The Sioux Native Americans

Anthropology 1010 Amanda Williams November 2013

To begin my paper I want to provide a basic history of the Sioux Nation to help you better understand their society and culture. In the beginning the Sioux lived in small villages in homes made of bark and lived off of the land surrounding them (Levine, 2007). The people were all united as one community. They grew and gathered food for each other. Everyone in the tribe did their part and everything was shared with one another. Trappers and explorers began trading with the Sioux. This was a crucial change for them because they obtained horses and guns through their trade. Because of the horses and guns, they changed from being a hunting/gathering society to a pastoral society (Levine, 2007). Their newly acquired horses and guns allowed hunting buffalo to be much easier; this lead them to begin following the herds as their main source of food. After this change they split into 3 different tribes based on the language they spoke, those tribes were: the Dakota, Lakota and Nakota (Benoit, 2011).The Sioux Nation was at peace with the European explorers and settlers in the beginning. Then the explorers began crossing their lands. A treaty called the Fort Laramie Treaty was created in 1851 to try to maintain peace between the Europeans and the Sioux (Benoit, 2011). The treaty was broken over and over by the Europeans which caused abundant conflict, which lead to The Great Sioux War. The war lasted from 1875 to 1876 (Benoit, 2011). The Sioux were defeated and forced onto reservations. They now live on reservations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, and Nebraska (Benoit, 2011). For my paper I choose to write about Native Americans in general as well as the Sioux Nation. I want to focus on the culture of the Sioux compared to modern American culture; their religious ceremonies compared the ceremonies performed by religions in America; and how their diet has changed after colonization.

Culture: The Sioux had very unique traditions in their culture. One that I found very interesting was their method of carrying on their history. The elders in the tribe gathered in the evening for storytelling. These stories werent your typical made-up fairy tales you often hear about; they were stories about their ancestors and were told to the younger generation to pass down their history. These stories always had a message or moral to the story. The evening after the initial storytelling, the tribe would gather again, but this time the younger members of the tribe would repeat these stories to the elders, who would listen to make sure the stories were told correctly. I found this to be fascinating! In many societys, including American society, history is passed down through written words. So the Siouxs method is very unique compared to that of American society. In the Sioux culture men and women would have ceremonies to become adults. The men would be taken to a place secluded from their tribe where they would be put to the test of survival. For a couple of days they had to learn how to protect themselves from dangerous predators and would have to provide food for themselves. If they were able to survive through these days they were accepted as a man by their tribe. The woman also had to go through a ceremony. They stayed with spiritual elders in the tribe and learned how to meditate and strengthen their spirituality. The elders of their society are very highly valued. Although the process for becoming a man or woman in American culture is very different from gaining manhood or womanhood in the Sioux culture, I still think that America has informal ways of being accepted as a man or woman by society. Some examples are: if a

male is aggressive and can play sports well, then he is considered a man. If a female can cook, sew and clean, then she accepted as a woman by society. Each culture has their own method for becoming an adult. The Sioux nation was very similar to America in the aspect of gender roles. In their culture the women mostly made clothing, cared for children and gathered and prepared food. The men in the tribe were responsible for the safety of their family and providing their family with food (mostly meat that they hunted). Although I think the gender roles in America are beginning to fade ever so slightly, there are still social norms for each gender. The men in American culture typically are the bread winners; they work and provide for their family. Women usually take care of the children and housework, and prepare meals for the family. Both cultures have the same basic gender roles. Religion: The Sioux believed in many gods but the most powerful and important god to them was the Great Spirit or Wankan Tanka. They performed many religious ceremonies to worship Wankan Tanka. One of the most significant ceremonies they performed was The Sun Dance. This ceremony was held once a year in either June or July. The ceremony involved warriors being pierced through the chest or the back with a bone, and having a buffalo skull attached with buffalo hide. The dancers would either be tethered to the tree that was chosen by the worthiest warrior, or they would dance with the skulls dragging behind them. Each one of the young warriors presented himself to a Holy or Medicine Man who inserted a long skin rope that was fastened to the top of the sun-pole in the center of the arena. The goal was to be able to

free yourself, which involved excruciating pain. The objective of the dance was to remove the buffalo skull from their bodies. The Sun Dance lasted four to eight days. It showed the balance and continuity between life and death, in other words a regeneration of life, it also showed and signified that there is no true end to life, but a cycle of symbolic and true deaths and rebirths. Mother Earth, all of nature and its creatures are inter-twined and dependent on one another. (Sioux Beliefs and Culture, 2007-2013) Along with their belief in The Great Spirit, they believed in The White Buffalo Calf Woman. The legend says: long ago, two young warriors were hunting, when they came across a beautiful woman dressed in white buckskin. The White Buffalo Calf Woman approached one of the warriors and told him to go back to his tribe and tell them to prepare for her arrival. The young hunter obeyed. When the White Buffalo Calf woman returned, she brought with her the sacred pipe. She taught them the seven ways to pray. These prayers are through ceremonies that include the Sweat Lodge for purification; the Naming Ceremony for child naming; the Healing Ceremony to restore health to the body, mind and spirit; the adoption ceremony for making of relatives; the marriage ceremony for uniting male and female; the Vision Quest for communing with the Creator for direction and answers to one's life; and the Sun Dance Ceremony to pray for the well-being of all the People. After teaching them the seven ways to pray, she told them that within her were the four ages, and that she would look back upon the people in each age, returning at the end of the fourth age to restore harmony and spirituality to a troubled land. She began to depart but as she walked a short distance she sat down. When she arose she had become a black buffalo. Walking a little further, the buffalo laid down, this time arising as a yellow buffalo. The third time the buffalo walked a little further and this time

arose as a red buffalo. Walking a little further it rolled on the ground and rose one last time as a white buffalo calf signaling the fulfillment of the White Buffalo Calf prophecy. The changing of the four colors of the White Buffalo Calf Woman represents the four colors of man--white, yellow, red and black. (Sioux Beliefs and Culture, 2007-2013) Food: Before colonization Native Americans had a variety of ways of obtaining food, the most common was hunting. The Natives would hunt, trap, and fish for all kinds of animals. One of the most important animals they hunted was deer because of its size and availability. They also hunted bear, elk, raccoons, rabbits, opossums, turtles, terrapins, fish, shellfish, reptiles, turkeys, geese, and ducks. Native Americans also gathered foods like hickory, acorns, walnuts, and pecans. These nuts were very important because they provided nutritious fats and proteins and could be stored through the winter and spring seasons, when other foods were scarce. Fruits were also gathered when they were in season, the indigenous fruits were: grapes, persimmons, and blueberries. Although most of their food was obtained through hunting and gathering, they also grew gardens. These gardens typically consisted of sunflowers, maygrass, amaranth, barley and chenopod. (Early) There were many methods of preparing food. Some food was eaten fresh and some was dried, parched, and either eaten like snack food or pounded into a powder or paste on a grinding stone to be mixed with other foods. They also cooked their food over open fires. They made their own pottery containers and used them for cooking, serving, and storing foods. (Early)

As you can see Native Americans had a very nutritious diet before colonization. They didnt eat any processed foods and most of the foods they ate were fresh meats, fruits, vegetables and nuts. After colonization the Native Americans were forced onto reservations and many things changed regarding their lifestyle, especially their diet. Native Americans could no longer live off the land, which changed their diet dramatically. They had to buy foods from markets and stores rather than hunting and gathering it. Native Americans that currently live on reservations are often very poor. The 1990 US Census indicated that 31% of American Indians were living below the poverty level, which is 2.5 times higher than the comparable US all-races figure of 13% (Mary Story, 1999). Because they cant afford fresh foods they often end up buying cheap, highly processed foods. This dietary change has caused them to suffer from numerous health problems. Obesity is one of the serious health issues among Native Americans today. Studies indicate that obesity rates in American Indian children, adolescents, and adults are higher than the respective US rates for all races combined. The reasoning for this can be understood from this statistic: only 21 percent of Native Americans eat the recommended amount of fruit on any given day, 34 percent eat the recommended amount of vegetables, 24 percent eat the recommended amount of grains, and 27 percent consume the recommended amount of dairy products (Native Americans Diet, 1994-2002). Not only is obesity a huge health problem for Native Americans, but diabetes is as well. It is estimated that 12.3 percent of Native Americans over nineteen years of age have type II diabetes. On average, Native Americans are 2.8 times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than whites of a similar age (Native Americans Diet,

1994-2002). Because of the prevalence of diabetes and obesity among Native Americans, heart disease is the leading cause of death. To conclude I want to analyze the topics addressed in this paper. Namely the culture, religion and food among Native Americans compared to modern day Americans. The culture of the Sioux Nation was very different in many ways but there were also some similarities, for example, the gender roles of the Sioux are very similar to the gender roles that we have in American culture. Many cultures at first glance, appear to be very different than our own, but through examining it more deeply we can begin to see the similarities that each culture shares with our own. The next topic is religion. Most people in American society would see the rituals like the Sun Dance that the Sioux perform as bizarre; but we too have religious rituals that, to other cultures, may seem peculiar. One example of a ceremony done by a religion in America is to drink snake venom as a way of worship. This ceremony is performed by The Church of God with Signs Following. Every culture has religious ceremonies that to others may seem strange, but many dont take the time to understand the history and reasoning behind these religious ceremonies, and judge them because they are unlike their own. I believe that most of these ceremonies wouldnt be as bizarre to us if we took the time to actually understand them. The final topic is food. During colonization many Europeans believed that their food, beliefs, and practically everything about them was superior to Native Americans. When they put the Native Americans on reservations and provided them with European food they seemed to believe that they were doing them a favor by giving them new, modernized foods which

were essentially just processed foods. I find it very hypocritical that those same processed foods are now frowned upon in modern American society. Now people in America seem to be going back to the old ways of the Native Americans. We are beginning to realize the health benefits of eating more fresh foods and eating more nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables, while the Native Americans are still stuck with the unhealthy highly processed foods. The culture of Native Americans has many similarities to that of American culture but are often carried out differently. The Sioux Nation believed in many gods, however they did believe in one supreme God, like the majority of Americans today. Unfortunately, due to forced dietary changes, the Sioux currently have very similar diets to Americans, and therefor suffer for the dietary consequences of their newly acquired diet.

Bibliography
Benoit, K. C. (2011). The Sioux. Scholastic. Bial, R. (1999). The Sioux Lifeways. New York: Benchmark Books. Early, A. M. (n.d.). Native American Food. Retrieved from Arkansas Archeological Survey: www.arkansasarcheology.org Levine, M. (2007). The Sioux Native American Histories. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company. Mary Story, M. E. (1999). The epidemic of obesity in American Indian communities and the need for childhood obesity-prevention programs. Retrieved from http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/69/4/747S.full Native Americans Diet. (1994-2002). Retrieved from http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/MetObe/Native-Americans-Diet-of.html Sioux Beliefs and Culture. (2007-2013). Retrieved from The Sioux Poet - Native American Poetry: http://siouxpoet.tripod.com/id14.html The Dakota Society: Chlidren's Tutorial. (1999-2005). Retrieved from http://www.visi.com/~vanmulken/welcome.html