her feet, and Eva being surprised by how warm her hands are. GLwW describes the feeling as she's activated her powers, it zen-like as she watches it and sees where she'd need to place her hands, then sensing she needing Eva to lie down, working on her back and seeing her lungs looking red and weepy, so letting her hands stay over her back, they vibrating slightly til it stops and she knows to move her hands, sometimes being directed.

Eva, who's psychic, sees the blue light GLwW had on her, and after she's able to aid more than a few people. Upon sharing her experience with Francis No Heart, he devalidates everything she'd experienced as hallucinations and this messes her up til 4 yrs ago from being interviewed. During the 4 yrs she Sun Dances, but her spirit helpers don't come, she now losing self worth for her abilities. His words give reality to her greatest fear, and she shut herself off.

So, when fasting on the yr GLwW'd been gaslighted, she denies seeing her vision when it comes, until recently. Mitchell, her nephew shares a dream where the spirit helper who died admits to having lied about GLwW's experience, she already a holy woman, but even with his confirmation, it takes time to regain her same power, it much weaker. These accts are meant to show the path to the sacred, which starts with faith crisis, jealousy of a teacher, and spirits showing up in a Lowanpi ceremony traditional for Crow, Lakota, and Cheyenne, in their religious worldview.

3 women, including GLwW share of how their rituals changed and still do. GLwW continues, she dreaming she's fasting in the Black HIlls in high-grass land encircled by pine. Her altar's only got 3 out of 4 of its flags. So, as she's sitting at the altar, a close buddy brings her pipe, and she asks if she's ready, GLwW confused by her confidence in her, and recognizes she seems to want to conquer herself in her dream, saying to herself all she'd have to do was pray.

GLwW closes her eyes as she takes the pipe, and once open again, it's day and baby blue sky with pine off in the distance, and possibly an eagle, but as it flies over her turns into a man. This part scares her the most for some time, she reminded by a person she'd shared with, of the owl starting as a man. GLwW remembers how the man seems to be wearing a mask, with old ears, and holes for eyes, but the eyes are showing the sky, he then asking if she's ready. Ted Has Horses approved, since it sounded good it'd been asked.

The excerpts are here to show how rituals are structured. GLwW takes the pipe in her dream, Lakota people regarding this seriously, since it's a call to doctor. GLwW dream having the 3 sticks rather than all 4 is so far a mystery, it not ob how it'll be applied or valid later. Seeing what at 1st she thought's an eagle and turned out being an owl turning into a man is an important symbol, since it means GWwW can tell if someone is to live on or die.

The symbol the man draws can only be understood by her, and the q given to her, being rhetorical, since the spirits already knew. She'd gone to Minneapolis 1x and a Chippewa medicine man mentions seeing a blue light around her, saying it means she can spirit travel, like astral projection. He then teacher her how to call the bear, it working for GLwW. During a pipe ceremony with the medicine man, Wood Hand, they place their pipes next to the altar and he states sending a bear around the pipes, this another nice confirmation for her. Now, she's aware of the bear's power, but not the details of what they provide, yet.

GLwW continues about how she wondered how it's supposed to aid her, or others the same man coming to her, and saying to forget about it for now, she'll know when it's right, so she listens and forgets about it for 3-4 yrs, her hubby coming to her, oddly enough, being agnostic. He gifts her with a bear skull which's given to him, so she now wonders what this means for her. A yr previously, she's teaching a class, and invites the few members over to her place to use her lodge for a sweat, they waiting for her to get off work. They do a prayer and after GLwW asks if they knew a bear's with the prayer leader, he admitting they had bear medicine, he referring her to his wife, since ofc she had q's.

After meeting her and hearing some helpful truths, she's told she wouldn't have a man or woman, but the spirits'd teach her 1sthand. So, whenever she received human help, she'd know by their knowing she's coming, teaching her songs and such. Since dead holy men could be her counselors, her ceremonies tended to develop with originality. Ray Dupris expounds when the spirits pass on 1's songs and ceremonies, it won't work if not developing your way.

If one has the gift, the power will be obvious, like curing disease by being in the room, this power people having attained. Parts and snippets of "ritual practice" are envisioned by the medicine women and then are reconfirmed by many dreams and then "results". GLwW dreams she's in a meadow with a class, and sees Pete Swift Bird, a Heyoka. She hands a ciggy rolled inside a dollar bill and instructs 1 of her students to take it down to Pete, who reacts happily, since he's dead.

Pete goes to the fence and invites them over, taking GLwW to a bluff and pointing out 3 stars and how they're placed next to each other, detailing she should place her 3 altar sticks exactly the same way. GLwW's going to pray, then mentions not having a pipe, Pete requesting and receiving an ancient-looking pipe from the spirits, reminding GLwW as they hand it to her of Ted Has Horses' pipe. She acknowledges the pipe isn't hers, aloud before starting her prayer. The student of medicine of the sacred starts with knowing how her altar signifies the sky and the 3 sticks "special stars".

The pipe is metaphor of her closeness with a recently passed and much respected medicine man, known well to her. It could also mean she needs to stick with the clinical way to do it. The songs and ritual order must "fit" the ancestor spirits satisfaction. The goal for the order is so 1 can attain a spiritual out-of-body experience in the altered awareness, becoming open spiritually.

GLwW's hosting the group, and sees the bear, shaking the lodge as he enters. He stands, he also doing this the previous night, and it's the 3rd time she'd used her sticks. The 2nd time, she'd hung an eagle feather on it, and an eagle soars by, circling as the bear states she'd made the altar, and he'd came. He sits next to her, she wanting to shout his arrival to the others, but they're praying so couldn't see.

GLwW considers how the others're in a "veil", and didn't sense the bear there, but if they had, the wealth of knowledge, but they couldn't, due to "sitting there". GLwW wishes to learn more about the bear, he instructing she pray from the heart, and tell them he's there, but the group doesn't see him. GLwW reasons they'd surely speak to him, and this she senses all without seeing the bear, simply knowing "he was there". GLwW's spiritual crisis caused by her teacher's what aided her in becoming strong enough to always have the power of her spirit helpers.

Next, she shares a story of a spirit helper, who'd been attached to a passed on elder. GLwW describes when she senses these spirits, she feels the presence physically also hearing and sometimes seeing the lights and see who they are, like Pejuta Yuha Mani (Walks with Medicine), who enters and stands in front of her wearing his hair in 2 braids, and unraveling 1 side. Ted Has Horses 1x, asked her when he was alive, why she liked and what she knew of a particular song he mentions, she replying it's the song the Sun Dancers enter to. He details the story behind why it's used being from when 1x the song's being sung, and lightning comes down, a man walking form the lightning into the altar, this being the songs meaning, and the man's Pejuta Yuha Mani, and so Ted With Horses advises she sing it, since Pejuta Yuha Mani's "not chosen anyone's altar""...to work with", so she should pray.

GLwW's passed away friend urges her to pray to his former spirit helper since he's looking for a new ally to work through. When she does, she's floored by the success. Next, Yellow Bird Woman, 68, comes to her "training" semi-late, she describing how she discovers parts of her ritual. Joe Eagle Elk informs Yellow Bird Woman when to be ready and how many flags, and the colors, she able to come up with the math without having to think about the count.

Ted With Horses alludes to the pipe she has wondering how, but agreeing, they blessing the pipe for her. When she cleans the pipe handle, she notices it had yellow, red, blue, and white stripes on it, all "the main colors" on it. Once at the ceremony, he shows her how to load the pipe the correct amt. They chat in Indian, he younger than her. He teaches her many things on the spiritual way of living.

They'd recollect trees, and herbs, and she'd pray whilst "they " sang (spirits and helper). Then, the Episcopal priest who's praying with them, asks if she saw either side of her, this confirming her own vision. She's still praying fervently as she's splashed with water, the spirits mischievous, but because they've accepted her, and'd help her help people. She also sees blue and white lights which vary between the 2 color degrees, she helping women with alchie, spousal problems, even witchcraft.

By this, she's referring to a medicine man or woman casting a negative spell from another place on to 1 of her patients. Spirits don't have morality like Christians, if asked to kill, they will, but usually someone close to the caster could also die. Yellow Bird Woman experiences cancer which's how her visions developed into her roles with the sacred. In June, before the Sun Dance, she has a couple dreams.

1, YBW's at a Sun Dance with all women dancing and dressed in gray with red on trim and "old-fashioned red ribbons" about the neck, nothing else. It reminds her of the style her g/ma's sis'd wear. She doesn't know her g/ma, but believes she'd also dress this way. The women dancing had eagles on their heads, and Yellow Bird Woman's standing in the center, with an eagle on her shoulder, which's meant to give her long life, her "interpretation".

YBW's hair used to be gray, but now's turning dark again, people who knew her, knowing she's not the type to dye it. Her eyes are also getting crisper vision, Joe Eagle Elk clarifying some things for her, interpretation. She's 68, but looks younger, so people say, and she gets answers like it entering one's head. She had a dream where she also has an eagle on her head, another sitting next to or on her shoulder.

YBW doesn't know the song, but they sing, "...and I knew all the Sun Dance songs, the prayer songs...", and she'd not heard them before. As they sing, the women dance the old way, "weaving back and forth". When the women change direction, the eagles fly and circle, clockwise, and all look at her with yellow eyes. They look scary, she looking at the eagle on her shoulder, but he not looking at her, staring far into a different direction, this waking her, and seeing a single eagle eye, which has her wondering if this meant she'd be doing an Eagle Dance or Sun Dance or what.

The Cheyenne have been able to keep their rites for their Sun Dance and Hat and Arrow Bundle the same for much longer. The Crow "dance societies, Bundle rites", and clan structure're testimony to the system which work for the well-being "of the People", even now. 1 "ancient observance, the Tobacco Planting Ceremony", which's still done by the Crow. Jackie Yellow Tail recollects when she's a girl seeing her g/moth reading either the Bible or Koran before bed, and'd also offer tobacco outside with her prayers, and also teacher her from this time onward.

Whilst the pipe's important, so is the Sacred Tobacco Seed, which accompanies their prophecies. Her g/fath's eldest sis planted the seed before she passed, the prophecy fulfilled when the people harvested it. The Crow must harvest it, til they don't, then it'll be the end for them. Whilst not done every yr, it is done, and "The Tobacco Ceremony, the Sweat Lodge, and the Sun Dance" being the main 3 ceremonies, today.

If 1 can understand the value, behind the tobacco and prayer, in Jackie Yellow Tail's evolving, simple ritual, than it can be further recognized as this being her only relation with this ritual, other than learning from her g/fath, the late Thomas Yellow Tail. When asked if Jackie had any medicine women in her fam, she claims her g/g/moth's "that way", calling her g/ma Beans. Her name is Mary Takes The Gun, and she's a midwife, delivering many babies, as well as 1 of Jackie's aunts. G/ma Beans knew the herbs and plants, and all sorts of remedies to heal the ill.

Jackie thinks she'd been born in the 1860s, but the fam's certainly kept her memory alive. Jackie recognizes she's young in the start of her learning, and knows she must acknowledge her "visions and tribal traditions". Jackie'll smoke a ciggie as she works on someone or sweetgrass or cedar, and if she doesn't smudge before, she'd do so after, not having a strict ritual, other than praying immediately for the person, taking the ciggie during, since otherwise the prayer isn't "as good". She has great respect for it being what carries the prayers to the Creator.

Jackie next describing how she doctor's people. It ranges from hands on, to listening. She's now quite popular to ask a variety of topics. Jackie's experiences, Sun Dance, and people bringing ciggies for prayer help her most. Her g/parents are the 1st to instill the power of prayer into her.

Jackie gives credit to her ability to help people heal themselves, all from the Creator's power. Whilst sometime's she uses reflexology, it's mostly about the prayers, asking "the medicine father" to put his hands on the person to heal them physically, and spiritually. She also doesn't keep track of "success", and hasn't heard anyone's health decline after, since her goal's to provide relief from pain, and for the time according to the patient, it'd worked. As for payment, medicine women don't believe in it, human suffering needing interception, and if a gift is given, is offered to the Creator, then given to someone, sometimes a g/child.

Jackie never asks for cash, this not a part of what's taught, the Indian ways to accept what the patient feels is fair, and could be blankets, money, prayer or sometimes isn't paid at all, which's fine, since it's not why she does it. Due to faith playing a large part in every person the to interviewed, Jackie goes into fath being needed to get the desired results, but it must come from both doc and patient. For example, people who come to stop drinking, whilst the doc has the medicine, the person must believe they're being healed, instead of mind over matter, it being about having both prayer and faith, 1 not working without the other. It can also work like if a healthy person believes they're dying, they sometimes fulfill their self prophecy.

If the Creator allows it, a medicine person can live to great elderly age, and when her power dwindles, she'll remove herself from public life, the time before passing regularly being isolated. GLwW provides her ideas on her own path, since doing some house ceremonies, and recreating her altar, and is even more powerful, which's intimidating, but she's developed her ideas and to focus on the individual woman when it comes to the hard decisions for handling spousal abuse and abortions. A song including all 4 colors of humanity, spider, and eagle being mentioned, and all are called a friend to hear upon the singer. The songs further analyzed, the rocks mentioned being the spirits called the 4 directions of each color's power, Mother Earth's helper, Iktomi, and spotted eagle to help speak with Father Sky.

So again, whilst everyone is taught the ritual the same way as their elders, the ritual varies in steps according to the individual and who is conducting the ritual. 1st the healer must agree to do the ceremony, they able to decline after their smoke, since this is the period to think it over, but if accepted, would either be held inside the home of the ill or in the sweat bath, which the healer would do either way to purify herself. Kenneth Young Bear adds on how fish and bread is provided along with food for the people, these 2 items reserved for eagles and bears. The containers were porcelain and served with wooden or buffalo-horn spoon, not metal, the g/fathers disliking it.

G/moth. Iron Woman told this to them. After the sweat, they go inside, moving the furniture out for room, covering mirrors and pics, anything reflecting light removed, eyeglasses, and rings included, since spirits are of light, so may not come to the ceremony. During this time, everyone is light humored, the time to be serious coming up. The holy woman prepares at her altar, sitting or laying down with the person who requested the ceremony sitting facing the holy woman, the believers along the walls.

There're also varying items attached to a staff or a couple more staffs and hang colors of earth and sky being used as well as whichever spirit or spirits being called requested. When crosstalk dies, a doorman keeps watch until the central ceremony's complete. Live coals from the sweat being brought, the holy woman putting sage, cedar or sweetgrass to it, smudging the patient, and after the holy w also doing so and cleansing the ritual equipment used and make contact easier "with the sacred". Tools brought are decided by dream and whilst a piece of sage may be given out to those sitting, the jewelry is taken off so to make it easier for spirits to approach them, as well.

More detail is given, but like the above, skipping specifics, the singers learn certain songs, and with drum, sometimes a rattle will be heard from the spirits or holy woman. The songs are simple, but deep with philosophical meaning. At the end of the "spirit-calling or prayer", spirits'll be seen usually as "blue sparks", hear the altar, this when the patient as the holy woman directly speaks to the spirits. Some holy people'll give others the chance to add prayers which ends with all creation, since ending each prayer with "all my relations".

Then, the curing song is sung, which after should have the blue sparks dancing wildly over the room. After which is sometime performed, the kettle song. After the holy woman gathers the cord, which she'd been tied with by helpers, even the quilts which're sometimes draped on someone the spirits name, "doubter". This occurs when a spirit folds a quilt in the lap of, or put 1 over the head of a nonbeliever, a joke in good humor.

GLwW admits to weeping when the spirits arrive, not in sadness, but due to their presence, she then determining their suggestions and views of the patient, she adding any advice ranging from 1 to all 3 of spiritual aid, life changes, and or herbal remedy. The final song is of reverential thanks and the allowance to exit. After the song completes, the lights are switched, and the pipe passed around in the same direction's prayers, the kids merely putting the pipe to their lips and saying "Mitakuye Oyasin (All of creation are my relatives)". After water's passed around the same way, again ending with the same Lakota words, and when both are given to the holy woman again, the ceremony's done.

The whole process being up to 2 hrs, the altar next aken down, the holy woman then sampling the Thanksgiving foods by placing them in a horned or small spoon, go outdoors, and offer to the grandfathers in the 4 directions, then Wakan Tonka, and Mother Earth. Once she places the food on the ground, the rest is handed out by the "sponsor" and their fam, as well as enough leftovers for all to take home for loved ones and good health. So, the holy woman serves 4 roles, leading the rituals, put herself spiritually at risk, gone into a trance-like experience, and healed or spoke to the sacred. Through this, the holy woman desires to aid the spiritual equilibrium and becoming in synch.

With these methods, Indian doctors've cured all types of illnesses from cancer to mental illness. The educated Jesuits missionaries couldn't understand or explain how it occurred other than excusing it as satanic. Lucy (Black Elk) Looks Twice tells of when her father in 1904 goes to doctor a boy, since they heard he's talented, so Nick Black Elk walks over to their house with his medicine tools for the ceremony. Nick locates the ill boy in a tent outside, so starts to set up the "tobacco offerings in the sacred place", then beats his drum, and as he's in the middle of this a priest comes in readying to five the boy his last rites, takes everything Nick'd prepared on the ground and stuck it in the stove, then grabs him by the neck and says for Satan to get out.

The next stories're from late 1840s to 1870s, the women speaking their tribal languages. 1st, and during the days when Plains Indians are free. They see the transitional fight into confinement, as well. These women witnessed kids and g/kids being sent to the boarding and mission schools, and each Indian'd get visited by multiple denominated faiths, so tribal unity begun to vanish.

Many of these women joined 1 of the faiths, excelled at the gardening and seamstress work, whilst also seeing the 1st railroads, cars, electric lights, phones, planes, and radio. They also saw WWI take the grandsons, and some of the women seeing WWII start taking their boys again. So, whilst they are members of Christian church, they are 1st Keepers and "practitioners of their tribal religions. They all involved in their communities in multiple roles, they all known for compassion and loving ma's and g/ma's "pragmatic survivors", wise, insightful, and knew how to adapt.

What comes up hasn't been found anywhere else, it should containing a waking up for anyone with the talents ignored by society, which bars people from realizing their dreams. Fully accepting their true humanity, and these women not being stereotyped, but living within certain constraints. Each "spiritual accomplishment (manifested as miracles)", and a look into their everyday lives is mentioned with heartfelt, "respect", and also serving "as an oral way of preserving historical testimony about the power of the Creator and these Indian ways." The oral history's nowhere near finished, and the following women were discovered with "relatively few interviews".

The authors wish for the following to encourage discussion in "Indian households", and discover more unsurfaced "legacy", these fam's and communities, and native women more enriched for it. Blue Earring Woman - born 1st half of the 19th century, a member of the west end of the Cheyenne River Reservation, and a powerful medicine woman who cured the ill. Her g/g/daughter, Arlene (Mesteth) Marshall tell the authors of hearing stories about Blue Earring, who died before Arlene'd been born. BE used to use birds to doc, but also used her powers to "entertain people".

BE'd unwrap her bird skins, and call to each to sing the song they had during life, and since she could call her spirit helpers 24 hrs, she'd call them during the day, to "show her powers" to help entertain and bolster everyone's spirits. Arlene refers the 2 authors to her bro, almost 60, Orville Mesteth, he having more info on his g/g/moth from his g/ma, BE's daughter who had a friend called Mrs Crow, much older, but'd known her into his mid-teens. His g/ma and she chatted of BE alot, which caught Orville's fancy, since now in h.s. and history and oral tradition were fascinating to him. Mrs Crow isn't a close relative of Orville's, but she's related to them through the Landry's and's close buddies to his g/ma.

1 time Mrs Crow tells of when Orville's g/ma at the age of 14, had to care for BE as she died of smallpox, since everyone was scared of catching it. BE had strong influence on the weather, the people in her camp never scared of storms since BE could turn them by going out into the storm, "pray", cry, and point her pipe, the storm changing its course. She had this power due to the help of her 4 small water spirits aid. When she knew she was dying, she instructed Orvill's g/ma to gather water from Cherry Creek, so with wooden bowl, she does as asked.

BE coughs out a limp fish, what looks like a little worm, a water bug, the kind which moves quickly, and a water spider, those which walk on top of water. Then she directs Orville's g/ma to return them to Cherry Creek, they where she gets her power, so she's to watch and report to BE what they do. The 3, except the fish move away, and when BE hears this, she states to her daughter she won't live long, but she wouldn't catch smallpox, since she's aiding her. In the 1930s, everyone was getting vaccinated, so when Orville's g/ma goes, she doesn't get the reaction to the skin which shows it worked, she was already immune, this proof coming years after her ma's death.

Orville observes how medicine men tell of coming to doctoring through their pop's or g/pa's, but for women it seemed the spirits choose at random. Orville recalls hearing a story where a man with a swollen head and black eye came to his g/g/ma for help, he not knowing how he'd ended up like this. Shortly before Wounded Knee, in 1889 is when this occurred, and as BE sings, she pulls a horse hair out of his eye. When she asks and he confirms he'd been beating his horses, she allows she'll ask the horse grandfathers for his forgiveness this time, but if he does it again, it'll be the last.

BE hears later he didn't listen, and is killed at Wounded Knee, this sticking with Orville, since his g-unc, Own His Saber also is killed there. BE'd use "humor laughter, to doc", using a buckskin doll, about a ft tall, having the doll follow after her, and when BE laughed, the doll'd laugh, and skip about, this making people laugh, and forget their illness, and to allow her medicine to do its job. She also had a number of dried bird skins, and during the day, she not needing a long process to doc, but able to do so in a snap, would sing a medicine song, and 1 of the birds would tweet along to the tune, and dance about, each bird having its turn, BE using this method to doctor and amuse, the birds singing healing songs. Another time, a young woman was having bad dreams or headaches, so BE did a ceremony, having the woman hold onto a bundle of quills tightly, since if 1 got loose, she'd be loose, as well.

The young woman makes it through without dropping any, and when hesitantly returning the bundle, BE sees the quills were finished, she stating the woman'd be a gifted quillworker. BE used the same bundle to next cure someone also present. Wanyeca Win: Lightning Bug Woman - BE's daughter is also a Pipe Carrier, and married an Englishman called Bridwell, who decided to ranch is SD on Cheyenne River Res. Madonna Swan relates of who she'd been ill with tuberculosis, and was about to go into the sanitarium, her pop seeing G/ma Bridwell walking from the store to their house.

G/ma Bridwell asks about the signs on their home, and he relates Madonna's TB, so because he hadn't made her go to the Sioux San before Xmas, they put the red tags on their home. This angers G/ma Bridwell, knowing Madonna's case isn't severe, so she goes and takes off the tags. In those days, people thought TB like VD or syphilis. G/ma Bridwell relates how she'd learnt from her ma, BE Woman of the diseases having no relation other than being white man's disease.

Dec 28, they leave early to catch the car for Madonna's appt, so take their time and stop at G/ma Bridwell's, who was already preparing her stove, she meeting them at her door and offerring them breakies. When she mentions Dupree Madonna begins to cry, her pop confessing her fear, G/ma Bridwell empathetic and giving her a hug, and when taking her to her smaller room in the back, allows Madonna to voice her fears, G/ma Bridwell reassuring her she'd get better and not be forced to leave her parents again, and she wasn't a disgrace for getting it, since many fams had to send members to San. After she leads Madonna back to the front where her pop and unc ate big breakies, but Madonna at little. When they ready to leave, G/ma Bridwell asks to tag, they accepting and when arriving to where they'd meet the hospital car, G/ma Bridwell does a prayer with pipe, since the car hadn't arrived, yet.

They all take from the pipe, and she prays to the grandfathers for the medicine and white doctors to help Madonna, and for her bravery, make sure the older patients teach her. When the car comes, Mr Lewis, the driver's happy to see as G/ma Bridwell's putting her pipe away, knowing what'd occurred for being Indian, he not mentioning it. They all wave Madonna goodbye, she attempting to smile as she staved her tears. Wanyeca Win, Lightning Bug Woman is much liked by all, and she was killed in a car wreck before she could visit Madonna in San, but she'll always remember her.

Martha Bad Warrior, aka Red Eagle Woman's born 1854 to Red Hair, aka Old Man Elk Head, who's 8th Keeper of the Sacred Calf Pipe Bundle. Once he'd died in 1916, Martha, his daughter claims he'd named next to keep the Bundle safe. She does this, and in the 1930s, a dust bowl engulfs the land of the Lakota long enough for the Itazipco elders ask for her to pray for the end of the draught. Sidney Keith, a Sun Dance leader, Lakota philosopher, and educator, 74 recalls when he was a boy and his time with Martha's fam and herself.

Sidney remembers going to visit with them, Mrs Bad Warrior smudging every morning at the big house, then sings an honor song. 1x she'd sung an honoring song for Signey, using his name Little Chief, his pop related to them, and he trying to stay there often. Mrs Bad Warrior was compassionate and nice, like Sidney's g/ma. When he'd get a "weekend pass" home from boarding school, he usually opted to stay with her.

Sidney notes how people don't treat Mrs Bad Warrior differently, only making certain to bring gifts for the pipe, which she's always grateful, like tobacco or ties, she saying this's what the Pipe lived off of, being special gifts to be consumed. So when they supply these items, she's ecstatic, her fam giving stuff away in honor of Mrs Bad Warrior, as well, a constant. Hides hung all over her house, some tanned, and some unfinished, always making moccs, which's difficult job. When people visited her, she'd gift them a hide or moccs, she hugging and crying with people coming from great distances.

Mrs Bad Warrior stayed close to the Calf Pipe, staying in a small tent with her g/son Oscar, and he as well. The 2'd chat of work, being the same age, as Martha'd constantly be doing something from picking garlic, cleaning the chx, or scraping hide. During this time she was 78, 79, she dying in her 80s. Martha serviced the Pipe, smudging and praying, singing when the sun rose, the enclosure to the Pipe remaining unlocked, since no 1 dared go to it at night for how sacred it is.

Since Martha's the 1st woman keeper of the Pipe, she knows to have the basic agreement with White Buffalo Calf Maiden to respect the Pipe, and she'd aid them. After many plants, animals, and people die due to the dust bowl, Sidney goes as a teen with his parents to witness Martha's prayers. Sidney recalls he'd been 11 or 12, since he remembers it'd been around the time his g/pa'd given him the pipe to smoke, saying he was a man, now he's 12. Sometime his pop'd stop over their for dinner and 1 night Sidney's ma informs his pop they'd be going to Green Grass to see Martha open the Pipe to pray.

They give 20 days notice for anyone who wished to see, no 1 from the south coming, Oglala or Sicangu, but most from the North, Mandan and Dakotas. Sidney asks a young man if he'd lead the horse dragging the travois with the Sacred Pipe Bundle, he agreeing and walking the 30 miles in 1 go. They also had many giveaways, including horses. As Sidney watched from a distance, he could see people camping in a large circle.

When Sidney's parents joined him, he brings their horses to a pasture, and as he's viewing the camp from the hills, he sees a sweat lodge just below him. When the sun's setting, the announcer tells of a sweat starting, Sidney sitting and listening to the meeting near a frame building, then going to bed. Next morning he eats soup, then goes to his horse, and after walking him to water, and returning him, the announcer comes by and tells when and where Martha expected them, there also being a giveaway and feast. When Sidney goes to see Martha sitting with the Pipe, he could sense it wasn't the real Pipe, he not knowing why she hadn't shown it.

Sidney had seen the Sacred Calf Pipe at Bad Warrior's, he could tell it wasn't the same, so Martha had good reason to keep it hidden. After this, they have a giveaway and feast, then a dance, and Martha, Lucy, Suzy, and Hapola giveaway all their handmade hides and moccs in the house. After this, they say a powwow would start at Looking Horse's, Sidney sitting on his horse on the hill, watching and seeing it actually was a Rabbit Dance and Honor Dance, people giving speeches, and then having a sweat, Sidney getting tired by this point, since now being 10 or 11pm. What's strange is when they heard coyotes, due to they being trapped or dying out, this stopping the dance, and everything becoming quiet, and everyone returning to camp.

Next morning he's woken by his pop who tells him to prepare the horses for their return trip. Sidney's ma visits Lucy Looking Horse's house where Sidney had come for the house key, he seeing her sitting on the floor, what with Lucy having given away everything, this being usual when someone passes, they knowing it all returns at some point. After Sidney's parents meet him back home, they fry up some large catfish, and shared with the neighbors, also having fresh corn, and everyone chatting of the experience, describing it as a miracle, it merely the way they speak, since after this it's sunny, and the wind died. Martha cries happily, singing and praying to the Sacred Maiden, and thanking her for the Pipe.

The strain of remaining seated outdoors, is said to have led to Martha's death about 3 months later. Martha's eldest, Ehli Bad Warrior next cared for the Bundle despite having limited knowledge, and so the ceremonies weren't done by him during his keeping time between '36-'59, then his sis Lucy Looking Horse is given the Pope Bundle duties, born 1891. Lucy Looking Horse - despite Ehli having his term as Keeper, Lucy is actually the 1 to perform the daily ritual, so upon his death, she continues to keep up this obligation, and moved the Bundle to where she and her hubby lived in Green Grass from near Bear Creek. Sidney recalls his moments with Lucy always caring for her ma, Martha, who on top of caring for the Pipe Bundle, also felt the gardening was her job, so Lucy made sure she was taking proper care of herself by resting and keeping her in clean clothes.

Lucy learns everything about the Pipe duties from Martha, so everyone treated her like they would anyone they respected, and with her for knowing how well she cared for the Pipe, and had an exorbitant amount of knowledge of the "sacred ways", so most people could walk away with an informed answer, people providing hides or tobacco ties etc, to help her, and she in turn'd gift these items back out or in maintaining the Pipe. People would visit her to socialize, not necessarily to pray, and she also doesn't make it possible to treat her like a sacred woman, for joking around with everyone, and the kids, she telling Sidney he rode hunched, like a woman, to make them laugh. Lucy decides to skip her son Stanley, and gives the Bundle duties to her 8 yr old g/son, Orval, and is to-present. Brave Eagle Woman - is regarded through spiritual experiences not exclusive to holy women, some occurring to the normal type who pray to the Great Mystery.

Julia Brave Eagle, as she's referred later, was born 1860, married to High Pine, later as Thomas a couple weeks before the Custer Battle on Little Big Horn River 1876. Julia Brave Eagle lived to be 83, and next Lucy Swan tells the next excerpt, she passing in '83, and this telling of using the pipe, and solemn prayer to turn a storm, and how the sacred can be appealed to manipulate weather. A man rides up to Julia Brave Eagle's house to warn of a tornado coming directly at her, and she should get out now, since it's currently killing the animals and tearing through other houses. She states she'd stay, then returns indoors, and brings her pipe outside.

The storm is nearly there, the wind whipping, and dust browning the air. She points her pipe stemp at the storm, and prays to the Grandfathers and 4 directions, to listen. She asks the G/fathers to keep her house safe, stating she's praying to them. As she continues this, the 2 divides to either side of her home, but nearby, she also remaining well.

Isabel Ten Fingers - born 1906, Oglala Lakota, and her daughter, Valentina Janis states her mom'd been born the same day's the San Fran earthquake, and gave her the Indian name of Rising Wind. She got schooling up to 8th grade, since it doesn't require to be sent very far. Valentina shares of her ma knowing Indian medicine through her pop, he an old man, but close to both parents. She learned of plants and the sacred songs, and when they're used.

When Isabel was little, she had dreams of a man in black taking her, and when she's baptized, they stop. She goes on to care for her pop until he passes at 72. When Isabel's young, she'd gotten her future told and learned to see the birth of her 1st g/g/child, which she does. She doctors up until menopause, mostly extended fam having herbal remedies for ailments, and she used to say to Valentina when whites found Jesus, he gave the Indian the Pipe.

When Valentina's g/g/ma, Mary Pretty Face died, her mom Isabel heard voices come, and when they'd gone away, her g/ma was passed. She could comprehend spirit voices, and only used it for good, like using a lizard for arthritis, it walking on the person's legs. Isabel was a good horse rider, able to follow the dog's at night when they trapped rabbits or whatever in trees. She 1st marries Valentina's pop, George White Magpie, and after he'd passed, she meets and marries Charley Kills Enemy.

After Isabel moves to the res he lived at, on Rosebud, the 2 learning from each other, and having Eagle and Spider spirit helpers, on top of her own, Charles gaining his power from her, teaching her knowledge. 1x Valentina sees her ma doctor a woman with diabetes, who said docs diagnosed she'd lose her legs, so they have a ceremony, and she could walk. She also doctored a boy named Lebeuff, who can't speak, but soon did after Isabel's ceremony. Isabel is quiet and prayed a lot, also an Episcopalian, and when Charles goes to Catholic church.

Isabel takes extra care of her pipe, and blessing the tobacco ties she makes, even taking it to Green Grass to place it by the Sacred Calf Pipe Bundle. Valentina'd been sure she'd lose a little dog she had whilst living with Isabel, it'd been wounded by a gun and it'd been split open, Isabel taking the dog into her room, and a wk after, the dog's fine. Isabel and Charley'd travel a lot, doctoring in Cali, Valentina living in Kansas this this time, and she'd heard they were having marriage issues. When Valentina moves to Wanblee to be with her ma, she notices Isabel's acting absent-minded, she suspecting Charley's "casting spells on her" ma.

Valentina's home when she'd learned her ma'd gone missing, and was most likely dead, they locating her body later after having services for her. She'd wandered into the Badlands to either die or'd gotten lost, for having become senile toward the end. There's another woman who also doctor'd in the same generation as Isabel in around Pine Ridge, she conducting Lowanpi ceremonies which'd attract little deer to walk about her altar. Millie (Seven Rabbit) Lays Hard - An Oglala from Kyle, born in the early 1860s, and passed in 1938.

Millie uses the Yuwipi ceremony, meaning to doctor with stones, or more accurately, to tie 1 up multiple times, which would require the medicine person to be bound with buckskin cord. Tied fingers, wrists, knees, ankles, wrapped in many cloths and lights off. It's considered the highest path for a medicine person, and to do it during the day's the peak of capability of power. To display it, the holy person's next unraveled by her spirit helpers, and sometimes happens immediately.

More description of what can occur during these types of ceremonies is given, including the way spirits show themselves, by bird helper's wings, hearing the wind, or hooves from a deer helper. Stella Janis, almost 65'd spent much time with her g/moth, and shares with the authors by chatting with Tilda 1st in Lakota, and explaining how they'd been doing their interviews. So, in Stella's home in Kyle on Pine Ridge Res, with coffee she shares of her pop's ma, Millie Seven Rabbit, who married Frank Lays Hard. Millie died in about 1938 at 78 or 9, and Stella's around 10. Millie has 3 bros, and she'd tell Stella frequently of the power she had being God's.

It's how Millie did "things". Stella recalls how Millie'd collect herbal medicine keeping Bull Durham and placing it about the plants she's harvesting. She doesn't recollect she ever using the sweat lodge they had. She does remember her g/pa always being kind to her, being the only g/daughter, but gave the boys a rough time.

Stella also remembers their fam being close with Tilda's g/pa, Little Warrior, she visiting with her g/parents. Tilda's g/pa'd have a powwow and they'd sing Indian songs and dance nearly all night. Eating fry bread, and drinking tea and coffee at midnight. Stella also recalls when Millie could sense she'd die soon, so's trying to finish a vest for a close friend in Wakpala (Standing Rock Res), and wanted to take them to him so Johnny Ferguson hired to help her get there.

During the trip it rains hard, and despite attempting to keep Millie dry, everyone and herself gets drenched, this giving her a fever, and not being able to get medical attn at the closest hospital due to being Indian, this being the 1950s and discrimination also prevalent to Indians. When they get her to another Indian hospital, she's diagnosed with gallstones, and requested her ma and pop and putting on her burial clothes. July '38, the wake in a tipi, many people coming to pay respects, the fam having a cow butchered for the turn out, as well as kidney, liver, and tripe for the older crowd. Another G/daughter, Delia a Two Crow shares of being small when Millie comes to people's aid day or night.

These days 1 got around by wagon and team or horse, so if she needed certain herbs she'd send the kids out to go collect with a lantern, and they'd know they found the right 1 when they hear an owl hoot. Millie had Owl medicine and ghost helpers, she known to Wanagi Wapiye' (doctors with ghosts and spirits), she wrapped completely, and an owl making noises all about the house as she starts her ceremony. Delia's g/ma'd only ask for Bull Durham, but people paid whatever they wished, she doing the ceremonies during the day, so covering the windows. Millie's active at the kids school, being a teacher's aide, and valuing children's educations.

Maza Win: Iron Woman - Mark's taught by Kenneth Young Bear in traditional Sioux religion and ceremony, the 2 1st meeting in '72 and for 4 yrs Mark studied and fasted, much time spent with Kenneth and his fam. Mark learns the rituals and songs to doctor, and so in a way has also been directly driven by Kenneth's g/moth, Iron Woman. Mark lived on the Cheyenne River Res with him and chatted all hrs, Kenneth stressing the importance of the creation stories, analyzing them by part, and the deeper meanings. Kenneth'd also share at proper time of yr the sweat bath ceremony, and specifying each step of the ceremony and meaning for them.

Many others've also fasted under a learned from this man, considering fellow students a sibling in their fam. Kenneth'd remind them his lessons are from his g/moth, and'd share personal spiritual memories with her "barrel-shaped, forceful woman". Kenneth died in '83, so his wife, Darlene Knife, Howojou a sub-band of Minnecojou Lakota from Cheyenne River Res. shares what she recollects, she over 50, and has studied for yrs to become a lay Catholic minister to weave the beliefs to connect with the children. Iron Woman is Assiniboine, people thinking she's Hidatsa for growing up in Fort Berthold.

Kenneth's born '37, Darlene recollects Kenneth telling of Iron Woman being 4 ft something, and he'd lived with her since he'd been 10. 1x she'd doctored him, being blind for a time, Iron Woman learning from him where he was in pain, she the closest doctor they had near them, curing him of his blindness, Kenneth having the mumps. Darlene tells what Kenneth'd told her about when Iron Woman'd gotten her medicine. Iron Woman's ma'd died during the night whilst sleeping, and when they'd put her body in a wagon box (casket) Iron Woman'd laid beside her, being a 12 yr old, and states of her ma's spirit telling her she'd help her and instruct her on what to do.

After Iron Woman'd gone through menopause, she'd learned how to walk between the physical and spirit world. She'd use her medicine on Indian cowboys who'd break a bone, it setting without a cast, and they'd go right back to riding. IW's strict with how she lived according to Kenneth, which's how she'd become more powerful. Kenneth shares a story with Mark about an experience he'd shared whilst living with IW when he was 10 or 12.

IW used bird spirits and dried skins in her medicine bundle, able to make each bird sing like while alive. At the time Kenneth doesn't make much of it, since he's a boy, and it's his g/ma. Many whites by this point had cars, but Indians had very few. So, still getting around with wagon and horse team, a man comes to ask for IW's help 1 day, scared his neighbors wife had lost her mind and attempted to murder her hubby with a knife, wrecking the house and not letting anyone inside.

This man was afraid for the woman and her kids, so quickly enough, IW had her medicine bundle, Kenneth going with her, since no one could stay to watch him. After Kenneth'd hitched the horses, they see the man outside his home bleeding with his kids crying, as the woman's inside still smashing things and screaming through the already broken, small windows. Kenneth's scared, so stays with his g/ma, since he doesn't want to be far from her, not remembering if she did something before approaching the house. Standing behind her, he could see through the door all the destruction the woman'd made, including the furniture, clothes, and when the woman sees IW, who prays in Assiniboine, asking for help, and then extends her hand palm upward, out to the woman with the knife raised in her hand.

The woman falls in a faint, and when IW requests Kenneth fetch her medicine bundle and to have the hubby come in, he could hear birds coming from inside the house. In these days people still cured in the day. What IW does seems to succeed, since after the woman rests for awhile, she goes back to normal, and it doesn't occur again. His unc Victor learns their ways from IW, he learning from his unc his own teaching style, which's why he carries his g/ma's medicine necklace in his bundle, and to remember her more frequently. The authors also speak with Kenneth's sisters, who give a closer look at res life for IW's fam in the 30s and 40s.

Vivian, she 2nd oldest to Kenneth, who is 1st, tells when each of the 4 sibs were born, Cissy in '40. IW only had 1 name as far as Vivian knew, unlike today when a gov't name is also given. IW's also a midwife, and spoke Arikara, Dakota, Hidatsa, Mandan, and Assiniboine. She speaks Hidatsa at home to them, and as far as Vivian knows, had her power since birth.

IW's "stern, but loved to laugh. 1 of IW's 10 kids, 3 of which died prematurely, Victor teaches Kenneth IW's ways. Vivian thinks IW came from a Canada Assiniboine tribe and was born state-side, helping many people with herbs and her animal helpers, in day or night, also aiding animals. Some men were cutting horses and attempted to do so with a colt from its ma, not able to catch the scared animal, and its hooves coming off, IW praying over hooves and animal when brought to her, she putting something on the hooves and binding the right to the right and the left with the left with cloth. It heals, just like when she'd aid a pet coyote and people's ill dogs.

Vivian believes IW normally prayed in Sioux/Assiniboine, and doctored pneumonia, measles, etc. When she's much older, people'd go to her to be cured, her power well-respected, Vivian not remembering a case IW couldn't help. Sometime she's paid and sometime people had nothing to give, but this is in horse and buggy days. She had many horses and sheep which people'd pay with and she'd give to her kids and g/kids.

IW prays with her pipe daily, but also said her rosary every night, so Vivian thinks she's also Catholic. IW also keeps a garden the size of up to 4 or 5 city blocks of corn, beans, and squash, she manicuring so often, there'd not be any weeds. She also shares the extent of how she stored food, and making a contest of braiding corn husk, the winner getting clothes, blankets, or clothes. When people came by from all over for food, she'd use her 3 stores of food from her huge garden to feed people.

Vivian recollects IW liked her ma, since they all lived together, Vivian learning how to preserve fruit from watching and participating with IW. Whenever the kids got sick, IW had all the dried herbs needed from making teas, so they didn't see a white doc. Fall is the time to tell stories of ancestors, Vivian sharing this in Oct, and she saying how IW'd have the sweat be her hospital, babies as well as adult-aged patients going there. Mrs. Blue Hair - from Cherry Creek on Cheyenne River Reservation, and had a son who followed the same path, called Robert Blue Hair, and has been a practicing herbalist since early '70s when Mark 1st lived on a res.

So, Mark'd heard her name from Lucy and Madonna Swan, also from Cherry Creek. Mrs. Blue Hair's style was in the 3rd category of doctoring, more spontaneous, had physical medicine to apply internally, and minimum ritual, which's mentioned for medicine women, but not modern medicine men. The "spontaneous doctoring" is similar to an old practice used by bear doctors, and Mrs. Blue Hair's a Bear Dreamer. Darlene shares the next story, she born 1918, and knew Mrs. BH closely.

Mrs. BH'd doctored Darlene's g/g/moth, hearing it from her g/moth (g/aunt), Louise Montley. Darlene's g/g/moth's Indian name's Elk-Face Woman, and Louise was her daughter, and Darlene's dad's sis. She'd most likely been given a white 1st name, but she didn't use it, enrolled as Elk-Face Woman. 1x, Elk-Face Woman's knee became swollen, Mrs. BH seeing and deciding to doctor her, using water in a basin and mixing medicine.

Mrs. BH informs her daughter-in-law'd been bewitched with ants or insects by someone, naming them, and giving her the buffalo fat salve to put on her swollen knee after putting some on and praying over it. By the next day it was going down. Chauncey Dupris, 75, a Sun Dance Leader, holy man, and herbalist shares his memories of Mrs. BH, despite his failing health. Chauncey's born in 1918, and knew BH, but not learning from her, his own g/ma Sophie In The Woods teaching him at 12 or 13.

Sophie was a Bear Dreamer like her pop, and told Chauncey at 1 point of she not having long left, so giving him a pipe and teaching him many things, she telling him he'd have to work and learn the good and bad in everything, which he feels he had, and keep going, she dying soon after. Chauncey believes her 1st name's Marsha, and doctored anything. He doesn't think she ever used the sweat lodge, and didn't leave home to host ceremonies. Chauncey admits people worry too much of money, since if someone comes for help, you help, there's no retiring until "returning to Mother Earth."

Chauncey passes away months after providing his interview from cancer in his spine. Mrs. Thin Elk - a part of the group of healers in the "sucking" or "psychic surgery". She was Sicangu Lakota, and known as Holy Horse Road Woman, her g/son Ted Thin Elk, now an elder in his 70s. He admits most of her work's on the "women's side", which he doesn't hear much of, knowing her only as g/ma, due to his young age at the time.

Lucy Swan next details her experiences with a ceremony from Mrs. Thin Elk in late summer 1910. Lucy explains why she couldn't go to school being due to dying suffering from catalepsy, and referring to it in the Lakota idiom, temporary dying. Lucy truly wished to go to school by the time she's 10, so tells her ma, who speak with her pop. During the summer, she's playing in the creek with her sister and others, and hears her pop calling, so races the others back, being youngest, and fastest, but then she stops dead.

Lucy's sis, Mary explains what happened to her later, their pop asking Lucy's older bro to call for Mrs. Thin Elk, their dad's sis-in-law. Lucy and the others are a bit scared , due to how powerful she was, their parents encouraging how good an old woman she was, but the kids enjoying making witch stories about her, and running from her. Mrs. Thin Elk arrives fast, they laying Lucy on muslin in a tipi. Only adults're inside, so Mary peeps thru the tipi, seeing Mrs. Thin Elk instruct their pop to sing and fill his pipe, after positioned to stand above Lucy and point the pipe at her.

Mrs. Thin Elk takes out a buffalo horn and sage bundle, placing it atop it. She then prays and brushes Lucy's head and neck, then body with the sage. After, Mrs. Thin Elk stands and sings to the East, as she did her chest making a noise like a bird singing. She'd then pick up gray dust and blew it, turning yellow.

Mrs. Thin Elk sings South, with the bird noise in her chest, picks up earth and blows it turning black, then sings West, and blows dust, it turning red. Lastly, North the bird noise comes from nowhere, and gray dust comes out white. Showing the different colors represents her powers strength. Whilst Mary admits to being afraid, she's too impressed, she watching as Mrs.

Thin Elk turns Lucy on her side, making a loud buffalo noise, placing the horn on her neck, and sucking. Lucy's ma provides the requested white buckskin, and she upends the blood clot out of the horn onto it. Mrs. Thin Elk expresses this'd been the issue and for her pop to get a frog, Mary getting sent, she quickly returning with 1, and seeing Mrs. Thin Elk wrap the clot with the frog, and have her pop place it on a high hill, they then smoking their pop's pipe. When Lucy woke, her pop gives Mrs. Thin Elk a horse, and her ma gives her a pretty shawl, with embroidered flowers, this their way of payment for her help, which she feels is more than plenty since Lucy's her g/daughter, Mrs. Thin Elk married to her pop's bro.

Lucille Kill Enemy - is Sidney Keith's g-aunt, he Madonna's bro-in-law, and he sharing memories of Lucille. Sidney relates of Lucille being the only medicine person to have a ceremony, rather than only giving the bundle of herbs needed to heal whatever ailment. Lucille lived in Kyle, and she had 1 little deer spirit which Sidney sees run around during ceremonies. Madonna Swan provides another of her last memories before passing.

When they'd gone to Lucille to be doctored, she'd instructed a young man to fast on a hill for a vision, and warned them all who were staying at her house to be careful to cover their heads if going outdoors, due to all the ghosts roaming about caused by the fasting. The young man takes the prime amount of time of 4 days. This impressed both authors for not having known before res days a man would seek out a female to teach him the holy ways. Mel Lone Hill, was a patient of Lucille's in the early 50s, and knew her as an elder when both his g/parents and parents visited, and respected.

Sidney doesn't recollect when she'd doctored him, but remembers when they'd visit her, and vice versa. Sidney had pneumonia 4 yrs consecutively, and the last 1 killed him, so she had to get him from the spirit world, she in her mid 80s at the time, and dying close to 90 in the early 1960s. Lucille was a full Lowanpi priest, which is the ability to travel to the spirit world, a classic shamanistic function. Noting how Lucille's hubby, Frank protected her privacy, and she having her own room, impressed both authors, since this is a male spiritual persons ways, as well.

So, these past women shamans seem to go against how women who attain the sacred life for Lakota experts to believe possible, but these women were supported to listen to their dreams for the good of the community. Wanye' Waste' Win is quoted saying she'd been told by an interpreter, if she prays from the heart, all the past pipes would back her, as long as she's praying from purity. The authors spent 2 yrs researching an often disregarded topic, and font of wisdom. They in some part feel their path was protected by Wakan Tanka, so half the human race could step further out of "spiritual inferiority", and so making the authors success, easier.

So, at the least, in these "tribal cultures", women don't have to give anything up to become closer to spiritual power, and respect socially. The 2 authors are continually checked by how normal the holy women were. Male bias has impacted women's roles in sacred life by overlooking or cutting short women's roles altogether. Joseph Epes Brown is quoted and has lived among the Lakota Sioux for many yrs saying, the rites of the vision quest is done for all men and women of the Plains peoples after puberty and onward through life.

The authors note how Native American Literature has a patriarchal bias at a level where now men and women do see a "proper place and abilities of native women have changed, limiting" potential, in aiding the sacred way with their people. These effects "seriously distorted the actual relationships between men and women in Indian life". During some interviews, they'd receive the answer of not ever hearing about holy women, this man a Lakota Pipe Carrier. After, it's detailed how difficult the new constraints for an Indian man to make a living served only quite few.

Holy men were targeted and jailed or put in mental hospitals, 1 such place in SD burying the "irreconcilable" political prisoner patients under the hospital, now golf course, where a plaque was recently put up to regard their history of refusing to send their kids to boarding schools or giving up the traditional ways. The Sun Dance 1 of the forbidden rituals, ofc, and their were more jobs for Indian women to hold in the early 20th century. In 1913, War Dancing and the giveaway tradition was extremely restricted if not outright outlawed. Then ofc comes the demonizing of anything Indian and making everything white put on a pedestal to be strived.

From the 1880s to the 1930s were kids displaced and separated from fams, taking away the protection felt from extended fam. At 1 point, 47 separate Xtian denom schools were present in Pine Ridge Res. Why Lakota no longer play or remember the songs accompanying stick game caused by WWII and the drinking problems developed by many, the games stopped being held due to the atmosphere given by these now alcoholic men making it easier to stop doing them altogether. The 20th century brought the loss of respect for tradition as well as physical abuse of women.

Ted Thin Elk, a Sicangu Lakota, and frontrunner of the Native American alcoholic treatment movement shares of not recollecting abuse of spouse being prevalent. In the 30s when he was a kid, he remembers a wife beater, who no one in the community respected, so wouldn't be on committees or a part of the community. Now, men got used to drinking, they became used to the idea of it being their right to beat their wives, but this wasn't upheld in the past. Ted was 1 of the 1st students to graduate a 4 yr program at U of SD for training alcoholic counselors, and also played the medicine man in Thunderheart.

Oddly, the 1930s were recollected dearly to older Lakota due to jobs actually being available, whilst low wage, and strenuous work. Due to work for women still outnumbering the amount for Indian men has them seeing this as a "loss of power" in contributing as a fam member, and how masculine roles are effected on how seeing themselves and women living with them. Ofc then the kids being raised in alcoholic fams are conditioned into the wrong behaviors being wanted and repeated. Mary Crow Dog adds, how men'll get drunk and beat their wives from frustration, understandably, but she felt sorrier for their wives.

Female inferiority did it's job of infiltrating the native believe in women's powers. There's another Indian quote where it states of the white man coming with the Bible, he has it all, and all the Indian has is the Bible. The N.A. has their oral Bible, which includes the variety and necessary regards to women and kids, plants and animals, but 19th century writing of native women paint them as whores, slaves, and invisible, this book stating how it's only just started to change. Mitchell Zephier next comments on the negative effects of the New Age genre's had on native ritual life.

The Sun Dance or Buffalo Calf ceremony are done for the peoples good, and even if only 1 young woman's going through it, all the people're witnesses, and "absorb the transmission of values from the elderly people". It reminds Mitchell how there's a right way to live and do things, so people who attach to New Age material're starved for truth, so sometimes don't judge what's being handed them, which then bred fantasy versions of their culture. So, due to the oral tradition being the usual way of handling these "distortions" they go unnoticed and unchallenged, Indian religious organizations not as thorough as colonizer religions to also have political and legal branches.

Pte San, the White Buffalo Maiden seems to get a hard miss in the literary level for some feminist writers, "No one has the corner on sacred truth". The politico-religious agenda is making the world lose Indian America's collective experience and wisdom in the name of Christ. It seems improbably a wealthy Ameri. hoping to find enlightenment out of boredom, and lack of fulfillment in a sexist materialistic society would be able to hold tight to values which won't heal their separation from the earth for technology. The authors note the belief there's something past finance and science was at the center of their teachers lessons.

Examples are listed by the excerpts of the women being unhindered by the sexist world of current days. GLwW shares how a spiritual journey's learned in parts, and when 1 part is complete, a new part is naturally presented. All the women interviewed voiced the hope this book'd reinforce women to follow their spiritual dreams and keep confident. Bernice Stone, an American Indian visionary is excerpted of how the beliefs and traditions are falling away, and it's important to recognize how men aren't being jailed for beating up women and the kids are effected and will show the signs as they mature.

So, the Sacred Shawl Women's Society, founded 1979 would be aiding to strengthen fam and end domestic violence. Wounye' Waste' Win gets final excerpt regarding to not compare 1's spiritual quest to someone else. Follow 1's inner quest voice to stay on track. The knowledge can come from any male or female source or from a feeling which accompanies a knowingness from within this a sign of getting closer to the sacred.

Even if it's not what others are doing or expecting, she details an experience where she'd been encouraged to continue since a man'd seen her doing her women's ceremony, and would be sending people to her. GLwW was overjoyed by this book's creation, since it'd help "nourish the People, help men and women see themselves in a better way." Women will be boosted to follow their paths for the people's good, the authors wishing the same.

It has helped me see the light, again; Which’s why even before finishing it, I’d been harassing dozens of people to read it. Read it. Or don’t, but it’s mad worth it.