III.

Traditional Way of Life

Sioux customs have captured the public imagination and have come to represent for many non-Indians, however erroneously, the typical way of life of Native Americans, or at least of Plains Indians: buffalo hunting; use of the tipi (tepee); skill with horses in hunting and warfare; military societies; sacred shields; buffalo robes; eagle-feathered war bonnets; taking guidance through visions, as in the custom of the vision quest; the Sun Dance renewal ceremony, involving self-torture; purification through sweats; the sacred pipe, popularly referred to as the peace pipe; and sign language.

The Sioux way of life revolved around the American bison, or buffalo, although some eastern bands farmed for part of the year. The basic social unit of the Sioux was the tiyospe, an extended family group that followed the buffalo herds together. Every part of the animal was used for food, clothing, shelter, or tools; dried buffalo dung was used for fuel. The portable cone-shaped tipi, made from poles and buffalo hides, was the predominant type of Sioux dwelling.

Sioux religious beliefs centered on Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit or Great Mystery, an all-pervasive force. The revitalization movement known as the Ghost Dance spread to the Sioux in the 1890s. They believed that performing the dance would cleanse the world of whites and lead to the restoration of Indian land. The ritual alarmed non-Indians because of its perceived militancy, and the U.S. government’s attempt to suppress it culminated in the Wounded Knee Massacre.