Seeking and Finding Wholeness

I watched a documentary last Sunday that captivated my full attention and educated me while solidifying the respect I had for the Native Americans and their ancient ways of life. The documentary was titled “Oceti Sakowin: The People of the Seven Council Fires”. The documentary presented information that I found very valuable I had to reach for my laptop and start taking notes. Here, I will summarize the documentary in my own words from my notes.

Calf Woman and the Sacred Pipe

This documentary discussed the history and lifestyle of the Oyate. The Oyate were the people who inhabited the upper Midwest region. The word Oyate translates to “the people”. Those were “the people” of the land before Columbus stumbled upon what is known now as America.

We all know that Columbus did not discover America. So, what about the people who lived here, were they really the lawless savages the Europeans painted them as? Simply, the answer is absolutely not.

The documentary makes the point that before their encounters with the Europeans, the Oyate were living more or less in peace, coexisting with nature and living in balance with other living things in a stable system of spirituality, kinship, traditions and social structure.

Sioux

The name Sioux is the wrong, it was derived from a French word that referred to the Oyate as snake people, referring to the snake river. This was due to a translation error.

History

The documentary talks about the history of the Oyate. Even though the Europeans called them savages with no organized societies, the truth was far from this. In fact, the people had a highly developed social and spiritual belief system.

These people were divided into three devisions, namely the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota. All of them were related. by beliefs, custom, and blood. They all gathered around the Seven Counsel Fires (Oceti Sakowin).

The Dakota division was made up of 4 tribes, the Nakota of 2 tribes, and the Lakotas were one tribe.

Creation & Spirituality

The Oyate address creation as relative on earth. One big island on earth contained all people. People fought and the earth sent warnings. The children of earth did not listen so the earth shook, and it broke off to separate the children from each other and give them a chance… The story includes the earth shaking again after the children continued to fight.

Spirituality was a natural part of their lives before the Europeans arrived. To them kinship was everything; relatives were held in high regards.

Their philosophy was that everything in life is a circle. The birds’ nest were in circles, and other things in nature were circles. It is no coincidence that tipis were also circular. They learned from animals and nature and lived a holistic life style.

Sioux Horse Tipi

The circle resembles peace, unity, balance, harmony and continuity. It is a physical manifestation of spiritual reality. The spiritual world is beyond our capacity to grasp. They circle resembled creation.

Ways of living were dictated by location and environment. But their ceremonies were very similar, they after all had to name their children and adopt and get married. These were shared ceremonies.

The sacred pipe plays an important role. The story of the sacred pipe, while not the creation story, is probably as important to the Oyate as the story of Moses and the ten commandments to Christians.

The Buffalo

The Buffalo plays a huge role in their lives and spirituality. The Buffalo, he, gave himself so we can have food, homes, and tools. Every part of the buffalo became a way of life to the Oyate. They referred to the buffalo as our brother. They even learned from the Buffalo’s lifestyle. Wherever the Buffalo moved the people moved; it was simple, due to their reliance on the Buffalo, wherever the Buffalo was they could live.

They do not like to use the term ‘animals’, they had no concept of an animal, they referred to other living beings as Nations. Thus, they would say the Buffalo nation, plant nation, etc. This was because they were in tune with creation and understood that it helped them live. They just took what they needed and lived with these nations. They also respected the environment, and the universe.

Spirituality was very central to their lives. Even their language vocabulary consisted mostly of words referencing the environment and spirituality.

To be continued..

End of part one

Note: These articles were written in recognition and in high respect to those who inhabited these lands before me, to those who coexisted and protect the land, and to their spirituality, culture and legacy. My small contribution to bringing the truth out about what happened to the original inhabitants of North America.