The Ancient Sioux Tribe, A Ghost Dance, and a Savior That Never Came

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The Ancient Sioux Tribe, A Ghost Dance, and a Savior That Never Came

“In the old, old days, before Columbus ‘discovered’ us, as they say, we [the people of the Sioux tribe] were even closer to the animals than we are now. Many people could understand the animal languages; they could talk to a bird, gossip with a butterfly. Animals could change themselves into people, and people into animals. It was a time when the Earth was not quite finished, when many kinds of mountains and streams, animals and plants came into being according to nature’s plan.” Rabbit Boy.

From this first paragraph of the story  Rabbit Boy, we can see that the aboriginal White River Sioux had a mysterious, fluid way of looking at the world. The story originating with the Sioux tribe is told in the book  ********* Indian Myths and Legends, edited by Erdoes and Ortiz.

‘Sioux Playing Ball’ (1843) by Charles Deas. (

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Sioux Tribe Revival: Reconnecting with Ancestral Ways and Wisdom

The White River Sioux constituted just one among numerous Sioux tribes or bands that ranged across vast territories encompassing present-day Canada and the ******* States of America. Within this expansive Sioux cultural landscape, distinct groups such as the Oglala, Lakota, and Dakota also thrived. Despite their diversity, these tribes shared commonalities in language, culture, and traditional way of life.

Perhaps pagan Europeans had thought similarly to the White River Sioux about nature many centuries before. But by the time of the “discovery” of America by Christopher Columbus, the worldview and beliefs of many were shaped more by Christianity than by animism. Moreover, a significant majority of the Europeans who made contact with Native Americans sought to impose their worldview upon them.

These Europeans didn’t just live differently, they also thought differently than the Native Americans. As they came and displaced the Sioux tribe peoples into smaller and smaller territories, they also ******* many of them through ******** or *********, while deliberately suppressing Sioux culture, knowledge, language, religion and life ways.

Pictographic Dress of the Sioux tribe – Lakota (Teton Sioux), North or South Dakota – c. 1885. (

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According to the 

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, one of the main Sioux tribe websites, while the way of life of the Sioux tribe has been broken, it is not beyond hope. Where possible, Sioux people speak their ancestral languages, practice their religions and live in traditional ways.

The organization claims that certain Sioux leaders and scholars are salvaging, repairing, constructing and reinventing as many of the old Sioux tribe ways as they can. In the course of their work, they seek to recover Sioux gods, symbols, arts and languages for their people.

Nevertheless, “Sioux” is not their real name. One theory asserts that it is an abbreviation of the derogatory term  na-towe-ssiwa, which the Ojibwa people applied to them as an epithet meaning “people of an alien tribe” “little snake” or “******.”

Sioux people call themselves  Očhéthi Šakówiŋ in their native language, which translated to “Seven Council Fires” or “Seven Councils” in English. This name represents the union of seven Sioux tribes: the Mdewakanton, Wahpekute, Wahpeton, Sisseton, Yankton, Yanktonai, and Teton (Lakota) tribes. Each of these tribes historically had its own council or governing body, and they joined together in a confederation for mutual protection and support.

The Ghost dance by the Oglala Lakota, one of the groups of the Sioux tribe, at Pine Ridge Agency-Drawn by Frederic Remington from sketches taken on the spot. (

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The Ghost Dance Movement and the Savior Who Never Came

The Ghost Dance and similar 19th-century movements, widely embraced by the Sioux tribe, envisioned Native Americans reclaiming their lands and heritage through invoking a native savior. It was believed that the resurrection of ancestors would restore ancient wisdom. However, the awaited savior ******* to materialize.

Today, the Sioux tribe comprises approximately 170,000 individuals (according to a 2010 census), residing in numerous small reservations, contrasting sharply with their past presence across vast territories. Sioux tribes predominantly reside in the northern Great Plains region of the ******* States, with a significant presence in states like South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota and Montana. They inhabit various reservations established by the U.S. government, where they steadfastly uphold their cultural traditions and ways of life.

These reservations encompass well-known territories such as the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the Standing Rock Indian Reservation spanning North and South Dakota and the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota, among others. Additionally, there are numerous smaller reservations and communities across the region that contribute to the rich tapestry of Sioux heritage and identity.

In spite of their diminished lands and dispersal across various reservations, Sioux tribes steadfastly uphold their cultural integrity, conversing in the three primary languages of 

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, Dakota and Nakota. Their resilience endures in the face of historical challenges, as they preserve their cultural heritage and pass it down through generations within these designated lands, a testament to their strength amidst historical upheavals.

Bison hunting was crucial to the survival, culture and identity of the Sioux tribe.1844 Hunting Bison in USA by George Catlin. (

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Echoes of Forced Migration: The Westward Journey of the Sioux Tribe

Earlier in history, the Santee Sioux and the Ojibwa shared territory around Lake Superior, until the Ojibwa forced the Sioux tribe to southern and western Minnesota in the mid-17th century. The Santee displaced two other Sioux tribes that lived in Minnesota, the Teton and Yankton, into the Dakotas. The Ojibwa themselves had been forced West by ********* settlers.

Around Lake Superior, the Santee people had gathered wild rice, hunted deer and buffalo, and fished. The Teton and Yankton tribes had been farmers, but when they were displaced to the Plains and Rockies they took up a nomadic life and centered their economy around hunting buffalo from horses. Some of those Sioux bands also farmed corn.

The main Sioux tribes were the Santee or Eastern Sioux, who spoke Dakota and were divided into the Mdewakanton, Sisseton, Wahpeton, and Wahpekute tribes; the Yankton, who spoke Nakota and comprised the Yankton and Yanktonai tribes; and the Teton or Western Sioux, who spoke Lakota and were divided into the Sihasapa or Blackfoot, Hunkpapa, the Upper and Lower Brulé, Oglala, Miniconjou, Sans Arcs, and Oohenonpa or Two-Kettle.

The Sioux had a reputation for being great horsemen, bison hunters and warriors in the Old West in the Plains and Rocky Mountains. Nevertheless,  The Sioux: The Lakota and Dakota Nations explained that Sioux ancestors had lived without horses for hundreds of years in the woodlands around what are now Minnesota and Wisconsin. Archaeologists and anthropologists have postulated that these people, who became known as the Sioux, made tribal alliances in the 13th or 14th centuries in the northern Midwest woodlands.

“The siege of New Ulm, Minn.”, a painting by Henry August Schwabe. It depicts an ******* on New Ulm on August 19, during the Dakota War of 1862, which involved a conflict between the Dakota people of the Sioux tribe and *********-********* settlers. (

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Sioux Gods, Heroes, Tricksters and ********

Within Sioux mythology, several Sioux gods, heroes, tricksters and cultural figures have endured as integral aspects of their spiritual beliefs. Among them is Iktomi, the mischievous trickster spider, whose seemingly disorderly actions often contribute to the betterment of the world. Wakan Tanka, the Great Mystery Power, stands as the supreme creator deity who brought forth the world yet ******** beyond personification.

White Buffalo Calf Woman holds a revered place as a culture hero, bestowing upon the Sioux tribe the sacred peace pipe and imparting the arts of civilization. Additionally, the Canoti, described as diminutive beings akin to the ******** or elves of ********* folklore, inhabit the Sioux spiritual landscape, adding depth and richness to their mythological traditions. These entities reflect the profound spiritual depth and cultural complexity of the Sioux people, embodying enduring aspects of their belief system and heritage.

In the wake of ********* expansion into Minnesota, the Sioux people faced escalating conflicts, massacres and the systematic suppression of their cultural practices, alongside the usurpation of their ancestral lands. Missionaries and non-Native settlers sought to force the local population onto small reservations, replace their gods with the Trinity of Christianity, teach them Western reading and writing habits, and ********* culture.

The cultural clashes during the 19th century propelled a relentless westward movement of Sioux tribes, gradually displacing their communities from their eastern territories. Many Sioux tribes were forced to relocate west of the Mississippi River by the century’s end, although there were still some reservations remaining east of the river.

Today, the majority of Sioux tribes reside west of the Mississippi, having been forcibly relocated from their traditional homelands through a combination of treaty violations, military campaigns and government policies aimed at consolidating Native ********* populations onto reservations. Sioux communities also exist in other parts of the ******* States, including South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Montana.

‘******** scaffold of a Sioux chief’ by Karl Bodmer. (

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The Sioux War: Conquest, Betrayal and Tragedy for the Sioux Tribe

The dire situation came to a head with the Great Sioux War between seven Sioux Teton bands, Cheyenne warriors, and the U.S. military. The war began in March 1876 with Custer’s Last Stand, during which a large troop of native warriors ******* 200 ******* States cavalrymen. These cavalrymen were among U.S. military contingents tasked with overseeing the confiscation of Indian territory. The conflict persisted until September 1877, when the ******* States military ultimately defeated the Native ********* forces.

An act of the U.S. Congress, the Manypenny Agreement of 1877, seized the ****** Hills for ********* colonizers. Despite the land having been promised to the Native Americans in a previous treaty, this agreement was reneged upon after gold was discovered there. To this day, the Native Americans of the Sioux tribe still consider the ****** Hills of South Dakota their sacred homelands.

Illustration from the Annual report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, depicting the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890, where members of the Lakota Sioux tribe were massacred by the U.S. Cavalry. (

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Subjugation and deaths within the Sioux tribe continued until December 29, 1890, when the Indian Wars culminated at Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Accounts suggest that U.S. Cavalry ******* an estimated 150 to 300 Ghost Dancers of the Sioux at Wounded Knee, though estimates vary. The victims of the massacre were purportedly made up of the elderly, women and children, reportedly suffering from starvation and exposure to the elements.

Two weeks prior to the 

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, another tragedy unfolded on the Standing Rock Reservation in the Dakotas. There, reservation police murdered Sitting Bull, a chief and hero of the Lakota Sioux tribe, who had led his people in war against the invaders. Sitting Bull was 59 years old at the time of his ******. It is speculated that his killers suspected his involvement in the Ghost Dance movement.

Portrait of Jack Red Cloud, 1899. (

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A Hope for Peace and Love in the Sioux Tribe

Among the annals of Sioux tribe history, four towering figures emerge as Native ********* heroes and leaders: Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Red Cloud and ****** Elk. These individuals, prominent in recent Sioux history, represent the enduring spirit and resilience of their tribe. Native communities lament the loss of knowledge and wisdom imparted by earlier teachers.

Red Cloud, who passed away at the age of 87 in 1909, encapsulated the aspirations of his people with poignant simplicity: “I am poor and ******, but I am the chief of the nation. We do not want riches, but we do want to train our children right. Riches would do us no good. We could not take them with us to the other world. We do not want riches. We want peace and love.”

In these words, Red Cloud articulated the fervent ******* of the Sioux tribe for peace and love above material wealth. His sentiment stands as a poignant reminder of the universal yearning for harmony and compassion, transcending the boundaries of time and culture.

Top image: An 1845 painting of a group of people from the Sioux tribe by Charles Deas. Source: 

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By Mark Miller

References

Erdoes, R. & Ortiz, A. 1985.  ********* Indian Myths and Legends. Pantheon.

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Sioux, Native *********, massacre, ******* States, tribe, Colonization
#Ancient #Sioux #Tribe #Ghost #Dance #Savior

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