Natives have been called red forever. I have never met a red native, noteven on my reservation, not even at the Museum of the American Indian,not even at the largest powwow in Parker, Arizona.

~y Elder says: Cut off your ear,and you will live. Cut off your hand, you willlwe.Cut offyour leg,you can still live. Cut off our water:we will not livemorethan a week

The water we drink, like the air we breathe, is not a part of our body butis our body. What we do to one-to the body, to the water-we do to theother.

This is not metaphor.

Resolutions

breaking

Insidiously it would start, and grow, and grow, tormenting him with an endless cycleof the same questions, until they would become an obsession. “If she, a well-brought-up girl,could do that for me, then why not for other men? Were there other men? Who were they?” Intime a curtain of distrust would separate them, and that was no way for a husband and wife tospend their life together.

Not even in exchange for what she would dearly love to know: whether that littlefigurine represented his prayer for her

She must tell Mitawa as soon as he couldunderstand how his father was handsome and strong, gentle and kind, modest of his abilities asa hunter, thoughtful, and, above all, fearless—even unto death. Mitawa must be proud of him!

When everyone was up to par in this kinship interchange of loyalty and mutual dependence, lifecould be close to perfect.

All my relatives are noble,” she thought. “They make of their duties toward others aprivilege and a delight.

It was the way of father’s sisters and women cousins to overlook even one’s faults out ofloyalty to one’s father, their brother, believing the best of one even when the worst wasundeniably clear

Waterlily shaped the mash into small cakes

Oh, cousin,” she said, “once, after that awful time in thewilds, I said to myself, ‘Will a time ever come when I can be truly happy again?’ And I wassure it never would. But I was wrong. Such a time has come, and this is it.”

baby was hardly one moon old

here they took up their common abode; and that was themarriage

Mitawa, which means My Own.

. “The boy is the old man; he is privileged, for hehas acquired the qualities readymade for him from the old one. He is strangely blessed. Hisgrandfather has left him those traits he made for himself through a long life—gentleness,kindness, fortitude, patience. The boy should carry his name.”

with perfect timing the baby came and the old man went, at dawn.

The Moon of Bursting Buds (April)

honor Little Chief by giving to his wife someespecially beautiful item of dress, a handsome gown or a wrap perhaps. For it was the custom,part of the ancient ways of doing.

When Animals Fatten(June)

Before she was twenty years old, Waterlily had crammed into a single year enough of life tolast her a long while.

Camp-circlepeople were civilized; they knew how to treat one another. They had rules. These childrenwere wild because they lacked any standards of social behavior

. There were no others about them from whom they might learn by imitation. And sothey were growing up without civility—and the results were terrifying to see.

nstantaneously they had turned into wild cubs, readymomentarily to resist being picked up and carried away.

Treat as a man any stranger in your tipiwho bears the physical semblance of a man

he warriors nevertheless extended hospitality to themand, out of human decency, sent them away with quantities of jerked meat and other foods.

It was impossible that his wife at her age could be the mother of those smallchildren, and since the man was the only male, the conclusion was inescapable. “Somethingvery bad” was the way the warriors voiced their suspicion, carefully avoiding the uglyequivalent of “incest.”

stupid-looking woman

the Moon of Raccoons(February), and the Sore Eyes Moon to follow were always marked with the trickiest ofweather.

They had agreed to travel slowly that far, to escort the young widow to herhome

Waterlily heard the cousin’s proposal, andeven the name Lowanla, with complete passivity. She simply thanked the cousin of her deadhusband for his concern and turned away.

She had blushed toremember how once she had been carried away by a charming stranger who also was a singerand a very youthful Sun Dancer

a very fine singer and who had entered the Sun Dance at an early age.

“Wait for Lowanla.

, in fact, for there was a child on the way

Theatmosphere was one that allowed freedom from kinship taboos

This was what auxiliary parents were for—to step in and take over in place ofone’s own parents in their absence,

The link that held her to them was broken. Kind as they were, she suddenly feltherself a complete stranger in their midst. They said to her, “His going makes no difference.You belong here.” She did not think so

They must endure either cold shelters or smoke

reduced to the very lowest poverty. Theywere in fact right back where their ancestors must have been before the advent of the horse.

Weeping, weeping, alwaysweeping! Will a day ever come when I can be truly happy again?”

pitiful sight they were, all brown and tawny and gray, their drabness almostindistinguishable from the sere prairies over which they crawled. They were wearing the lastof the clothing they had brought out with them, long since bedraggled and soiled, ripped andtorn. Even the last of the extra pairs of moccasins were now in holes. Their faces wereblotched here and there with the marks of their disease, and their hair hung loose andneglected, though that was partly in mourning.

Before they leftthey burned everything, including the tipi, each person saving only one fur robe for a wrap byday and a cover for sleeping.

Last evening I found his body, out in those hills yonder, where he met theenemy like a man.” Echo heard this without tears.

he saved their lives.

sing a dirge—in Dakota.

When it rained, their things were soaked; and when wintercame, it was plain, they would suffer cruelly from the cold. The problem of food also becamedesperate, until all they could rely on was an occasional rabbit that the boy snared or a birdthat he killed with his blunt arrows.

Oh, Mother, if only we had started homeward when I wanted to go. But no. ‘Waitfor your father,’ you said. ‘He will not fail us,’ you said.” And she sat down for a long,unhindered cry beside her dead

having been scalped and knifed savagely.

In the darkness she felt Echo’s head and wept to find that the scalphad been cut away, leaving a raw, wet spot on her crown. Elsewhere on her head there wereugly gashes, too. Her baby, clasped in her arms still, was dead from an arrow that just missedEcho

The cries and the din were designed to confuse the inmates of the tipi.

After two days of mourning, Echo’s mother proposed that they move to another spot alongthe stream, away from the scene of so much grief where her son and two of her grandchildrenhad died.

But at least it was there tostay, well beyond the reach of animals. In that they found some comfort.

Ordinarily men handled a man’s body and women a woman’s.

improvised stretcher and hoist it into a tree that overhungthe shelter where death had occurred

as though he were a child or a weakling whose mind could bechanged for him. (Dakotas always resented that

This is a real male you have married,don’t you know!

Leave me to meet this thing alone

You might die in thenight all alone.

When they had brought sage leaves fora couch and spread a blanket over it,

even to the horrid marks that appeared on her smooth young face to mar its beauty.

It was proper to wail lest one be accused of beingcallous and negligent of kinship.

They would have seen it as a gross repudiation of fellow humanbeings

“Our relatives are precious to us, sick or well. However loathsome might be theirmalady, should we separate ourselves from them, as if they were animals, just to save ourselves?

senior wife, Taluta, mother of Echo and Sacred Horse,

their stay in the wilds was to become aseries of unforgettable horrors.

unalienable rights, and among those are life, liberty, and the pursuit ofhappiness.

“Home is the place to die—unless it bethe battlefield.

he sinister threathanging over the whole camp circle that very night, soon to fall upon it, scattering its frightenedpeople to the four winds.

We forgot our hunger and got busy. Everyone helped. Mother got the water ready whileOhiya went over the prairie, gathering fresh sage plants, the soft, fragrant kind with tender,velvety leaves, for her to wipe my father’s feet dry and cool them at the same time. I took downthe paint bag from the tipi pole where it always hung and opened it as carefully as I couldbecause the paint was in powder form. I spread it out so that it would be ready to use.

He had not really expected her topaint his feet—not yet. That was another custom for seasoned couples who had learned toesteem one another from a long mutual kindliness through the year

they forget themselves, driven by their single desire tosoothe it. Then they pour out a steady flow of tender words into the infant’s ear—and soon theyhave the habit of talking. Just wait and see.

A woman who hastily jumps into marriage by eloping mustneeds go all out to get acquainted with her husband. She can hardly affect bashfulness after herbold step. One who marries by mutual agreement needs only to meet her husband halfway. Butthe one who is bought—well, a man must expect to go all the way. He must do all his wooingafter marriage.

You madeyour first mistake in not staying for a while with her family, where she would have only you toadjust to. Then, when she knew you well, she would be better able to meet the problem of in-laws by itself. I say this out of my own experience.

Finally he went to consult his cousin, a man of more years and more experience than himself.“I am troubled, my cousin

Be respectful; honor them by ‘avoiding’ them

Do not behave in a childish manner toward your husband. You are his helpmeet,not his baby. Be grown up.

Next, it is your duty to honor and respect your husband and to keep your life with him asecret always.

“When you marry, my daughter, remember that your children are more important thanyou.

. Thus kinship once again wielded a controlling force here, in muzzling allidle talk about marital intimacy involving specific personalities

Nor was there any need to flaunt her married state. Why should she, since there was noparticular triumph where the premise was “man in pursuit, woman overcome.” Thuspresumably she had not landed him; he had landed her. Let the man gloat,

the family of birth and the family of marriage. In the one, a person was permitted toplay the child occasionally; in the other, he must strictly play the adult, as a matter of self-respect, once having accepted an adult role

It was the habit of thepeople to eliminate other, similar objects until they isolated the one they wished to point out:not that, nor that, nor that yonder—but the othe

“well, he calls me ‘injun’—that meansDakota in his language. I say, ‘Got tobacco?’ when I want a smoke. It isn’t hard. And too, myfriend talks some Dakota, so we get along. Oh, he is my friend, all right!”

But Red Leaf’s parents had taken the matter seriously and approvedit so much that there had been an exchange of presents. And then the two fellows wereseparated and were seemingly destined never to meet again, at least as playmates.

How he had come in breathless and solemn to announce tothe family, “We have gone into fellowhood.” Blue Bird and Rainbow had accepted the news alittle doubtfully, reminding Ohiya that such a friendship was for grown men who understood theheavy obligations and were prepared to face them always.

You say he is old and blind and alone. Don’t you know, people like thatyearn to die. So do not feel so bad ... anyway, we all must die

Waterlily recalled that on the previous evening, when she stood alone with her left earturned in the direction of her home, there had been a loud ring as if from far away. It had comedirectly at her and seemed to penetrate her being

But as my father always said, tears are for shedding only over thedead. He was right

Such marks of fondness were not meant to be done like a daily chore.

No affectionate act wasever demanded or taken for granted

tender affection and the only bit of demonstrativeness between husband and wife thatany outsider was permitted to see, for such things as kissing or embracing, even in fun, weredefinitely not done in public

father-in-law was placidly dressing his wives’ hair, in turn. He was sitting at rightangles to the middle wife and had first unbraided the hair on that side, combed it all out gently,oiled it till it shone, and was now braiding it again. All his wives had very long hair. He wasproud of that

Busy and well treated, Waterlily was getting nicely acclimated to her new environment.

pleasant penalty of having an exceptionally skillful hunter for a husband

if she was still at work on something, food would be standinginside, ready cooked, for her to serve her husband and herself. The many relatives of marriagesaw to that, vieing with one another to show her every courtesy. It was well that they did so,for Waterlily was tired after a day of heavy work

perhaps it was wrong to have bought her. Perhaps her heart was not inthis marriag

The married did not demand one another’s exclusive attention. Always awareof the presence of other people, they adjusted to them also. Waterlily asked for no moreattention from her husband than did other women from theirs, nor would she have wanted itpublicly; rather, it would have embarrassed her

The sod on top had been lifted out intact in large pieces. After bracing the openingunderneath as seemed sufficient, the men replaced that sod, mending the sutures with dirt andsprinkling grass and leaves and pebbles so that a passerby would have great difficultyrealizing what it was if he should happen onto that very spot, so out of the way—though itmight happen. They took that chance

To store the packs of food, one man let himself down into the cache by means of a pole

one complete and harmonious pattern

flat envelope containers of rawhide

The countless steps pressingupon the meat had so completely broken up the fibers that now it was soft and pliable, asordinary jerked meat was not. With such tenderizing, the meat would “eat better” when it wascooked. The whole enterprise was an exacting task, with benefits far in the future.

By then it had been blanched to a grayishshade from the dark color it was when it underwent treading.

whatever moisture still remained after the meat was exposed outside. After the treading, themeat was hung up again, to dry through and through. Day after day it was kept hanging out tillsunset

. “When I was your age ... Alas, where is thestamina of youth today?” And the boys, trying to vindicate their generation, strove all theharder in their efforts to disprove the charge that boys weren’t what boys used to be.

old grandfathers,now helpless in all else but their tongues, sat by, singing their praises to keep them going, orcajoling, and finally ridiculing them good-naturedly.

A carpet of fresh leaves was spread on the grass, on which the sheets of meat werelaid flat. More leaves were put over the meat, and finally a clean hide was thrown over thewhole. Then the treading began.

They dug a round hole straight down to the length of a tall man’s arm and wideenough in diameter to admit a man. From that depth they began to widen it as they workeddown. They pulled up the loose dirt in bullhides as the diggers sent it up. Those on top carriedthe loads on their backs and dumped the dirt in the tall underbrush, so that no one could see itand speculate on the possibility of a storage cave nearby. When finished, the cache was aclean, roomy chamber far underground, its shape resembling an immense jar set into the earth

Then at least for a time weshall eat, ere we die

What manner of men are they, to be so wasteful? Are they children? Do they not yethave their senses? If this keeps on, we shall all starve!”

she said, explaining that the fourth, a complete outsider, was such atroublemaker that Good Hunter had sent her back to her family in a distant band

He bought me.” Later on, heryounger sister had been given to him by her parents “that she might be with her elder sister, tohelp her and to enjoy her protection.” It was customary to do this, especially if the youngunmarried girl was motherless and needed the protection and counsel of her sister. Still later,the cousin, an even younger woman, had been added to the household on the same plea.

one of them overmuch for a time, the others joked about it and let it pass.

Likewise, all the women were equally responsible for all thechildren, being mothers to them all. Indeed, until an outsider was well acquainted, he could nottell which woman was the real mother of any child, except the nursing baby.

Hunter had his own space, and the older children had theirs. Three young sons of the secondwife shared one, and six girls occupied two spaces, one of the girls being a cousin living withthem. Also present were a grandparent or two. And generally an uncle and his wife, or someother couple who were close relatives, stayed there also. There were spaces for them all

Our tipi had nineteen poles. My uncle’s had twenty-three. His wasbigger than ours because he always had a great deal of company, being head of our tiyoṡpaye.”The mother-in-law, Taluta, went on to say that the tipis of Good Hunter all required thirty-four poles, excluding the two outside that controlled the windflaps, and that it took men to raisethe poles and hoist the tent; women alone could not erect a tipi this size.

“But it is too much liberty that you take, the way you talk so freely with your son’s wife.” Towhich she replied, “What of it? I can’t let that rule stop me. She is only a child, after all, andfar from her own people because we carried her off. She must be homesick at times. If I cancheer her up, what is so bad in that?

They must be distantly helpful andrespectful, and their respect must consist in not getting in her way or demanding her attentionon them. Her reciprocal role was the same.

hereupon one of her mothers-in-law, who was cooking at theoutdoor fire and till then had seemed not to see her there, called out to the child, “That’s right!Embrace her and make love to her. When you are big, perhaps she will leave Sacred Horseand elope with you. She is far too beautiful for him, anyway!” So Waterlily learned that it wasa little brother-in-law that she held on her lap

They hoped Waterlily would joke back when she knew who they were. This was theirpreliminary skirmish, to introduce themselves and to find out whether she was the type to enjoythe joking privilege. It was all in fun—to get a rise out of her, if possible.

hey were having fun trying to rattle her.Nobody needed to tell her who they were. They were either brothers or cousins of herhusband, which put them in a joking relationship to her.

The relatives did not makedemands on her, or make her conspicuous and uncomfortable by focusing special attention onher or obliging her to talk, unless she wished. The delicacy of her husband’s people in thisrespect comforted her

This newresponsibility to represent her people kept her very quiet and observant, and she preferred tobe a little inconspicuous at all times. That was safer than to be too enthusiastic and perhaps sayor do the wrong things

adjusting to her husband’s family and relatives, whichwas a social matter.

In all respects shehad the makings of a contented lifelong virgin

Property comes and goes and comes again. And it matters not that it goes, since itcannot endure but must decay, even were one to hold onto it with both hands

there was no virtuein control of grief over death as there was in control of all other emotions.

Of all the local boys, the handsomest were herrelatives, anyway.

Yes, she had been a little fool;

Waterlily was hot with shame and dared not speaklest her voice betray her embarrassment.

ven if you are greatly attracted to a man, you mustnot go after him. That is a man’s part; a woman’s is to be pursued.

I want you to remember certain things: When a man talks to you, do not commit yourself atonce. Do not be hasty to consent, no matter how charming you think he is. He may be onlyplaying at courtship. Many do, to try a woman out. If she is too easy, they do not want her forlife, knowing they cannot trust her.“Above all, remember this: he must see you and decide he is interested—not you, him.

o talk to her, using the unhappy young woman as an object lesson.

But the introduction of white man’s goods, exciting as it was, could not overshadow a recentscandal in the camp circle that was creating a great to-do as the travelers returned. A youngwoman from a good family had eloped with a philanderer who, after keeping her with him inthe hills for several days, had left her to return home. That was a tragedy for her, for herreputation would always suffer because of it. There was no real forgiving such a step

a novel touch indeed, combiningancient custom and new material.

as was customary, her friends brought courtesy foods to Blue Bird and she gavethem return gifts, those gifts were novel indeed: dress-length material, or a bowl of china ormetal, a dipper, a kettle, or perhaps an ingeniously made water keg.

Almost at once the smoke rose thick and dark and very aromatic. The holy man waited asecond and then held the pipe above it, letting the smoke play over it thoroughly.

Surely, surely now the peoplewill live.”

Even the terrible pity that drove her to such anastonishing performance no longer seemed to explain it satisfactorily. And suddenly she feltshe never wanted to see that singer Lowanla again

When finally one broke away, tearing out the flesh, he fellheadlong, amid the cries of anguish from the women spectators

And as he continued to dance he threw himselfviolently away from one post to another in a frantic effort to tear himself free.

made up of many small rites and elements accompanyingthe actual dancing while gazing at the sun.

Sun Dance whistle between his lips and blew in sharp, shrill staccatos. Thewhistles were made from the bone of an eagle’s wing,

red ceremonial paint

I take your tree only that my people may learn of you“‘The way to raise their young as you raise yours, with tender care.’”“He says, ‘Only so that my people may live!

Today a comely youth offers himself in sacrifice,“And he needs your tree.

great circle overhead

Apology to theBirds.”

fourth time

But thiswas a ceremonial move and it was essential to make the four ritual pauses along the way, inhonor of the four sacred directions, the Four Winds

Sometimes, when in a circle, if I wish co exit, I muse leap.And let the body swing.From che platform.Outco the grasses.53

"Real"poemsdo not "really"requirewords

ne of che first co be executedby the Dakota was Andrew Myrick.

"If they are hungry, lee chem eat grass.

The Dakota people had no land co return co.

In addition, local government traders would not offer credit co "Indians" co purchase food orgoods.Without money, score credit, or rights co hunt beyond their ten-mile trace ofland, Dakota peoplebegan to starve.The Dakota people were starving

As you may have guessed by now, che money promised in the turbid treaties did not make itinto the hands of Dakota people

"trickery."

"Why were thirty-eight Dakota men hung?

The signing of the Emancipation Proclamation was included in the film Lincoln;che hangingof the Dakota 38 was not.

To date, chis is che largest "legal" mass execution in US history

Not where people must walk!Bury it to one side of the entrance. Do you want our cousin to sicken and die from people’swalking over her tooth?

“The best I have is for my kola.”

Palani’s iron gray and Rainbow’s sorrel were American horses.

systematic horse stealing, which was a legitimate part of all intertribal warfare.

isitors should notstraightway enter, without first letting it be known that they were about to arrive.

he hugged Smiling One close, feeling sick with sympathyfor the unknown children.

I can see but one effect, myself. It should only make them actworse, frightened so they cannot think

By talking loudly and fast and by striking them, the people doubtlesshope to scare them into good behavior. I know it sounds queer.”

“Listen! those peopleactually detest their children!

Do their women have hair on their faces, too? And do they get crimson in the sun?”

And their children—what aboutthem?” Her interest always leaned toward children, her own first and then others

They go along on their waywithout recognizing fellow humans as they pass, very unmannerly they seem,

obligations were a pleasure.

In every phase of life they must act without thought of self, in defense of andto the advantage of the other. One must give one’s life to save the other.

eternal loyalty.

There he and Palani met and took an instant liking to each other, and beforeparting they entered into what was known as fellowhood, a solemn friendship pact that mustendure forever

They must wait until spring, when the people would be in the camp circle again.

When, for instance, it was the Kit Fox’s turn, the members must be ready for anyassignment and any emergency. The rest of the time they were a loosely organized social cluband met occasionally for dancing and feasting, free to pursue their individual interestsotherwise.

It was not demanded of them, or of any man, to go to war unless he wanted to go. Themilitary orders functioned rather as messengers, scouts, camp police, in short, as guardians ofthe camp circle and its people. They patrolled and regulated the communal hunt and in everyway carried out the orders of the magistrates and council.

Spurious societies sprang upfrom time to time, flourished for a while, and then died out.

other five ancient societies in the tribe.

In addition,every candidate must have a record of consistent hospitality and generosity, which were thequalities that marked a good citizen of the camp circle

interpreter between cultures

Ella Deloria’s work of transcription, translation,and cultural interpretation has provided the data and insight from which we can come tounderstand the Sioux people of the last century in the way that she intended, as fellow humanbeings.

Sioux past that she has bequeathed to us all, Indian and non-Indian alike

The twists and turns of plot are no morefantastic than the true-life autobiographies Deloria recorded from living people. The story ischarged with universal human interest, set firmly in the matrix of Sioux cultural practices andunderstandings.

she developed a shrewd ability to encode strategies of dissidence withinEuroamerican narrative forms.

out of her interviewees’many voices came her texts

Most of Ella Deloria’s lifework still remains unknown, unpublished, and unanalyzed

Ella Deloria was the only woman directly related to these remarkable

Her whitegrandfather, Brig. Gen. Alfred Sully, was a career Indian fighter.)

cultural broker

she knew what they expected and that she could not offer them all ofwhat they wanted, or even all of what she wanted.

her aim was to interest Episcopallaypeople in learning more about Indian peoples.

Her life was migratory, like thatof her people traditionally, although her travels were governed by the grant and proposaldeadlines of the North American academic year rather than by seasonal, cyclic time. Herhousehold was as meager as it was portable