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55-533: A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Sun Dance After European colonization of the Americas , and with the formation of the Canadian and United States governments, both countries passed laws intended to suppress Indigenous cultures and force assimilation to majority- Anglo-American culture. The Sun Dance was one of the prohibited ceremonies, as

110-469: A $ 60-million land-rights settlement in 2008. The Lakota are among tribal nations that have taken actions, participated in occupations, and proposed independence movements, particularly since the era of rising activism since the mid to late 20th century. They filed land claims against the federal government for what they defined as illegal taking of the Black Hills in the nineteenth century. In 1980,

165-665: A competition for resources, and also because some settlers had encroached on their lands. The Fort Laramie Treaty acknowledged Lakota sovereignty over the Great Plains in exchange for free passage for European Americans on the Oregon Trail for "as long as the river flows and the eagle flies". The U.S. government did not enforce the treaty restriction against unauthorized settlement, and Lakota and other bands attacked settlers and even emigrant trains as part of their resistance to this encroachment. Public pressure increased for

220-538: A sovereign nation with property rights over thousands of square miles in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana. The group stated that they do not act for or represent the tribal governments "set up by the BIA or those Lakota who support the BIA system of government". "The Lakota Freedom Delegation" did not include any elected leaders from any of the tribes. Means had previously run for president of

275-472: A total of 6,000 registered members. They are recognized as First Nations but are not considered "treaty Indians". As First Nations they receive rights and entitlements through the Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada department. But because they are not recognized as treaty Indians, they did not participate in the land settlement and natural resource revenues. The Dakota rejected

330-633: A withdrawal of the Lakota Sioux from all treaties with the United States government. These activists had no standing under any elected tribal government. Official Lakota tribal leaders issued public responses to the effect that, in the words of Rosebud Lakota tribal chairman Rodney Bordeaux, "We do not support what Means and his group are doing and they don't have any support from any tribal government I know of. They don't speak for us." Means declared "The Republic of Lakotah", defining it as

385-740: The American Civil War increasing illegal settlement by whites on the Plains resulted in war again with the Lakota. The Black Hills were considered sacred by the Lakota, and they objected to mining . Between 1866 and 1868 the U.S. Army fought the Lakota and their allies along the Bozeman Trail over U.S. forts built to protect miners traveling along the trail. Oglala Chief Red Cloud led his people to victory in Red Cloud's War . In 1868,

440-645: The Battle of the Little Bighorn at the Crow Indian Reservation (1868 boundaries). Custer attacked an encampment of several tribes, which was much larger than he realized. Their combined forces, led by Chief Crazy Horse , killed 258 soldiers, wiping out the entire Custer battalion and inflicting more than 50% casualties on the regiment. Although the Lakota beat Custer's army, the Lakota and their allies did not get to enjoy their victory over

495-875: The Black Hills (the Paha Sapa ), then the territory of the Cheyenne . Ten years later, the Oglála and Brulé also crossed the Missouri. Under pressure from the Lakota, the Cheyenne moved west to the Powder River country. The Lakota made the Black Hills their home. Initial United States contact with the Lakota during the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804–1806 was marked by a standoff. Lakota bands refused to allow

550-569: The Cheyenne River Reservation , one of the poorest communities in the United States . Unemployment , addiction , alcoholism , and suicide are all challenges for Lakota on the reservation. The name Lakota comes from the Lakota autonym, Lakota "feeling affection, friendly, united, allied". The early French historic documents did not distinguish a separate Teton division, instead grouping them with other "Sioux of

605-631: The Indian Act , dropping the prohibition against practices of flesh-wounding. The Sun Dance is living tradition practiced annually in many Native communities in Canada and the U.S. The Cree and Saulteaux have conducted at least one Rain Dance (with similar elements) each year since 1890 somewhere on the Canadian Plains. In 1993, responding to what they believed was a frequent desecration of

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660-406: The Indian Act . Anyone who engaged, assisted or encouraged (either directly or indirectly) was liable to imprisonment. Though not all nations ' Sun Dances include the body piercings, the amendment legally prohibited its performance for those communities that did. It is unclear how often this law was actually enforced; in at least one instance , police are known to have given their permission for

715-550: The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. They operate with the federal government. These relationship are negotiated and contested. Most Lakota tribal members are also citizens of the United States. They can vote in local, state/provincial and federal elections. They are represented at the state and national level by officials elected from the political districts of their respective states and Congressional Districts. Tribal members living both on and off

770-575: The Missouri River . However, the great smallpox epidemic of 1772–1780 destroyed three-quarters of the members of these tribes. The Lakota crossed the river into the drier, short-grass prairies of the High Plains. These newcomers were the Saône, well-mounted and increasingly confident, who spread out quickly. In 1765, a Saône exploring and raiding party led by Chief Standing Bear discovered

825-617: The Mound Builder civilization during the 9th–12th centuries CE. Lakota legend and other sources state they originally lived near the Great Lakes : "The tribes of the Dakota before European contact in the 1600s lived in the region around Lake Superior . In this forest environment, they lived by hunting, fishing, and gathering wild rice. They also grew some corn, but their locale was near the limit of where corn could be grown." In

880-945: The Wounded Knee Massacre . Today, the Lakota are found mostly in the five reservations of western South Dakota: Lakota also live on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana , the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation of northwestern North Dakota, and several small reserves in Saskatchewan and Manitoba . During the Minnesota and Black Hills wars, their ancestors fled for refuge to "Grandmother's [i.e. Queen Victoria's] Land" (Canada). Large numbers of Lakota live in Rapid City and other towns in

935-477: The "kidnapping" of Lakota children from their homes by the state of South Dakota's Department of Social Services (D.S.S.). It was noted by NPR that over half of the children in foster care in South Dakota were of Native descent. Lakota activists such as Madonna Thunder Hawk and Chase Iron Eyes , along with the Lakota People’s Law Project , have alleged that Lakota grandmothers are illegally denied

990-502: The Black Hills, and in metro Denver . Lakota elders joined the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) to seek protection and recognition for their cultural and land rights. Legally and by treaty classified as a "domestic dependent nation" within the United States, the federally recognized Lakota tribes are represented locally by officials elected to councils for the several reservations and communities in

1045-571: The Dakotas, Minnesota, and Nebraska. These tribes have government-to-government relationships with the United States federal government, primarily through the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Department of Interior. As semi-autonomous political entities, tribal governments have certain rights to independent of state laws. For instance, they may operate Indian gaming on their reservation based on

1100-629: The Lakota Sioux with an additional modifier, such as Sioux of the West, West Schious, Sioux des prairies, Sioux occidentaux, Sioux of the Meadows, Nadooessis of the Plains, Prairie Indians, Sioux of the Plain, Maskoutens-Nadouessians, Mascouteins Nadouessi, and Sioux nomades. Today many of the tribes continue to officially call themselves Sioux . In the 19th and 20th centuries, this was the name which

1155-559: The Lakota people the White Buffalo Calf Pipe. Around 1730 Cheyenne people introduced the Lakota to horses , which they called šuŋkawakaŋ ("dog [of] power/mystery/wonder"). After they adopted horse culture , Lakota society centered on the buffalo hunt on horseback. In 1660 French explorers estimated the total population of the Sioux (Lakota, Santee , Yankton , and Yanktonai ) at 28,000. The Lakota population

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1210-597: The Oglala Sioux tribe and twice been defeated. Several tribal governments – elected by tribal members – issued statements distancing themselves from the independence declaration. Some said that they were watching the independent movement closely. No elected tribal governments endorsed the declaration. The Lakota People made national news when NPR 's "Lost Children, Shattered Families" investigative story aired regarding issues related to foster care for Native American children. It exposed what many critics consider to be

1265-543: The Oglála and Miniconjou, and Siŋté Glešká ( Spotted Tail ) from the Brulé. Activists from the late twentieth century to present include Russell Means (Oglála), and William Hawk Birdshead (Hunkpapa, Oglala, Cheyenne, and Arapaho) Siouan language speakers may have originated in the lower Mississippi River region and then migrated to or originated in the Ohio Valley . They were agriculturalists and may have been part of

1320-678: The Saône, who moved to the Lake Traverse area on the South Dakota–North Dakota–Minnesota border, and the Oglála-Sičháŋǧu, who occupied the James River valley. However, by about 1750 the Saône had moved to the east bank of the Missouri River , followed 10 years later by the Oglála and Brulé (Sičháŋǧu). The large and powerful Arikara , Mandan , and Hidatsa villages had long prevented the Lakota from crossing

1375-594: The Sun Dance ( Wi-wayang-wa-c'i-pi in Lakota ); he stated that all can pray in support, but that only Indigenous people should approach the altars. This statement was supported by keepers of sacred bundles and traditional spiritual leaders from the Cheyenne and Sioux who issued a proclamation that non-Indigenous people would be banned from sacred altars and the Seven Sacred Rites, including and especially

1430-715: The Sun Dance and other Lakota sacred ceremonies, US and Canadian Lakota, Dakota and Nakota nations held "the Lakota Summit V". It was an international gathering of about 500 representatives from 40 different peoples and bands of the Lakota. They unanimously passed the following 'Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality': "Whereas sacrilegious "sundances" for non-Indians are being conducted by charlatans and cult leaders who promote abominable and obscene imitations of our sacred Lakota sundance rites; ... We hereby and henceforth declare war against all persons who persist in exploiting, abusing, and misrepresenting

1485-491: The Sun Dance is a grueling ordeal for the dancers, a physical and spiritual test that they offer in sacrifice for their people. According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, young men dance around a pole to which they are fastened by "rawhide thongs pegged through the skin of their chests." While not all Sun Dance ceremonies include piercing, the object of the Sun Dance is to offer personal sacrifice for

1540-570: The Supreme Court ruled in their favor and decided in United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians to award US$ 122 million to eight bands of Sioux Indians as compensation for their Black Hills land claims . The Sioux have refused the money, because accepting the settlement would legally terminate their demands for return of the Black Hills. The money remains in a Bureau of Indian Affairs account, accruing compound interest . As of 2011,

1595-530: The U.S. Army for long. The U.S. Congress authorized funds to expand the army by 2,500 men. The reinforced U.S. Army defeated the Lakota bands in a series of battles, finally ending the Great Sioux War in 1877. The Lakota were eventually confined to reservations, prevented from hunting buffalo beyond those territories, and forced to accept government food distribution. They were largely distributed amongst North and South Dakota, as well as other places around

1650-592: The U.S. Army to punish them. On September 3, 1855, 700 soldiers under U.S. Brevet Major General William S. Harney avenged the Grattan massacre by attacking a Lakota village in Nebraska , killing about 100 men, women, and children. A series of short "wars" followed, and in 1862–1864, as Native American refugees from the " Dakota War of 1862 " in Minnesota fled west to their allies in Montana and Dakota Territory. After

1705-689: The US government applied to all Dakota/Lakota people. However, some tribes have formally or informally adopted traditional names: the Rosebud Sioux Tribe is also known as the Sičháŋǧu Oyáte (Brulé Nation), and the Oglala often use the name Oglála Lakȟóta Oyáte , rather than the English "Oglala Sioux Tribe" or OST. (The alternate English spelling of Ogallala is deprecated, even though it is closer to

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1760-498: The United States signed the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 , exempting the Black Hills from all white settlement forever. But four years later gold was discovered there, and prospectors descended on the area. The Lakota attacks on settlers and miners were met by military force conducted by such army commanders as Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer . General Philip Sheridan encouraged his troops to hunt and kill

1815-624: The United States. In 1877, some of the Lakota bands signed a treaty that ceded the Black Hills to the United States; however, the nature of this treaty and its passage were controversial. The number of Lakota leaders who backed the treaty is highly disputed. Low-intensity conflicts continued in the Black Hills. Fourteen years later, Sitting Bull was killed at Standing Rock reservation on December 15, 1890. The U.S. Army attacked Spotted Elk (aka Bigfoot)'s Minicoujou band of Lakota on December 29, 1890, at Pine Ridge, killing 153 Lakota (tribal estimates are higher), including numerous women and children, in

1870-666: The West," Santee and Yankton bands. The names Teton and Tetuwan come from the Lakota name thítȟuŋwaŋ , the meaning of which is obscure. This term was used to refer to the Lakota by non-Lakota Sioux groups. Other derivations and spelling variations include: ti tanka, Tintonyanyan, Titon, Tintonha, Thintohas, Tinthenha, Tinton, Thuntotas, Tintones, Tintoner, Tintinhos, Ten-ton-ha, Thinthonha, Tinthonha, Tentouha, Tintonwans, Tindaw, Tinthow, Atintons, Anthontans, Atentons, Atintans, Atrutons, Titoba, Tetongues, Teton Sioux, Teeton, Ti toan, Teetwawn, Teetwans, Ti-t’-wawn, Ti-twans, Tit’wan, Tetans, Tieton, and Teetonwan. Early French sources call

1925-536: The account has grown to over $ 1 billion. In September 2007, the United Nations passed a non-binding Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples . Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand refused to sign. On December 20, 2007, a small group of people led by American Indian Movement activist Russell Means , under the name Lakota Freedom Delegation, traveled to Washington D.C. to announce

1980-407: The benefit of one's family and community. The dancers fast for many days, in the open air and whatever weather occurs. At most ceremonies, family members and friends stay in the surrounding camp and pray in support of the dancers. Much time and energy by the entire community are needed to conduct the sun dance gatherings and ceremonies. Communities plan and organize for at least a year to prepare for

2035-531: The buffalo as a means of "destroying the Indians' commissary." The allied Lakota and Arapaho bands and the unified Northern Cheyenne were involved in much of the warfare after 1860. They fought a successful delaying action against General George Crook 's army at the Battle of the Rosebud , preventing Crook from locating and attacking their camp. A week later they defeated the U.S. 7th Cavalry in 1876 at

2090-424: The ceremonies held by Sun Dance cultures. These include dances and songs passed down through many generations, the use of a traditional drum, a sacred fire, praying with a ceremonial pipe , fasting from food and water before participating in the dance, and, in some cases, the ceremonial piercing of skin and a trial of physical endurance. Certain plants are picked and prepared for use during the ceremony. Typically,

2145-475: The ceremony to be conducted. The First Nations people simply conducted many ceremonies quietly and in secret. Sun dance practitioners, such as the Plains Cree , Saulteaux , and Blackfoot , continued to hold sun dances throughout the persecution period. Some practiced the dance in secret, others with permissions from their agents, and others without the body piercing. In 1951, government officials amended

2200-405: The ceremony. Usually, one leader or a small group of leaders are in charge of the ceremony, but many elders help out and advise. A group of helpers do many of the tasks required to prepare for the ceremony. The Government of Canada, through the Department of Indian Affairs (now Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Development Canada ), persecuted Sun Dance practitioners and attempted to suppress

2255-461: The correct pronunciation.) The Lakota have names for their own subdivisions. The Lakota also are the most western of the three Sioux groups, occupying lands in both North and South Dakota. Today, one half of all enrolled Sioux live off reservations . Lakota reservations recognized by the U.S. government include: Some Lakota also live on other Sioux reservations in eastern South Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska: In addition, several Lakota live on

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2310-407: The dance. Indian agents, based on directives from their superiors, did routinely interfere with, discouraged, and disallowed sun dances on many Canadian plains communities from 1882 until the 1940s. The Canadian government outlawed "any celebration or dance of which the wounding or mutilation of the dead or living body of any human being or animal forms a part or is a feature" in an 1895 amendment to

2365-664: The early 1900s. Lakota people The Lakota ( [laˈkˣota] ; Lakota : Lakȟóta/Lakhóta ) are a Native American people. Also known as the Teton Sioux (from Thítȟuŋwaŋ ), they are one of the three prominent subcultures of the Sioux people, with the Eastern Dakota (Santee) and Western Dakota (Wičhíyena). Their current lands are in North and South Dakota . They speak Lakȟótiyapi —the Lakota language ,

2420-572: The earth lodges. The next time the Lakota inflicted a blow so severe to the Pawnee would be in 1873, during the Massacre Canyon battle near Republican River. Nearly half a century later, after the United States had built Fort Laramie without permission on Lakota land, it negotiated the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 to protect European-American travelers on the Oregon Trail . The Cheyenne and Lakota had previously attacked emigrant parties in

2475-637: The explorers to continue upstream, and the expedition prepared for battle, which never came. Some bands of Lakota became the first indigenous people to help the United States Army in an inter-tribal war west of the Missouri, during the Arikara War in 1823. In 1843, the southern Lakota attacked the village of Pawnee Chief Blue Coat near the Loup in Nebraska, killing many and burning half of

2530-495: The individual reservations are eligible to vote in periodic elections for that tribe. Each tribe has its own requirements for citizenship, as well its own constitution, bylaws, and elections. or articles of incorporation . Most follow a multi-member tribal council model, with a chairman or president elected at-large , directly by the voters. Nine bands of Dakota and Lakota reside in Manitoba and southern Saskatchewan , with

2585-591: The late 16th and early 17th centuries, Dakota-Lakota speakers lived in the upper Mississippi Region in territory now organized as the states of Minnesota , Wisconsin , Iowa , and the Dakotas . Conflicts with Anishnaabe and Cree peoples pushed the Lakota west onto the Great Plains in the mid- to late-17th century. Early Lakota history is recorded in their winter counts ( Lakota : waníyetu wówapi ), pictorial calendars painted on hides, or later recorded on paper. The 'Battiste Good winter count' records Lakota history to 900 CE when White Buffalo Calf Woman gave

2640-457: The right to foster their own grandchildren. They are working to redirect federal funding away from the state of South Dakota's D.S.S. to new tribal foster care programs. This would be a historic shift away from the state's traditional control over Lakota foster children. A short film, Lakota in America , was produced by Square. The film features Genevieve Iron Lightning, a young Lakota dancer on

2695-568: The sacred traditions and spiritual practices of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people." - Mesteth, Wilmer, et al (1993) In 1995, efforts to continue practicing the ceremony on a tract of unceded Secwepemc land led to an armed confrontation known as the Gustafsen Lake standoff . In 2003, the 19th-Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe of the Lakota asked non-Indigenous people to stop attending

2750-652: The spirits leave, so no photo conveys an authentic ceremony. To much disdain, the Kainai Nation in Alberta permitted filming of their Sun Dance in the late 1950s for the sake of its preservation. This was released as the documentary Circle of the Sun (1960), produced by the National Film Board of Canada . Manitoba archival photos show that the ceremonies have been consistently practiced since at least

2805-443: The sun dance, effective March 9, 2003 onward: The Wi-wanyang-wa-c'i-p i (Sundance Ceremony): The only participants allowed in the centre will be Native People. The non-Native people need to understand and respect our decision. If there have been any unfinished commitments to the sundance and non-Natives have concern for this decision; they must understand that we have been guided through prayer to reach this resolution. Our purpose for

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2860-508: The sundance is for the survival of the future generations to come, first and foremost. If the non-Natives truly understand this purpose, they will also understand this decision and know that by their departure from this Ho-c'o-ka (our sacred altar) is their sincere contribution to the survival of our future generations. In most Sun Dance cultures, it is forbidden to film ceremony or prayer. Few images exist of authentic ceremonies. Many First Nations people believe that when money or cameras enter,

2915-441: The westernmost of three closely related languages that belong to the Siouan language family. The seven bands or "sub-tribes" of the Lakota are: Notable Lakota persons include Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake ( Sitting Bull ) from the Húnkpapȟa, Maȟpíya Ičáȟtagya ( Touch the Clouds ) from the Miniconjou; Heȟáka Sápa ( Black Elk ), Maȟpíya Lúta ( Red Cloud ), and Tamakhóčhe Theȟíla ( Billy Mills ) - all Oglála; Tȟašúŋke Witkó ( Crazy Horse ) from

2970-438: Was estimated at 8,500 in 1805; it grew steadily and reached 16,110 in 1881. They were one of the few Native American tribes to increase in population in the 19th century, a time of widespread disease and warfare. By 2010 the number of Lakota had increased to more than 170,000, of whom about 2,000 still spoke the Lakota language ( Lakȟótiyapi ) . After 1720, the Lakota branch of the Seven Council Fires split into two major sects,

3025-469: Was the potlatch of the Pacific Northwest peoples. Canada lifted its prohibition against the practice of the full ceremony in 1951. In the United States, Congress passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) in 1978, which was enacted to protect basic civil liberties, and to protect and preserve the traditional religious rights and cultural practices of Native Americans, Eskimos , Aleuts , and Native Hawaiians . Several features are common to

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