The Sioux migrated to the upper Plains states from the headwaters of the Mississippi in the sixteenth century because of warfare with the Cree. After the move west, a long-standing feud with the Chippewa continued on their flank, while they found themselves coming into conflict with the Arikara, Cow and Pawnee on the plains. By the nineteenth century the Sioux had mastered the stife by acquiring horses and guns, and had formed an alliance with the Cheyenne and Arapaho.

Because of the conflict with the Chippewa, those Sioux living in the east were willing to cede their lands to the US government in 1830, and those in Minnesota followed suit between 1849 and 1851. The Sioux had relatively little contact with the white man prior to the middle of the nineteenth century, but the situation changed for the worse after 1862. The Sioux Wars, which lasted for essentially 38 years, were the bloodiest of all the Indian wars that were fought in North America.

In 1862 Chief Little Crow and the M’dekakantons massacred 644 Minnesotans and attacked New Ulm and Fort Ridgely. Colonel Henry Sibley was finally able to defeat them at Wood Lake and to rescue 269 captives. In the west, the warfare against the whites had been sporadic. A wagon train had been attacked as early as 1841, and in 1854 a group of soldiers had been massacred near Fort Laramie. The Minnesota Sioux War, however, brought a general Sioux uprising. An expedition was mounted against the uprising in 1865. A treaty was proposed at Fort Laramie but rejected by Oglala Sioux Chief Red Cloud (Mahpiua-luta), who then escalated the war against the United States.

What came to be known as Red Cloud’s War began in 1866. Colonel Henry Carrington had been detailed to establish a series of forts in Wyoming and Montana to protect the Bozeman Trail, when he was attacked on 21 December by Red Cloud’s forces. Captain William Getterman’s rescue column was intercepted and massacred to the last man. Red Cloud then besieged Fort Laramie itself. On 2 August 1867 the Sioux intercepted another supply train, under Captain James Powell. This time the soldiers were equipped with rapid-fire rifles and were able to use iron-reinforced wagon boxes as barricades. Powell’s men held off repeated attacks, killing roughly 60 of their attackers, turning the ‘Wagon Box Fight’ into a defensive victory for the Army.

On 6 November 1868 Red Cloud signed a treaty at Fort Laramie by which he agreed to a cease-fire on the condition that the two new forts between Laramie and Bozeman be abandoned. Having won his war, Red Cloud was willing to accept a huge reservation that was set aside for the Sioux in Dakota territory. The reservation was, at that time, larger than the state of Pennsylvania and larger than any of the nations established in Indian Territory. From his headquarters at the Red Cloud 9later Pine Ridge) Agency, the chief became a recognized and respected Sioux leader, and made several trips to Washington, DC on behalf of his people before his death in 1909 at the age of 87.

 The conclusion of Red Cloud’s War brought a lessening of hostilities but by no means an end to them. Many of the Sioux continued the guerilla war against the white settlers and the white soldiers. Oglala Chief Crazy Horse and the Hunkpapa Chiefs Gall and Sitting Bull (actually Sitting Buffalo Bull, or Tatankya Iyotake), all of whom had participated in the fight during Red Cloud’s War led the major Sioux forces. Ignoring the Fort Laramie Treaty and the move to the Dakota Reservation, these groups continued to live in their old hunting grounds in the Yellowstone River drainage of southeastern Montana.

In 1876 US Army Chief of Staff, General William Tecumseh Sherman, asked his old Civil War colleague, Lt General Phil Sheridan, to organize a major summer offensive against the Sioux in Montana. The plan involved a three pronged pincer, with General George Crook marching north from Fort Laramie, General John Gibbon east from Helena and General Alfred Terry west from Fort Abraham Lincoln (Bismarck). The heart of Terry’s force was the Seventh Cavalry under Colonel George Armstrong Custer, the flamboyant cavalry leader who had so dramatically defeated the Cheyenne at the Battle of the Washita in 1868.

On 21 June 1876 Gibbon linked up with Terry, and Custer and the officers then met aboard the steamboat Far West on the Yellowstone River near Rosebud Creek to discuss strategy. Unknown to them, however, Crook had been defeated by Crazy Horse on the upper Rosebud on 17 June without having reached Montana, and he had withdrawn southward to regroup. In the absence of any word from Crook, Terry decided that they should move quickly to locate and engage the main body of Indians, which was thought to be somewhere in the upper Bighorn River drainage, perhaps near the confluence with its tributary, the Little Bighorn. Custer’s Seventh Cavalry was assigned to move south to search the Rosebud Creek drainage. Terry and Gibbon, with their slower infantry, progressed south on the Bighorn to meet Custer, who was to turn north on the Bighorn when he reached the headwaters of Rosebud Creek.

On 24 June, however, Custer detected signs of a large, recent Indian encampment. Fearing they might escape, he turned northwestward into the valley of the Little Bighorn to follow their trail. On the morning of 25 June, Custer’s scouts sighted the Indians. They didn’t realize that it was not just an Indian camp but perhaps the largest annual council in the history of the Plains tribes. There were more than 3000 people present at the council, and among them were hundreds of warriors, many of them fresh from the successful defeat of General Crook’s column.

Leaving Captain Frederick Benteen and some of his cavalrymen to guard the pack train, Custer organized two attack columns. One, under Major Marcus Reno, would attack through the Little Bighorn Valley from the south, while Custer himself would lead the bulk of the Seventh Cavalry along the eastern ridge and attack the center of the encampment from above.

At 3pm on 25 June, Reno met stiff resistance and was forced to withdraw. In the meantime, Custer had been detected. By 4pm his troopers were under attack on the hillside above the Little Bighorn. Custer and his force of 215 men established a defensive position and attempted to fight off the attack, but they were no match for the overwhelming number of warriors led by Crazy Horse. Within 45 minutes, all 215 were dead.

The Sioux and Cheyenne broke camp and moved on before Terry and Gibbon arrived at the scene of the debacle. When news of the "Custer Massacre" reached the national media, the public outcry forced the US Army to redouble its efforts to punish the Sioux and place the entire tribe on the reservation. General Nelson Miles located, defeated and captured Crazy Horse at Wolf Mountain on 7 January 1877 and chased Sitting Bull’s band across the border into Canada, where they remained until 1881.

Crazy Horse was killed later in 1877 enroute to prison at Fort Robinson, Nebraska. Sitting Bull returned to the Sioux Reservation in 1881 and remained there until his death in 1890, except during his 1886 tour with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

In 1890 the popularity of the Ghost Dance religion swept the Indian Tribes of the Basin and Plains. This religion, to which a large number of Sioux at the reservation subscribed, taught than an Indian messiah would come among the tribes to unite all Indians, living and dead. The Ghost Dance itself was a bizarre ritual that stirred the Indians into a frenzy. This, in turn, frightened the whites living near the reservation. The Army, considering it to be the portent of another major uprising, went on alert and Sitting Bull was ordered to be arrested. When he was accidentally killed during the arrest on 15 December 1890, tensions increased dramatically. A band of Sioux, under the sickly Oglala Chief Big Foot, fled to the badlands. They later surrendered to the Seventh Cavalry on 28 December. The following day, when the Army ordered the Indians disarmed, a shot was fired which touched off a firefight that ended with the death of 29 soldiers and 200 Indians, including woman and children. This controversial massacre at Wounded Knee was the last battle of the Sioux wars. The next major shooting confrontation between the Sioux and the US government coincidentally also took place at Wounded Knee, 83 years later, during the winter of 1973.

In 1970 there were 51,645 Sioux in the United States (including 37,380 in South Dakota alone), and another 2503 in Canada. This represented an increase over their total estimated 1950 population of 35,000.

In 1985 there were 18,754 Oglala Sioux at the Pine Ridge Reservation, 11,685 Teton Sioux at the Rosebud Reservation, 8443 Teton Sioux at the Standing Rock Reservation, 5150 Teton Sioux at the Cheyenne River Agency, 1082 Teton Sioux at the Lower Brulé Reservation, 4043 Sisseton Sioux at the Sisseton Reservation, 2355 Yankton Sioux at the Crow Creek Reservation, and 2929 Yankton Sioux at the Yankton Reservation, for a total of 54,441 Sioux associated with South Dakota reservations. There were also 3162 Sioux in North Dakota, 422 Sioux in Nebraska, 5073 Sioux in Montana and 639 Sioux in Minnesota.

Chief Steep Wind, in full military dress. Each feather was a reward for a deed in battle.

Long, long ago, two young and handsome Lakota were chosen by their band to find out where the buffalo were. While the men were riding in the buffalo country, they saw someone in the distance walking toward them. As always they were on the watch for any enemy. So they hid in some bushes and waited. At last the figure came up the slope. To their surprise, the figure walking toward them was a woman. When she came closer, she stopped and looked at them. They knew that she could see them, even in their hiding place. On her left arm she carried what looked like a stick in a bundle of sagebrush. Her face was beautiful.

One of the men said, "She is more beautiful than anyone I have ever seen. I want her for my wife."

But the other man replied, "How dare you have such a thought? She is wondrously beautiful and holy--far above ordinary people." Though still at a distance, the woman heard them talking. She laid down her bundle and spoke to them. "Come. What is it you wish?" The man who had spoken first went up to her and laid his hands on her as if to claim her. At once, from somewhere above, there came a whirlwind. Then there came a mist, which hid the man and the woman. When the mist cleared, the other man saw the woman with the bundle again on her arm. But his friend was a pile of bones at her feet. The man stood silent in wonder and awe. Then the beautiful woman spoke to him. "I am on a journey to your people. Among them is a good man whose name is Bull Walking Upright. I am coming to see him especially. "Go on ahead of me and tell your people that I am on my way. Ask them to move camp and to pitch their tents in a circle. Ask them to leave an opening in the circle, facing the north. In the center of the circle, make a large teepee, also facing the north. There I will meet Bull Walking Upright and his people." The man saw to it that all her directions were followed. When she reached the camp, she removed the sagebrush from the gift she was carrying. The gift was a small pipe made of red stone. On it was carved the tiny outline of a buffalo calf. The pipe she gave to Bull Walking Upright, and then she taught him the prayers he should pray to the Strong One Above. "When you pray to the Strong One Above, you must use this pipe in the ceremony. When you are hungry, unwrap the pipe and lay it bare in the air. Then the buffalo will come where the men can easily hunt and kill them. So the children, the men, and the women will have food and be happy." The beautiful woman also told him how the people should behave in order to live peacefully together. She taught them the prayers they should say when praying to their Mother Earth. She told him how they should decorate themselves for ceremonies. "The earth," she said, "is your mother. So, for special ceremonies, you will decorate yourselves as your mother does—in black and red, in brown and white. These are the colors of the buffalo also. "Above all else, remember that this is a peace pipe that I have given you. You will smoke it before all ceremonies. You will smoke it before making treaties. It will bring peaceful thoughts into your minds. If you will use it when you pray to the Strong One above and to Mother Earth you will be sure to receive the blessings that you ask." When the woman had completed her message, she turned and slowly walked away. All the people watched her in awe. Outside the opening of the circle, she stopped for an instant and then lay down on the ground. She rose again in the form of a black buffalo cow. Again she lay down and then arose in the form of a red buffalo cow. A third time she lay down, and arose as a brown buffalo cow. The fourth and last time she had the form of a spotlessly white buffalo cow. Then she walked toward the north into the distance and finally disappeared over a far-off hill. Bull Walking Upright kept the peace pipe carefully wrapped most of the time. Every little while he called all his people together, untied the bundle, and repeated the lessons he had been taught by the beautiful woman. And he used it in prayers and other ceremonies until he was more than one hundred years old. When he became feeble, he held a great feast. There he gave the pipe and the lessons to Sunrise, a worthy man. In a similar way the pipe was passed down from generation to generation. "As long as the pipe is used," the beautiful woman had said, "Your people will live and will be happy. As soon as it is forgotten, the people will perish."

His bow is his mind,

His arrows are his skills,

His quiver is full.

The story of his face paint is replaced by the

stories in his heart.

The handprint on his pony is replaced

by the handprints left on the lives he has touched.

While he wears a shirt and tie,

he is still a warrior none the less.

He does not seek out the battles,

the battles find him

His foes curse his name.

Injustice is the battlefield.

As with the warriors of old, the reasons for war

remain the same,

Someone must protect the child,

the elder,

the weak.

Principles and values, honor and dignity will

forever be the spoils.

The mighty warrior remains proud at heart.

He walks the gauntlet of indifference, and apathy.

He marks coup each time the suffering

rejoices with equality.

The quiet warrior,

the spirit warrior,

January - Moon of Frost in the Tipi/Moon when the Children Starve

February – Moon of the Dark Red Calves

March – Moon of the Snow-blind

April – Moon of the Red Grass Appearing/ Moon of the Grass Appearing

May – Moon When the Ponies Shed

June – Moon of Making Fat/ Moon of the Fatness

July – Moon When the Cherries are Ripe/ Moon of the Red Cherries

August – Moon when the Cherries Turn Black/ Moon of the Black Cherries

September – Moon When the Calves Grow Hair/Moon of the Black Calves/ Moon When the Plums are Scarlet

October – Moon of the Changing Season

November – Moon of the Falling Leaves

December – Moon of the Popping Trees

O Great Spirit

... Whose voice I hear in the winds,

And whose breath gives life to all the world,

Hear me! I am small and weak,

I need your strength and wisdom,

Let me walk in beauty

And make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset,

Make my hands respect the things you have made

And my ears sharp to hear your voice,

Wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people,

Let me learn the lessons hidden in every leaf and rock,

I seek strength,

Not to be greater than my brother,

But to fight my greatest enemy -- myself,

Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes,

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

I thank You for another day. I ask

that You give me the strength to walk

worthily this day so that when I lie

down at night I will not be ashamed.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

At the end of each day, face West and say:

"Thank You for all the things that happened

today, the good as well as the bad."

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Lie down with your navel toward the Earth and your

head to the North, saying:

"Grandmother Earth, please send your

healing energy through this body and

bring it back into balance."

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Face East and think about your problem, saying:

"Grandfather Sun, you come each day to dispel

the darkness. In that same way I ask you to

shed your light so that I may see where to

take the next step."

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Face South, say:

"Help me to know my loved one is with the

Great Spirit and has found rest and peace.

One day we will be reunited, but until

that day I ask for help to keep going

on in life."

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Since the eagle flies close to the Creator

above, we ask that it carry our prayers to Him.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

When you have respect for the elders,

it extends to everything else,

including all of nature and

its life forms.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

In our tribe, we are taught early in life to

be good recipients. When someone gives you something,

whether a big thing or a small thing, our people say,

"The Great Spirit doesn't look at size, only at how

the gift is given."

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

I began to see that, when it comes right down to it,

we are nothing until that nothing becomes so dedicated

that it is like a vessel through which good things can

move, an instrument for receiving knowledge and sharing

it with others who might be in need.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Never claim to know anything until you have

experienced it yourself.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Being aware of everything going on around

you can save your life.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

"It's one thing to live a long time - it's

another thing to learn something in that

space of time. You've been given the gift

of life - don't just become an old man,

learn something."

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

To become powerful is to allow a Greater

Power to work through you.

But seeking power just to be considered

powerful - we don't even talk about it.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

You see, in the way of my people, it's hard for

us to say thank you with nothing in our hands.

We always want to give something in appreciation.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Whenever we pray for something and receive it,

one thing that our people are taught to do is

say Thank You. When you do that, many more

blessings come.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Love and forgiveness are synonymous. There's

hardly any division at all. God likes to forgive -

when we say, "God is love," we can also say, "God is

forgiveness." It means the same thing.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

My people say never point a finger of scorn or

judgement at your fellow man because when you

point, there's three fingers pointing back at

you. You might be three times worse than the

one you're pointing at, so look at yourself first.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

The way my people take care of something that

we're not happy with is to honor it and say,

"Thank you, you have taught me a lesson."

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

If you've got a negative, put a positive in.

They can't both be in the same place at the same

time. Clean it all out.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Why be grateful for the bad? Because

there was a lesson in it. Try to find

that lesson and grow from it.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Be grateful for all the difficult

situations in life because you can

learn something from each one.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

People often ask for my advice and

counseling, but overall, the best

advice I can give to anyone at any time is:

Never complete a negative statement.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

[So] thinking does affect our emotions as

well as our bodies. That's why it's best

to know what you're putting into your

conscious awareness because all of it is

energy, vibrations.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

If you practice using your instincts with

small things, such as whether you need your

jacket, you will eventually be able to rely on

them for the big decisions in life.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

As you arrive somewhere, see if it feels right

in your heart. If it doesn't, then change

direction. Keep following what feels good to

your heart until you find that place again...

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Live life as though you might die tomorrow.

Do what you would like to be doing, and do

your best each day.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

So, think of each day as a loan and

learn to use it wisely.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

And coping with suffering gives meaning

to life - it is what gives us our strength.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

In our struggles we may think we can't go

any further, not realizing that it is merely

a turning point in our life.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Live hopefully. It does not matter what

happens, what your circumstances are, you

have something to connect with.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

If we're going to fail, it's better to fail

trying than just giving up.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

If someone is unkind or throws verbal

daggers at you, that person has a

problem - why make it your problem, too?

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

So praying is not only following rituals

and doing it just right. It's how we feel

inside, how our heart connects, and how we

live. That's called walking the Spirit Road.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Love heals, love is what makes things

a little better than before.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

It's time to stress the things we have in common

with one another, to show how much alike we are.

We might be surprised to find that we are truly

all brothers and sisters in this universe, and

most important, that we have to maintain that

relationship in order to survive.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

My people were told a long time ago, "The rivers

and streams are the veins of the universe.

They're your lifeline, take care of them."

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

We've miscommunicated with our environment

for a long time, not knowing its language.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

It is said that when you are in a sacred

place, you yourself will become sacred.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Everything is part of the Sacred Hoop and

everything is related. Our existence is so

intertwined that our survival depends upon

maintaining a balanced relationship with

everything within the Sacred Hoop.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

To be truly humble isn't an indication

of weakness.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Sit down and notice the world around you.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

To be replenished, we need to keep

emptying ourselves to receive more.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

You have an identity from the One who

gave you life. You are known. Search

for that path and stay on it.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Finding yourself, looking within, is the

most important thing in life.

"This is where I stand. This is who I Am."

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

The Three Questions of self-knowledge

Question 1 - Who Am I?

Question 2 - What have I become with the Who that I Am?

Question 3 - Why am I here?

Ask your heart and soul... not your logic and reasoning

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

We complicate life by thinking that 'My whole

life is a big drama' when we were just meant

to live a simple life and enjoy it.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

The survival of our society depends on people

who have a good connection with the spiritual.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

The beauty of silence, the lack of frenzied

activity for a period of time helps us collect

our thoughts and center our lives so we can

maintain a sense of calm when we return to the

hectic society and resume our work.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Many people say to me, "I'd like to learn your

ways." That's okay with me, but I would rather

have people learn their own ways, and equally

important is how they use what they learn.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Each one of us has something to offer in

this life, every one of us.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

O Great Spirit,

Whose voice I hear in the winds,

And whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me!

Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.

Make my hands respect the things you have made.

And my ears sharp to hear your voice.

Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock.

I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy --

myself.

Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands… and straight eyes.

So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit may come to you without shame.

White Cloud

Being a confessed hopeless romantic, hearing about wedding traditions was truly a field day. I am not sure if this is a Lakota/Sioux tradition, but there is one called "The Rite of the Seven Steps." The Rite of Seven Steps. And I quote, "In it the bride and groom take seven steps clockwise around a sacred fire. After each step, they each say a vow, while the family and friends of the couple join hands in a circle around the fire. After they've taken seven steps and completely gone around the fire, the ceremony is complete. There's a variation of it, where they also give a gift to one another along with saying their vows ... Some examples would be corn, representing fertility and growth; feathers, which represent truth and loyalty (kind of like in Egyptian mythology), a stone stands for wisdom and strength ..."

Nice, isn't it? And of course, what is a wedding without a beautiful wedding prayer?

"God in heaven above please protect the ones we love.

We honor all you created as we pledge our hearts and lives together. We honor Mother Earth and ask for our marriage to be abundant and grow stronger through the seasons. We honor fire - and ask that our union be warm and glowing with love in our hearts. We honor wind - and ask we sail through life safe and calm as in our father's arms. We honor water - to clean and soothe our relationship - that it may never thrust for love. With all the forces of the universe you created, we pray for harmony and true happiness, as we forever grow young together."

There is an ancient Native American legend about a little-known tribe that was constantly at war with other Native American tribes. They abused their religion and their families, had no morals or feelings for others, laughed at wisdom or any kind of order. Murder, rape, theft, and plundering were daily occurrences. This violent tribe seemed doomed to wipe themselves off the face of the earth.

Finally, an old chief gathered together a few of the least violent braves and held a council to discuss how they could save their tribes from themselves. The wise old chief decided that the only thing to do was to take the secret of happiness and success away from those who abused it. They would take this secret and hide it where no one would ever find it again. The big question was: where should they hide it?

One brave suggested they bury the secret of happiness and success deep in the earth. But the chief said, "No, that will never do, for man will dig deep down into the earth and find it."

Another brave said to sink the secret into the dark depths of the deepest ocean. But again the chief replied, "No, not there, for man will learn to dive into the dark depths of the ocean and will find it."

A third brave thought they should take it to the top of the highest mountain and hide it there. But again, the chief said, "No, for man will eventually climb even the highest of mountains and find it, and again take it up for himself."

Finally the old chief had the answer. "Here is what we will do with the secret of happiness and success," he stated. "We will hide it deep inside of man himself, for he will never think to look for it there."

Indian and animals

Spirit: Horse of the Cimarron

Michael Greyeyes

David Midthunder