Learning About The Lakota Culture

By Ruth Ross


If you have never heard of an oral tradition before, it is not very difficult of a thing to understand. All that you need to know is that it is a way of passing down histories and legends by means of storytelling, which is something that is done verbally. This is the way that many cultures have passed down their traditions and many other bits of vital information down the generations for countless years, and a prime example of this in action would be the lakota culture.

It is an unfortunate thing that when Europeans were settling across North America, they were trying to get Native Americans to live the way they do. This led to countless cases of genocide and stamping out a beautiful culture. Because of these settlers' actions, many great pieces of history have been lost forever.

This is something that has lasted a long time. It is still alive to this very day, in fact, which is something that the people who are still living and teaching this lifestyle are certainly quite proud of. This is just a merit of how effective their oral tradition is, and that is why the people who carry it on are so serious about continuing it and not deviating from what their ancestors have done.

When it is the wintertime, it is often too cold to get much done outside that is productive, and it is often too cold to even play or have fun outside. It is also darker for longer during this time of the year, so one of the only things to do is sit around the fire and hear what the elder folks have to say. This is the best time to hear the stories that these people will tell time and time again.

The key to having an oral tradition is that you repeat the same stories time and time again. That way, all of the tiniest details of the tale will sink into the memories of the young ones. This is essential for the stories to be properly passed down, otherwise, their histories and legends might degenerate or mutate over time.

One thing that was lost to European settlers trying to assimilate these people were pictorial diagrams. These were not mere doodles, rather, pieces of history. Every year, they would record the events this way.

A great thing about these people's histories is that it goes all the way back to the beginning of time. This is the benefit of having a record of history that doesn't wear down with erosion. It can be a very interesting insight into ancient history.

An interesting story from these people is that the first of them to arrive in this world were actually tricked by a divine force. They were then turned into buffalo. It is an interesting origin story for an iconic creature.




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