The White Buffalo Calf Woman

863 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: lakota sioux indians essay

The White Buffalo Calf Woman

The Lakota Sioux Indians of the Great Plains possess rich religious traditions which are tied closely to the Earth. Though the relegation of these people to reservations amid the environmental disasters of American development has resulted in the near destruction of an ancient culture, some Lakota Sioux continue to fight for the preservation of their sacred lands animals, civil rights, and way of life.

The seven original bands of the Great Sioux Nation were joined in an alliance called the “Seven Council Fires.” This confederation included three separate groups, each with its own dialect; the Santee spoke Dakota, the Yankton spoke Nakota, and the Teton spoke Lakota. By 1800, the Great Sioux Nation covered most of the Northern plains, including the Dakotas, Northern Nebraska, Eastern Wyoming, and Southeastern Montana. The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803. The westward expansion that followed eventually lead to the depletion of the buffalo, an animal sacred and central to the Lakota way of life. In 1866 Chief Red Cloud lead a successful fight to close off the Bozeman Trail, a pass leading to the gold mines of Montana. This trail crossed over traditional Lakota hunting grounds, and heavy traffic resulted in desecration of many sacred lands. Hope came in 1868 in the form of the Fort Laramie Treaty, which established the Great Sioux Reservation, encompassing most of present-day South Dakota west of the Missouri River, including the Black Hills. The U.S. government pledged to keep whites out of this territory, but this agreement was soon reneged upon. In 1874 Lt. Col. George A. Custer discovered gold in the Black Hills, sending a rush of prospectors to the a...

... middle of paper ...

...ned silvery-tan, versions of the prophecy state that the white buffalo calf would change colors four times, signifying the colors of the four peoples she would unite: black, red yellow, and white. Miracle has also been confirmed by the Lakota as the calf of the prophecy because of winter counts, which are used to date the telling of the White Buffalo Calf Woman story. Her birth has been a boon to the community because of the tremendous amount of positive attention it draws from the mainstream media. Mainstream interest in this especially sacred event creates many opportunities for people to be educated about the beliefs of the Lakota, and creates a positive bridge between people. These hopeful developments can also be seen as fulfillments of the prophecy if they are indeed helping to bring about peace and harmony, just as the White Buffalo Calf Woman predicted.

Show More
Related

  • The Sioux Indians And The Sioux Tribe Of Native Americans

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Sioux Indians are a tribe of Native Americans that have endured persecution, segregation, and isolation. Though they suffered greatly, they stuck together and fought for their beliefs and religion. They are a diverse people ranging from warriors to holy men to farmers. The Sioux were a culturally rich and kindhearted people who were not afraid to stand up for what they believed in.

    Read More

  • The Battle of the Little Bighorn

    1540 Words  | 4 Pages

    The conflict that occurred between the U.S. Government and the Native American Indian tribes, known as the Great Sioux War. It was a lengthy, disjointed struggle between the U.S. Army and the allied tribes of the Teton Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Indians that occurred in the span of fifteen months between, March 1876 and May 18771. Hostilities between the U.S. Government and the Native American Indian tribes grew due to the movement of settlers on the land promised to them. The Northern Plains, which consist of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana, is where the majority of the war took place. The most prominent battle of this war was the Battle of Little Big Horn, due to the amount of casualties taken by the U.S. 7TH Cavalry led by General George Armstrong Custer. The Native American tribes that defeated the 7TH Cavalry were led by Sitting Bull of the Hunkpapa Sioux. The battle that occurred at the Black Hills of South Dakota was a result of looking for the prospect of gold in the area2.

    Read More

  • Battle Analysis of the Battle of Little Bighorn

    2009 Words  | 5 Pages

    In 1875, Custer had made a commitment to the Sioux (aka. Lakota) that he would no longer fight Native Americans. Custer's promise happened to take place as a U.S. Senate commission meeting was taking place with the Lakota in an effort to purchase the gold mining fields in the Black Hills (which Custer had discovered a year earlier). The Lakota rejected the senate’s offer in favor of sticking with the 1868 treaty that promised protection of their lands. In spite of this treaty, LTC Custer was used by the government to assist in the removal of the natives living in the Northern Plains (Fox, 1997).

    Read More

  • Mary Crow Dog in the American Indian Movement

    525 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the American Indian Movement, many Native Americans tribes came together as a unit and fought against the injustices that were thrust upon them by American governmental polices. The fact that many Native people were ?whitemanized? through Christianity and other things that such as boarding school played a role in shaping Native peoples identity. However, the involvement in the American Indian Movement shaped the identity of Mary Crow Dog by making her accept who she was ?an Indian woman, and by making her more willing to fight for the rights of Native Americans.

    Read More

  • Battle Of Little Bighorn Research Paper

    876 Words  | 2 Pages

    Several events led to the Battle of Little Bighorn. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 created a reservation for the Indians giving them exclusive rights to the Black Hills, “the reservation included present day South Dakota, eastern Wyoming, as well as lands in Nebraska,” (“blackhillsvisitor.com”). The Northern Pacific Railroad route west of the Dakota Territory brought tension in 1872. A General Philip H. Sheridan “in command of the Army’s Department of the Missouri,” (“blackhillsvisitor.com”), in order to cease conflict established a fort near the Black Hills. He sent Lt. Colonel George A. Custer on an expedition to do reconnaissance on the Black Hills, a direct violation of the 1868 treaty. “Custer’s report of a gold discovery in the summer of 1874” (“blackhillsvisitor.com”), brought many gold seekers to illegally settle in the Black Hills. The U.S. Government not willing to remove the settlers and not being able to purchase the territory from the Indians, to keep the gold for themselves, alongside with the Indian raids on settlements led to the government ordering the return of the Indians back ...

    Read More

  • Fort Laramie Treaty

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    After many years of battling with the Native Americans for land, the United States grew tired of the fight and sought "peace". The first Fort Laramie treaty of 1851 acknowledged the Lakota territory, which consisted of North and South Dakota, parts of Montana, Nebraska, and Wyoming as belonging to the Sioux Indians. This was a considerably large section of land equating to about five percent of the United States (Calloway, 2012). The U.S. government realized the abundant natural resources of gold that existed in this territory and attempted to enact the Bozeman Trail. This trail ran through Sioux territory into the gold mines of Montana. This attempt at utilizing Indian land to get at the gold brought about Red Cloud's war in which the U.S. army was brought to a complete halt. This was an embarrassment to the U.S. and through this slaughter brought about the second Treaty of Fort Laramie in an effort to bring about "peace". The second treaty enacted in 1868, was full of deception and disharmony. This short analysis of the treaty will examine the snares which were purposely weaved into the wording of this lengthy document, which benefited the United States and chipped away at the Native Americans culture, freedom, and land.

    Read More

  • Human Interactions with Nature in the Rocky Mountain States

    2835 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Native American tribes of the American Rocky Mountain States were long characterized as being homogenous with little difference between them. In reality they are as diverse as European states, but like Europeans the religions that shaped their actions held a common theme. “[A]ll their religions had important characteristics in common… the Indian visionaries felt the universe about them and dedicated themselves to keeping man’s world in balance with the cosmos... All of them sought to communicate with the powers of nature.” (Hurdy 14) The words of Hopi chiefs and elders, declared in 1951, are true for all tribes: “Our land, our religion, and our life are one.” (Martin 15)

    Read More

  • Native Americans and Cultural Assimilation

    1945 Words  | 4 Pages

    Duane Champagne in Social Change and Cultural Continuity Among Native Nations explains that there has never been one definitive world view that comprises any one Native American culture, as there is no such thing as one “Native community” (2007:10). However, there are certain commonalities in the ways of seeing and experiencing the world that many Native communities and their religions seem to share.

    Read More

  • History Of The Cheyenne Indians

    3318 Words  | 7 Pages

    Indian nations like the Cheyenne Tribe, the Choctaw tribe and the Navajo tribe are often overlooked, though they have been quite influential in our history as a continuously growing world. Modern culture and society cares nothing for the start of the tribes, nor their modern state, their help to our beginning and continuance, or to the modern culture and society of those indian tribes.

    Read More

  • Navajo Life Ways

    898 Words  | 2 Pages

    Oral history teaches the Navajo be aware of changes in the land and to protect Navajo synecdoche by avoiding ominous threats like rodents (35). But more significantly, oral history, as taught by the elders, requires the Navajo to respect their ceremonial dances, winter shoe games, and spiritual artifacts by refusing to sell their culture for capital (39). Navajo leaders used this 1993 illness to evaluate ignored cultural values and use ceremonies to strengthen “familiar ties and relationships” (40). By neglecting their traditions, the Navajo were bringing destruction upon themselves. Elders also sharply pointed out that “physical changes in the land reflect a break down in the proper relationship between Navajo and mother Earth” (39). The destruction of the Navajo exists in the uranium mining pits, road and water projects and dumping sites, unless prescribed healing ceremonies and future obedience can redeem their relationship with the land and the Holy People.

    Read More

  • Negative Effects Of American Imperialism

    510 Words  | 2 Pages

    Whites found gold in Sioux land and wanted the Sioux to sell their land. The Sioux said no, and so the whites invaded. “Anyway, this was all the excuse needed for government to pour resources into subduing Sioux and negotiating a new treaty (1876) which ceded the Black Hills. And much hunting ground. This: destroyed way of life, disrupted leadership, destroyed economy, destroyed religion, and created conflicts among Indians themselves.” In 1878, the Timber and Stone Act let people buy land that was “unfit for cultivation” for really cheap prices.

    Read More

  • Native American Tradition And Religion

    1257 Words  | 3 Pages

    Due to the wide range of habitats in North America, different native religions evolved to match the needs and lifestyles of the individual tribe. Religious traditions of aboriginal peoples around the world tend to be heavily influenced by their methods of acquiring food, whether by hunting wild animals or by agriculture. Native American spirituality is no exception. Traditional Lakota spirituality is a form of religious belief that each thing, plant and animal has a spirit. The Native American spirituality has an inseparable connection between the spirituality and the culture. One cannot exist without the other.

    Read More

  • Native American Spirituality And Spirituality

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    These Indigenous people realized that the only way to heal the poverty, dysfunction, addiction, and violence that has plagued them since the ‘assimilation’ efforts was to turn back to their traditional spiritual practices and teach them to the young people (Robbins). Often, the return to Native traditions has meant taking on environmental concerns, opposing development activities, and becoming politically active to protect the nature that is so closely tied to indigenous spiritual practices. This is what makes indigenous spirituality different and hard to define and protect, it is closely tied to the land and environment, which is very different from religion (Fisher). The United Nations defines the situation perfectly in “The State of the World’s Indigenous People: Chapter 2”: “…spirituality defines the relationships of indigenous peoples with their environment as custodians of the land; it helps construct social relationships, gives meaning, purpose and hope to life.” (Kipuri,

    Read More

  • Leslie Silko's, Yellow Woman: An Old Myth Changed into a Modern Story

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    Introduction: The concept of the change and longevity of the fairy tale (or myth) is well illustrated in the story “Yellow Woman” by Leslie Silko. Not only is the story a modern explanation of a traditional Native American myth, but the style that Silko uses to tell it evokes and adapts the oral communication style that those old myths were passed down with. The story is also very self-consciously aware of its place as a modern revision of a myth, and makes many internal references to this aspect of itself. “Yellow Woman” becomes, in effect, the modern version of a Native American myth or legend, and therefore is a perfect example of the way in which old tales are made new.

    Read More

  • Sitting Bull Thesis

    513 Words  | 2 Pages

    Army in 1874, when General George A Custer said that gold had been discovered in the Black Hills of the Dakota Territory. This was a sacred area to many tribes and had always been off-limits to white settlement since the signing of the Fort Laramie Treaty. The government tried to purchase this land, but failed, so the Fort Laramie Treaty was set aside and ordered that all Lakota were to leave their land by January 31, 1867. Sitting Bull refused to leave so he and his tribe stood their ground. They later realized that there were more army men than Lakota, so they joined forces with other

    Read More

More about The White Buffalo Calf Woman

Open Document