Religion of the North American Plains Indians

First humans in America  Human came to North America 20,000 yrs. ago  Migrated from Asia by crossing over the Bering Strait (situated between Russia and Alaska)  Under water now  These first humans formed many tribes  Domestic horses enabled the Plains Indians to become great hunters of buffalo and other game 2

The Lakota  The Lakota is the largest and most influential tribe  Aka Western Sioux  Inhabited western Montana and Wyoming, eastern regions of the Dakotas and parts of Nebraska  In 1890 more than 200 Lakota were massacred as the result of the war between Indians and whites  Today about 100,000 Lakota live on reservations in Montana and North and South Dakota 3

 Ultimate reality  The Lakota name for the supreme reality is Wakan Tanka  Sometimes translated as Great Spirit/Great Mysterious  Literally meaning: most sacred  Wakan Tanka refers to 16 separate deities  The # 16 is derived from the number 4- 4X4  4-most sacred #  Refers to the compass directions: north, south, east, and west 4

Supernatural beings Inktomi Name means “Spider” Mediator between the supernatural and human worlds. Taught 1 st humans their ways and customs Trickster figure Offers moral lessons from experience Do not behave as Inktomi 5

 Belief in Death/Afterlife  Believe that four souls depart from a person at death  First soul journeys to the “spirit path” of the Milky Way  Meets an old woman who judges it and either allows it to continue on to the world of the ancestors  or it goes back to earth as a ghost  The other souls enter unborn children to be reborn 6 Destiny: Next life

 Two main rituals wkst 1. The Vision Quest 2. The Sun Dance

8 Vision Quest: (Initiation Rite)  Vision Quest  Purpose:  To gain spiritual power and knowledge of one’s role in society  For success in hunting, warfare, and curing the ill Experienced by young women and men (more frequently) Carried out by a spiritual leader: medicine woman or medicine man- they issue specific instructions beforehand, and interpret the content of the vision afterward. Expresses 3 dimensions of religion Ritual: sweat lodge prior to going out on one’s own Experiential: Receiving the vision or guardian spirit Mythic: meaning of the guardian spirit

 Ritual of purification in the sweat lodge  Procedure  A dark/airtight hut made of saplings and covered with animal skins  Represents the universe  Heated stones placed in the center and water is poured over them by the medicine man  The resulting hot steam causes the participant to sweat profusely  Steam room  Both physical and spiritual purification 9 VISION QUEST: Ritual

Vision Quest: Experiential & Mythical  After purification, the person goes off alone without food, water or shelter for a set # of days 10 Once the person returns to camp, a medicine man/woman interprets the vision, to determine their role for the rest of his/her life The vision comes to the person in the form of an animal, other object, or force of nature

 Purpose:  Benefits all (community ritual)  Occurs at the beginning of summer as new year celebration  to prepare for the annual buffalo hunt  Leader:  A medicine man or woman  Procedure: 1. Construct a lodge  Cottonwood tree is selected  This tree becomes the Axis Mundi: the axis or center of the universe.  The tree represents the supreme being  Connects heaven & earth  The lodge is constructed of 28 poles around the tree: representing the 28 days of lunar month  The finished lodge is representative of the universe with its four compass directions. 2. Begin Dance 11 2 nd Major Lakota Ritual: Sun Dance

 The Sun Dance features long periods of dancing  Dancers dance facing the sun for life- giving powers  Music and drumbeats accompany the dancing  Dancers skewer the flesh of their chests and attach themselves to the tree with leather thongs  Dancers dance pulling back until the skin tears  Purpose of bodily mutilation:  The body is only thing humans can really call their own  Therefore, the body is the best sacrifice to offer to the Supreme Being 12 The Sun Dance: Practice

 5Cg 5Cg 13

14 Plains Indians quiz

Word bank: Wakan Tanka, Sioux, Inktomi, 4, axis mundi, sun, medicine man/woman, 16, body, sweat lodge, children, Sun Dance, Vision Quest, mountains- you will not use all the words 1. ____________ interprets the vision for the vision quester. 2. The Lakota trickster figure is __________ and it means spider. 3. The purpose of this ritual is to gain spiritual power and knowledge of one’s role in society. 4. The Lakota ultimate reality is called ______________ 5. ____________ is a community ritual and its purpose is to prepare for the buffalo hunt. 6. In the Sun Dance, a tree is required and it represents the _______ 7. The vision quest is a purification ritual that takes place in _________ 8. According to the Lakota, the __________ is the only thing humans can call their own and it’s the best sacrifice to offer to the supreme beings. 9. Dancers dance facing the _________ for life-giving powers. 10. The Lakota are also known as_________ ? 15 Plains Indians quiz

Word bank: Wakan Tanka, Inktomi, 4, axis mundi, sun, medicine man/woman, 16, body, sweat lodge, children, Sun Dance, Vision Quest, mountains- don’t use all 1. ____________ interprets the vision for the vision quester. – medicine man/woman 2. The Lakota trickster figure is __________ and it means spider. – Inktomi 3. The purpose of this ritual is to gain spiritual power and knowledge of one’s role in society. – vision quest 4. The Lakota ultimate reality is called ______________ - wakan tanka 5. ____________ is a community ritual and its purpose is to prepare for the buffalo hunt. – sun dance 6. In the Sun Dance, a tree is required and it represents the _______ – the axis mundi (center of the universe) 7. The vision quest is a purification ritual that takes place in _____________ - sweat lodge 8. According to the Lakota, the __________ is the only thing humans can call their own and it’s the best sacrifice to offer to the supreme beings. – the body 9. Dancers dance facing the _________ for life-giving powers. - sun 10. The Lakota are also known as_________ ? –Sioux 16 Plains Indians quiz